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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15867 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 874 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (Sept. 25).

From This Moment On ...

September

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

Friday, May 10, 2019

Trish Clowes My Iris Quartet @ Sage Gateshead - May 8


Trish Clowes (tenor sax), Ross Stanley (piano/Hammond organ), Chris Montague (guitar) and James Maddren (drums)    
(Review by Chris Kilsby)

I wasn’t sure what to expect, perhaps something carefully arranged, introverted, or even academic, but on my first live hearing, this quartet turned out to be quite a handful, lighting up Sage 2 on a miserable wet evening with a clever and intense tapestry of original soundscapes. 

Their music is richly varied in feel, tempo and texture, often within the same song!  This might lead to information overload, but the show was secured by the visual spectacle and sheer variety, veering between velvet and violence.  Clowes has complete mastery of the tenor, with skronking split notes interspersed by soothing balm. Her lightning ability to transfer complex thought to action was equalled by the other virtuoso players.

The band took to the stage eschewing preliminaries, simply letting the music, mostly from new release Ninety Degrees Gravity, speak for itself. By the time they had warmed up with Lightning Les and Arise, they were at full speed, and clearly enjoying themselves,  for the excellent Eric's Tune - dedicated to Eric Gravatt (Weather Report drummer, early 70s edition). 

Some of the sax lines recalled the Wayne Shorter of that era, but with blistering guitar thrown in, and piano/B3 rather than Zawinul’s’ synths.  Clowes had a relaxed and genuine rapport with announcements between numbers, explaining the next one, I.F., was dedicated to the baby boys of the pianist and guitarist, complete with sound effects - not often you hear baby voices in Sage 2!
They really got going on I can’t find my other brush, where James Maddren further ramped up his already propulsive and abrupt variation of beat and feel, with a concluding barrage to satisfy the heaviest listeners!  The set closed with three very strong songs, with tunes and structure: Abbott & Costello (named after aliens from the sci-fi film Arrival, not the comedians!), Amber (a brand new song dedicated to a refugee charity activist) and Free to Fall, complete with an emotional vocal intro.

While Clowes' sax and Maddren’s  ever-shifting drums provided the main continuity, there were outstanding guitar breaks of great subtlety, speed and emotion from Chris Montague (a local boy apparently!), recalling Bill Frisell and Charles Altura,  as well as a flexible and startling variety of piano and Hammond organ from Ross Stanley, sometimes even doubling as a bass line.

Altogether a revelatory and stimulating musical romp, awash with intelligence and energy, with enough groove and smooth lines not to startle the horses!  My previous visit to Sage 2 was for the Ronnie Scott’s All Stars: while the technical mastery was similar, Clowes’ band had an altogether different, more ambitious take on jazz, drawing from the past for an exciting future.
Chris

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