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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15867 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 874 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (Sept. 25).

From This Moment On ...

September

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

Saturday, October 05, 2019

Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music: Yazz Ahmed’s Electric Dreams @ Gosforth Civic Theatre - October 4

Yazz Ahmed (trumpet/flugelhorn); Jason Singh (voice/electronics); Samuel Hällkvist (guitar); Rod Youngs (drums)
(Review by Steve H)

Gosforth Civic Theatre was virtually full for the visit of the British Bahraini artist’s band Electric Dreams. As Ahmed explained, the band produces spontaneous improvisations so it was going to be interesting to see what sort of journey we would be taken on.

It got off to a very rocky start - more Pink Floyd than Blue Mitchell - as guitar and drums tended to dominate on the opening two numbers. The third piece seemed to change tack completely and almost had a western (in the John Wayne sense) type feel to it. 

At this point I was not convinced. Luckily the final piece of the first set really did the business. Starting off with some Indian style scat from Singh (I am sure there is a proper name for this but sadly I don’t know what it is) the piece grew and grew and morphed into almost Phillip Glass/Steve Reich minimalist  flavoured work. So, at the halfway point, I was now looking forward with eager anticipation to the second set.

I was not disappointed. The music, somehow, seemed far more coherent than in the first set. Hällkvist on guitar and Youngs on drums interacted brilliantly. Ahmed, who seemed rather subdued in the first set, was far more prominent in the second. An atmospheric electronic jazz soundscape was created and I was really able to lose myself in the music. 

So, a very positive end to the evening after a somewhat laboured start. But I guess that is the joy of improvised music neither the band nor the audience know how things are going to turn out but the longer everyone stays with it the better it seems to get.  
Steve H

2 comments :

Steve T said...

The singing/ scatting/ rapping style is called conical, though I never seem to be able to find the correct spelling. Anyone?

Chris Kilsby said...

I'm tempted to say Steve T's proposed spelling is a bit "comical", but that would be cheeky :)

It's most often written "konnakol" but as it's a Tamil word by origin there is no "official" version, and you'll see it as konokol and other variants as well.

However it's written, the konnakol was one of the highlights. I also enjoyed Singh's trademark bird calls towards the end, followed by some "bear growling" (?). Never heard those at a jazz gig before!

I'd liked to have heard a bit more from Yazz overall, but as Steve H says, this was an exciting session, with a welcome whiff of the unpredictable and risky. There was some great playing and it mostly worked for me.

Chris K

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