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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.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Malta Jazz Festival 2019 - Nights July 18

(Review by Steve T)

My love affair with Malta began when I read Tom Holland's Fortress Malta about its role in the Second World War. Shortly before the end of the war, Churchill arrived on Malta to award the island the George Cross. As someone who knows a thing or two about punching above my weight, even compared to Britain, Malta during the war was like Little Dave taking on a veritable army of Goliaths.

So it is with the Jazz Festival, which stepped up a whole bunch of gears on the Thursday night, with a series of free concerts.

The evening began in front of two cafés with the entrance to a food hall between them. After an early trip to check it out, we managed to book a prime spot in one of the cafés and by the time we returned, rows of seats had been laid out in front of the stage. On stage, happening German drummer Jochen Rueckert with an all-star band, featuring one of the big names in the current guitar renaissance; Mike Moreno no less. Also Chris Cheek, listed as tenor sax, but who actually played more soprano, and bass player Matt Penman.

Liam Gallagher was playing a free concert on the island that night, and when Rueckert thanked everybody for choosing him instead of Liam, I was surprised and a little perturbed at how few people laughed.

The prevalence of soprano was a total breath of fresh air and this was a sax/guitar front-line rather than guitar taking the role of piano in the rhythm section, Moreno threw in plenty of new-fangled New York chords and flight of finger soloing. Rueckert also plays with Lage Lund so he clearly knows his leading modern jazz guitarists. His own playing was busy but understated and highly effective, only taking one short solo during the final piece. 

I wondered if life could get any better than this just as the café delivered the wrong meal to our table!

Next up was Cuban bandleader Joel Hierrezuelo, just round the corner in front of the Law Courts. We'd heard a bit of the sound-check which had made me far more excited by it than hitherto. Malta seems to have an affinity with the heavy percussion of South American and Cuban music and I had no doubt that drummer Lukmil Perez would do the work of three wo/men.

Hierrezuelo sings and plays guitar, though the bulk of the soloing fell to a bandmate playing acoustic, and mighty impressively too.         

The final set of the evening was just down the road in the Pjazza Teatru Rjal, a large theatre visible from the location of the afternoon gigs, though you'd never realise it's there. The previous night it had featured the BBC Concert Orchestra.

I'm not sure how much of this we missed but it seemed quite short, which was probably enough for me. The Big Band were hot, but guest singer Joe Cutajar was subsequently described to me as a pub singer, which I thought unfair though, complete with trilby, it was a little corny. Nevertheless, classic Sinatra is always welcome and we got Fly me to the Moon and You Make me Feel so Young, some Nat King Cole while, in another stroke of luck, we missed the promised Michael Bublé. However, it was probably at its best with the singer watching from the sidelines. 

It all finished nicely in time to catch the last ferry across the harbour - one of the best natural harbours in the world and littered with history - to Sliema and our hotel.  
Steve T

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