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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17328 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 612 of them this year alone and, so far, 17 this month (Sept. 5).

From This Moment On ...

September

Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Giles Strong Quartet @ BAA Fest, Brownrigg Lodges, Bellingham. 2:40pm.
Sun 08: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 08: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: ???

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 12: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:30pm. £4.00. ‘A Great Day in Harlem’.
Thu 12: The Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Pete Tanton & co.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. THC with guests Donna Hewitt, Bill Watson, Dave Archbold, Adrian Beadnell, Mark Hawkins.

Fri 13: Jeff Barnhart & Neville Dickie @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Two pianos, two pianists! SOLD OUT!
Fri 13: Noel Dennis Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Dilutey Juice @ Old Coal Yard, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.00. adv..
Fri 13: Ray Stubbs R & B All-stars @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. Classic blues.

Sat 14: Jeff Barnhart’s Silent Film Fest @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 14: Customs House Big Band w. Ruth Lambert @ St Paul’s Centre, St Paul’s Gardens, Spennymoor DL16 7LR. 7:00pm (6:45pm doors). Tickets £10.00. from the venue or tel: 01388 813404. A ‘BYOB’ event.
Sat 14: Emma Wilson @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. £12.00. Acoustic blues.
Sat 14: Rat Pack - Swingin’ at the Sands @ Billingham Forum. 7:30pm.

Saturday, November 21, 2020

Paul Edis: Time & Place LJF live stream - Nov. 20

Paul Edis (piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Tony Kofi (tenor sax); Adam King (double bass); Pete Adam Hill (drums) 

(Screenshots courtesy of Jerry)

BSH planned to attend this Hampstead Jazz Club performance only to be thwarted by Lockdown 2.0. Fortunately this year's EFG London Jazz Festival was able to deploy its not inconsiderable resources to make most, if not all, events available online. Paul Edis regularly works with singer Jo Harrop and now that our exiled Geordie pianist is based in London he was able to extend an invitation to his friend, and occasional musical collaborator, Tony Kofi to join him and Jo in revisiting Time and Place
The lights were low as Edis took to HJC's snug stage alongside bassist Adam King and drummer Pete Adam Hill. Harrop stood in front of the trio with saxophonist Kofi seemingly socially-distanced in the wings. The project is, to  a degree, self-explanatory...themes of time and place. Twelve compositions - a mixture of standards and originals - were given a flawless reading. Edis and Harrop obviously familiar with the set list, less so, Kofi, King and Hill, and it is to their credit that they fully contributed to a successful evening. 

And so to the theme...Time After Time (music Jule Styne, lyrics Sammy Cahn). Those who have heard Jo Harrop sing knew that this first number was likely to be good. It was better than good, more like fabulous. The first of two Vernon Duke classics -  Autumn in New York - suggested the musicians on the stand were fully immersed in the music, King and Hill reading the charts, likewise the man in the wings, tenor saxophonist Tony Kofi. 

Three Edis compositions followed, one after the other...Madeira (a hair-raising tale of a mountainous bus journey!), Embrace the Silence (first heard on Tyneside with Edis directing Sage Gateshead's youth jazz ensemble Jambone) and, with a nod to Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Long Way Round. BSH is familiar with the above songs and one thing is for sure, familiarity doesn't breed contempt. In fact, they seem to get better with each hearing! 

Harrop sang beautifully on Michel Legrand's Once Upon a Summertime and then it was Edis' turn to impress on Vernon Duke's April in Paris. If any of the London jazz crowd didn't know about Paul Edis, they do now. Brilliant! 

Edis' Breathing (from a Darlington Jazz Festival commissioned suite) heard more from Tony Kofi in what sounded like waltz time. At this juncture it became apparent that brevity was the watchword - excellent musicianship all round, executed with commendable concision. Jo Harrop, the lockdown lyricist, emailed Edis some words to see what he could come up with. Twenty four hours later, the duo had a new tune to perform to an audience. An audience...what's one of those? Ah, yes, people gathering together to share in the magical experience of live performance. Well, it almost happened here at Hampstead Jazz Club, almost, but not quite. Next best thing, via the medium of the live stream, we, the audience, heard What If? We look forward to being present the next time Edis and Harrop perform it!

We were nearing the end of this evening's concert. Edis' Rome Wasn't Built in a Day (Edis leaving the singing to Harrop, Harrop leaving the piano playing to Edis), another Edis-Harrop lockdown composition If I Knew performed as a duo, then to close, Edis' Wise Words reunited the quintet. Gospel-infused, concise, all had been said and done. An excellent set, we look forward to hearing it again when we're part of a capacity audience. Next year, believe it.
Russell        

1 comment :

JERRY said...

If anyone missed this excellent gig, it still seems to be available here:

https://www.facebook.com/HJCJazzClub/videos/2129518460505144

Well worth a look and listen.

JERRY

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