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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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Mar 26: Pop Jazz @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. 'Jazzified' tunes by the likes of Sylvester, Bowie, the Monkees etc., feat. Alan Law, David Gray, Richard Herdman & Jude Murphy.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

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 @ 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: '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: 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.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Francis Tulip Quartet @ The Fox, Hexham - August 13


Francis Tulip (guitar); Ben Lawrence (piano); Michael Dunlop (bass guitar); Matt MacKellar (drums)
(Review by Russell)

The train pulled into Hexham. What's this? The Platform Bar was open for business! Three years and more in the planning, ten days ago Matfen Brewery's micro pub opened its doors for the first time. Several Tyne Valley commuters had called in for a swift half, the temptation to join them was there but the Fox on West End Terrace beckoned. 

Trains, planes and automobiles, they arrived from all four quarters - Birmingham, Durham, London (UK), Boston (Massachusetts, USA) - to meet up with family and friends and play a few gigs (and jam sessions) together. Two days on from a Jazz Co-op date the Francis Tulip Quartet stopped off at Hexham Jazz Club to play a final gig on the band's 2019 'summer vacation' tour.


Hexham Jazz Club's August session featured a return visit by the popular Francis Tulip Quartet. Last time the place was busy, this time the place was busy. The set list mirrored that at the Globe (Jazz Co-op HQ); Kenny Dorham, Mulgrew Miller, John Lewis' Milestones (no, not the department store and not that Milestones, the other one, composed by pianist John Lewis of MJQ fame), a sensitive Body and Soul featuring Michael Dunlop's five-string bass guitar solo, the FT4 played a blinder. It helped that sound levels were lower than at the Globe, all four instruments could be heard and an attentive audience showed its appreciation for consistently good solo and ensemble work. An enjoyable first set concluded with Joshua Redman's Soul Dance.

Wayne Shorter opened the second set - well, the man himself wasn’t in Hexham but his influence certainly was with four young musicians checking him out. Berklee student drummer Matt MacKellar’s intro to Arthur Altman’s All or Nothing at All maintained the high standard as punters settled down having recharged their glasses (Theakston’s Light Foot). Time for a blues - Sonny Rollins’ Solid produced the evening’s highlight with superb solos from band leader Tulip and the shy, retiring Ben Lawrence (piano) as bassist Dunlop walked them through it with MacKellar playing, as the great blues men and women would often say, ‘with  a feelin’’.

Wayne Shorter’s Penelope took it down a notch with carefully crafted contributions from Lawrence and Tulip topped off by Dunlop’s oh-so-quiet solo, all of which was underpinned by MacKellar’s exemplary brush work. Hexham Jazz Club’s regulars wanted more and Terrence Blanchard’s Breathless from the trumpeter’s current E-Collective project sent them on their way.                 
Russell

4 comments :

Steve T said...

Just a slight correction to your notes Russell. Breathless was the final piece and the encore - as at the Globe - was Hancocks' One Finger Snap; a highlight of both gigs as far as I could make out.

Russell said...

You're right Steve, clearly my note taking and memory aren't up to scratch.

steve t said...

It's your age.

Russell said...

What's that? Speak up sonny!

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