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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 2024.

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!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tuesday, July 09, 2019

Getting the Festival Vibe @ Love Supreme

(Report/photos by Debra M)

I am not a camper. I was put off many years ago by my family’s first and last camping holiday near Craster on the Northumberland coast, undertaken with 3 small children and not enough kit. It was a beautiful spot, but all I remember is feeling tired and cold.  However, times have moved on, and we were lured by Love Supreme and the prospect of a weekend full of jazz in the lush Sussex countryside, and by glamping.

The festival site included an outdoor Main Stage and two large marquees - The Big Top & The Arena, as well as several smaller performance spaces, hosting a wide selection of live jazz and soul, as well as DJ sets, spoken word & dance events.  Early on Friday evening, our first stop was the Jazz Lounge to watch Abi Lewis’s Geordie Jazz Man.  It is a beautifully constructed narrative that captures the essence of Keith Crombie  and entwines his story with evocative shots of Newcastle from the 1960s onwards. The audience included a handful of Tynesiders who had known him personally, 1 or 2 of whom were brought to tears.
Later on, GoGo Penguin really got things going, with a vibrant, enthusiastic crowd in the Big Top. This was to be the main venue for much of the contemporary jazz, the Main Stage hosting predominantly soul music. Back in the Jazz Lounge on Saturday afternoon, Michael League gave an engaging pre-gig interview, and not surprisingly, the packed room contained a disproportionately large number of bass players. Snarky Puppy’s highly anticipated set went down a storm, despite initial technical hitches, however, the gig of the weekend was Chick Corea’s Spanish Heart band.  Wonderful music, delivered with joy and passion, to a rapturous audience.

Yet, there’s so much more to a festival weekend. It’s an all-embracing 24-hour experience, an escape from the daily routine.   All we had to think about was coordinating our selected gigs, and then just hang, eat & drink.  The music programme didn’t get started until late morning, but salsa classes were available for energetic early risers.  

Opting instead for a vocal workout, in sessions with the Love Supreme Chorus and Brighton Swing Choir, I strolled through the near-deserted festival site, empty apart from the aforementioned salsa dancers, a few staff clearing  up  and the sound of piano tuners at work.   
 
Part of the point of attending a music festival is to try something unfamiliar.  One of the highlights from this approach was SEED Ensemble, a ten-piece band from London, led by alto saxophonist and composer Cassie Kinoshi.  They’ve had a lot of great press and I was curious to see if they lived up to the hype.  They certainly did. The varied set and a superb horn section transfixed the highly appreciative audience, many of whom had only wandered in to avoid the Sunday morning rain showers.  
 
Later in the day, perhaps surprisingly given their mainstream appeal,  Madeleine Peyroux and Jamie Cullum were scheduled to clash with overlapping set times. Up to this point I had been musically indifferent to both performers but thought that a late Sunday afternoon on a summer’s day may be just the right time to appreciate the languorous chanteuse. So, we stretched out at the back of the marquee (best acoustics are by the sound desk), ready to listen and be charmed, but then I dozed off.  Thus underwhelmed, we roused ourselves and headed off instead to Jamie Cullum.  With full band, including horn section and backing singers, this was a totally different affair. The largely original set traversed pop, rock, swing, Latin and funk genres. Cullum is an accomplished musical magpie, an energetic and charismatic performer, and his band was seriously funky. 

Our final musical fix on Sunday night was a recommendation from one of the musos on the Rough Trade stand. The intense synchronicity of the Makaya McCraven Band was another unexpected highlight, and a great way to finish the weekend.  Meanwhile, many of the more youthful contingent headed off to party into the early hours, and their cheers and some stonking soul classics were clearly heard across the campsite, whilst we drifted off to sleep, dreaming of home comforts.
Debra M

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