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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 2023).

The Things They Say!

Hudson Music: Lance's "Bebop Spoken Here" is one of the heaviest and most influential jazz blogs in the UK.

Rupert Burley (Dynamic Agency): "BSH just goes from strength to strength".

'606' Club: "A toast to Lance Liddle of the terrific jazz blog 'Bebop Spoken Here'"

The Strictly Smokin' Big Band included Be Bop Spoken Here (sic) in their 5 Favourite Jazz Blogs.

Ann Braithwaite (Braithwaite & Katz Communications) You’re the BEST!

Holly Cooper, Mouthpiece Music: "Lance writes pull quotes like no one else!"

Postage

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio + Abbie Finn @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Friday, November 23, 2018

EFG London Jazz Festival: Stanley Clarke + The Headhunters @ Southbank Centre - Nov. 20

Stanley Clarke (basses); Evan Garr (violin); Beka Gochiashvili (piano); Cameron Graves (keys); Salar Nader (tabla); Shariq Tucker (drums).
(Review by Steve T/Photos courtesy of Mochles Sa.)

Had somebody asked me which living jazz artist I'd most like to see, Stanley Clarke would have been high on the list, or maybe even top of the list.

The announcer outlined his plaudits and achievements, including transforming the bass into a lead instrument laying down melody and harmony, and while nothing is ever quite so simple and straightforward, he was certainly the defining moment for the electric bass in Jazz.

He adopted the slap bass technique pioneered by Stone Family member Larry Graham, more than Carter, Holland, Vitous, Henderson or even Johnson and Pastorius, displaying levels of virtuosity never seen or heard before, and I would argue, since. The announcer went on to say that working with young musicians is his proudest achievement, giving fore-warning of the band he would lead out.
Nice symmetry: two on percussion (kit and tabla), two on keyboards (predominantly acoustic piano and post-synth sounds) and two playing strings (violin and bass).

George Duke was a major co-conspirator of Clarke and his Brazilian Love Affair kicked things off, led by violin, with the leader playing acoustic, demonstrating that, unlike his major rival Jaco Pastorius, he was also a giant on upright. Violin took a mind-boggling solo followed by a staggering display by the young Georgian pianist Beka Gochiashvili. 

A bit of a thing between bass and tabla before the latter gave yet another dazzling solo. Tablas are amongst my favourite instruments but can be overwhelming. Here they were dominant at times, sometimes slipping through and sometimes absent. Clarke described Nader as a tabla master - and then some.

By now it was no surprise that the drummer, Shariq Tucker, turned out to be a master too. Which left the other keyboardist; none other than Cameron Graves, mainstay of the West Coast Down, alongside Kamasi Washington and Miles Mosley. In such young company, Clarke introduced himself as Louis Armstrong. 

By the end of the piece, Clarke was wearing his bass guitar for Quiet Afternoon from the School Days album, followed by Joe Henderson’s Black Narcissus featuring some weird and wonderful sounds from Cameron Graves.

No Mystery he claimed as being his favourite Return to Forever (RTF) piece from the 1800s! and mine too, though firstly for Al Di Meola’s perfectly executed acoustic guitar. Another round of breath-taking exchanges, this time from a highly electrified and highly charged violin and the two keyboardists.

He didn't mess about leaving the stage for the encore, but invited us to get on up, which most of us didn't, and invited support act, The Headhunters, back on stage for an impressive solo from each of them.

I thought I spotted a hint of P Funk which turned into Mothership Connection which was welcome but didn't really make any sense to me.

More or less five pieces may seem short and unsatisfactory but it was about ninety minutes and absolutely riveting throughout.
----- 
Donald Harrison (sax); Jerry Z (keys); Mike Clark (drums); Bill Summers (perc).

The gig could have been a doubleheader but was definitely a headline act plus support. The announcer claimed The Headhunters had not rested on their laurels, but maybe at that point we wanted seasoned musicians laid about on their own laurels, and as far as I could make out, that is what we got.

Sax, mostly Hammond (laying down the bass too), a drummer and a percussionist (both original Headhunters), all terrific as you'd expect. Herbie Hancock's Actual Proof from the album Thrust; Sly from The Headhunters’ album, his tribute to Sly Stone who was a huge influence on Miles and various alumni at that time. Some African style chanting brought in Watermelon Man, also from Headhunters, before another vocal piece along the lines of Down at the Bayou.
This could have been brilliant in a smaller venue and the whole thing would have benefited by a move to the smaller room in the same venue, but I pick nits; another tick on the bucket list and an incredible night.
Steve T.
PHOTOS.

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