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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

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.

Tue 03: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Paul Wight (drums).

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Francis Tulip Quartet @ the Globe Jazz Bar - Dec. 22


Francis Tulip (guitar); Ben Lawrence (keys); Michael Dunlop (bass guitar); Matthew MacKellar (drums)
(Review by Ann Alex)

These musicians were on top form, no doubt about it. And the Jazz Coop promoted gig had nothing to do with Christmas apart from a quick reference to We Three Kings during the encore, so that made a nice break from the festivities. Thoroughly enjoyable, even though I was hampered by deafness in one ear (wax, you don't want to know) so Francis kindly supplied details of the tunes at half time, when he should have been resting after all that guitaring.

Straight in they started with Giraffe (Elvin Jones), strong, boppy guitar, flowing piano, lots of interplay between the two, drifting to a quiet ending. This I Dig Of You (Hank Mobley) had a seemingly simple few notes of tune, soon becoming improvisation, accompanied by very busy drums and cymbals, then bass and drum 4s, ending with the simple tune again on guitar, to a sudden stop.

Readers will have gathered that this music has a very different 'feel' from standard songs played as jazz. This music often involves repeated riffs, or by contrast, tunes which are entrancingly hard to pin down, a wispy feel, as in Infant Eyes (Wayne Shorter), which was gentle and contemplative, with light drumsticks and cymbals, and interesting bass. After Herbie Hancock's I Have A Dream, there came what sounded like the most difficult tune of the night – Birdless, composed by American drummer Ari Hoenig, which displayed a few different time signatures and goes to a bar of 2, so I was informed. The first set ended with Dizzy Gillespie's Con Alma.

The second set opened with The Hills Of Kykuit (Mike Moreno), a strong, smooth tune including a skilled drum solo, no less than we expect from Mr MacKellar who studies in the USA, then a boppy tune which I didn't catch the name of: this was followed by a continuation of the geographical theme, Shade Of The Cedar Tree (Christian McBride) which sounded very singable.

Matters Of Fact  was composed by Francis himself and the tune compared well with those we'd heard tonight from the well-known composers. It was a seemingly simple yet strong theme of 4 lines, 9 notes per line I think, with the guitar ending the tune with constant repetitions, very intriguing to listen to. Next, a Charlie Parker homage, short punchy lines, rhythm changes, a drum solo keeping to the shape of the tune, and a sudden stop. Herbie Hancock's One Finger Snap was the last official tune, solos all round, and the demanded encore was a standard, Gene De Paul's I'll Remember April.

The audience went home well satisfied. Catch these fine young musicians now while you still can – they have a great future ahead, so you may have to travel further before too long.
Ann Alex

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