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Bebop Spoken There

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The Things They Say!

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

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'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.

Monday, September 02, 2019

Ambleside Days Festival 2019: Tim Garland Weather Walker Trio & Gwilym Simcock, Mike Walker and Friends @ Zeffirellis – August 31


(Review by Hugh C)

As in the manner of the so-called “Beautiful Game”, this event was again in two halves.  The stage was set for two gigs with the Steinway grand to the left, double bass and guitars centre stage, two drum kits and percussion on the right.

Tim Garland Weather Walker Trio
Tim Garland (saxophones, electronics); Jason Rebello (piano); Yuri Goloubev (bass). 

Despite the name of the trio, much of the set, although Garland’s material, was not from the Weather Walker CD.  Bright New Year, from Garland’s album One, featured soprano saxophone.  Rebello on piano and Goloubev on bass took alternate solos, the other subtly underpinning the soloist on their own instrument.  Ensemble passages were the focus for saxophone. 

One token standard followed (Garland emphasised the importance of playing the standards in his early days as part of Ronnie Scott’s house band):  Irving Berlin’s How Deep Is the Ocean? – or as Garland jested (“doing his bit for climate change”) “How deep is the ocean now?”  Goloubev’s solo bass introduced the rhythm with subtle references to the melody, then added to by Rebello on piano and finally the full tune with Garland on tenor. 
Rosa Ballerina was composed after the birth of Garland’s daughter.  Her first sound was apparently pitched at a loud F sharp and hence the piece was based around this (although apparently in the key of F, confusingly).  Garland reverted to soprano for this item.  As with many of the players, Garland’s family (including Rosa) were attending the festival and hosted at Derek Hook’s Yewfield guest house for the duration.

The next two items were from the Weather Walker album and were enhanced by the projection of Alastair Lee’s stunning videography onto the cinema screen behind the stage.  An example of this can be seen here  The Snows They Melt The Soonest (based on the North East folk song of the same name) featured Garland on tenor, enhanced by electronics.  Weather Walker followed, featuring soprano this time.  Samai for Peace (from One) concluded the first half.  In his “houskeeping” announcement at the beginning of the show Stuart Johnson indicated where the fire exits were “in case the band were too hot”, by the end of this final piece things were certainly at an incendiary level!
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Half-time:   No orange segments, but a welcome contribution to the fluid balance by replenishment of the glass with another pint of Jazz Session.

Gwilym Simcock, Mike Walker and Friends
Gwilym Simcock (piano, keyboards); Mike Walker (guitar); Yaron Stavi (double bass, electric bass); Asaf Sirkis (drums); Bernhard Schimpelsberger (drums, percussion).

As well as new material that Simcock composed for the occasion, he also explored some of their back catalogue. The first three pieces were segued - two new compositions and a third from the back catalogue.  Shines Upon Them commenced the set.  Yaron Stavi on double bass took solos in turn with Simcock’s piano and Walker’s guitar.  The two drummers were also let out to play and Schimpelsberger took full advantage of the range of percussive opportunities in his toybox laid out in front of him.  All Along featured atmospheric keyboard from Simcock and beautiful arco bass from Stavi, Walker’s melodic guitar together with light drumming and delicate brushwork on cymbals contributed to the mix. 

Heuter Loiter was an altogether funkier affair with rhythmic left hand chords on piano, great guitar licks from Walker and fine electric bass from Stavi.  Sirkis and Schimpelsberger dueted in Indian vocal percussion – Konnakol - and also with drum solos.  Just to See You allowed Schimpelsberger to explore his toy collection again.  These both are Simcock/Walker compositions from the second Impossible Gentlemen recording, Internationally Recognised Aliens. 

Another new Simcock composition, In The Know, followed a plea from the composer to “Wish us Luck!”  Initially led by Walker’s guitar, the piano later took melodic lead with both drummers in the engine room whilst guitar and bass took a metaphorical tea break.  After the regulation period the guys re-joined the fray, Stavi having some difficulty rearranging the seven A4 sheets of music concertinaed on his music stand.  The haunting It Could Have Been a Simple Goodbye  (dedicated to the memory of John Taylor) returned a calm to the proceedings.  Tuneful melodic guitar work was to the fore in this Mike Walker composition, with assistance from Schimpelberger’s extensive percussive armoury. 

The band had by now been on stage for over an hour and it could have been a simple goodbye - this piece was a fitting finale.  However, an encore was offered with the warning that “we are going to leave you with something disturbing.  Dog Time delivered the goods, with a strange time signature or signatures which contributed to the disturbance; Yaron Stavi took up his electric bass and together with Walker, to the amusement of the audience, created barking effects.
Hugh C

1 comment :

debra said...

Both sets were fabulous, undoubtedly my gig of the year.

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