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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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

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 + Abbie Finn @ 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: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
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: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
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.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Friday, October 04, 2019

Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music: Somersaults and Liber Musika @ The Black Swan Bar - October 3

Somersaults: Toby Delius (reeds); Olie Brice (bass); Mark Sanders (drums)
(Review by Steve H/Photos courtesy of Ken Drew).

The third Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music (NFJIM) got off to an absolute flyer! Two contrasting bands linked by their ability to improvise and create spontaneous and stimulating music.

Somersaults, I assume, are so named because that is musically what they perform. Free jazz acrobats performing on the high wire of improvisation with no safety net in sight. Breath-taking stuff from the off - pile driving, exhilarating, bursting with innovation. You could almost see the ideas bounce off the trio as they interacted with one another.

To label Mark Sanders a drummer would be the equivalent of calling Capability Brown a gardener. The percussionist employs a vast range of tools, bells and whistles to create a magical soundscape and a great visual spectacle.

Olie Brice on bass really seems to attack the instrument with gusto producing mesmerising bass lines and looked like he was 100% immersed in what the band were doing.

This was the first time I had seen Tobias Delius and he blew me away with his sheer dynamism and enthusiasm not only on sax and clarinet but also with the occasional vocal squeal. Strutting and dancing around the stage like a possessed witchdoctor mid spell, he conjured up dramatic powerful storms of notes although amongst the whirlwind the occasional subtle clarinet solo would emerge.

A great start to the NFJIM with the audience head over heels in appreciation. The bar (of the non-alcoholic variety) had been set very high for the forthcoming weekend.   
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Liber Musika: Faye MacCalman (clarinet); John Garner (violin/ viola); John Pope (bass); Will Hammond (vibes/percussion)

Earlier in the evening John Pope’s latest creation, Liber Musika, got things away nicely. John created this band at this year’s Sage Summer Studio. Comprising reeds, strings, vibes and clarinet, after the first number I was wondering where the drummer was before John explained that the idea for the band was inspired by seeing Anthony Braxton’s drummerless quartet earlier this year.

Despite the lack of a drum there was still plenty of plucking, tapping and clapping to provide a percussive effect. John explained that the tunes had no titles only numbers it turned that these numbers were 1 to 5 but they were played not in numerical sequence (it transpired that the order of the tunes was 3,2,1,5 and finally 4). I found the music more contemporary classical than free jazz but the festival is not billed as purely jazz so that is fair enough. Most of the numbers seemed rather sombre every so often there would a welcome burst of energy. The unique combination of instruments together with the way the musicians interacted with one another made the whole performance fascinating and thought provoking and it will be interesting to see how the project progresses in the future.
Steve H.
Photo link.

1 comment :

Pam said...

OUTSTANDING EVENT
Genuine improvisation by talented musicians. WONDERFUL NIGHT

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