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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 2024.

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!"

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

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Monday, October 19, 2020

Nigel Price Organ Trio w. Vasilis Xenopoulos @ The Globe - October 18

Nigel Price (guitar); Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax); Ross Stanley (Hammond B3); Joel Barford (drums).

The groove was in the moment they hit Wet and Dry - rock solid cement. They soloed at length before going into 4's or was it 8's or was it 1024's? It didn't matter - they were digging deep and the socially distanced audience were also digging deep - and this was just the opener! Come rain or come shine it couldn't get any better than this - could it?

It could!

The evening was about Wes - Montgomery that is - and I'd like to think that the late great guitarist would have been pleased with the rearrangement of his tunes. They certainly worked for me.

Jingles, a number Wes recorded many times, was announced as a samba but, this wasn't just another samba, this was the real deal. Joel Barford kicked it off like as though there was no tomorrow - where has this guy been hiding all my life? Okay, I know, he wasn't born for most of it but he is now and it showed as he set the scene for some paint-stripping guitar, blistering tenor and some nut-cracking B3 that had Karen doing the moves (within government guidelines) as she served the socially distanced tables.

If actual dancing had been allowed then couples would surely have been having a smooch to Dreamsville before the band went into Twisted Blues - a boogaloo! I needed a reality check. Was I in downtown Philly or maybe in a bar off Central Avenue in L.A.? No, I was in Newcastle's West End - The Globe, HQ of the Jazz Co-op.

I think I'd be hard-pressed to hear anything better outside of Birdland or Ronnie's and, as it happens, these guys are playing Ronnie's this coming Thursday. Unmissable.

I could write so much more but my hands are a bit fragile after doing so much clapping! However, all is not lost, Vasi wasn't the only ace tenorman in the house. Nick Gould added his own report on Facebook which I've purloined and added as a sort of coda to a fabulous evening.

Lance.

----- 

"I didn’t realise just how much I have missed live music and how important it is to me till tonight. I made a trip to Newcastle to the Globe which is a great venue that is a co-op run by volunteers.
Since my last visit earlier in the year to play with JazzMain the venue has had a lot of work done with a new stage, upgrades to the sound system, and now gigs are streamed as well. It is great to see venues adapt and make good of the current difficulties.
It was great to hear a live gig again,
Nigel Price
has worked very hard to arrange his current tour. The band features
Vasilis Xenopoulos
on tenor, Ross Stanley on Hammond with 2 Leslie speakers and excellent drummer Joel Barford.
They were superb, the first tune a contrafact of Come Rain and Come Shine penned by Nigel called Wet and Dry kicked things off nicely and we were treated to an evening of fabulous jaws from one of the best jazz groups in the U.K. today.
The set was played with energy, enthusiasm and superb musicianship.
The audience loved it and all had sore hands with all the clapping by the end of the night.
They play at Ronnie's main stage next Thursday.
Great also to see some friends from the North East too. it almost felt normal."

Nick

4 comments :

Anonymous said...

Even if we hadn’t been starved of live music for the last 7 months this would have been a an amazing gig, I am a big fan of these guys. For me they are absolutely the pinnacle of UK Jazz.

Every member of the group a great player and soloist in their own right and working together as a team to produce fabulous music.

Every tune a winner.

Thanks to the band and the Jazz Co-op for making it happen, a memorable evening for everyone in the room.

Nick Gould

Patti (on F/b) said...

Great photo, Debra - and what a storming hot gig this was! We have to thank you and the Globe team so much for the way you've organised the music in a Covid safe setting for us jazz lovers. xx

Debra (on F/b) said...

Thanks Patti. That's Lance's photo not mine! There's a whole team of people that have made this possible at The Globe - it's been a pleasure to cooperate with them & see some great music x

Lance said...

C'est la vie! Looking forward to the next one with David Gray - I've seen the set list (my lips are sealed) and it looks to be another brilliant night at the northeast home of live jazz.

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