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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).

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Yazz Ahmed: Polyhymnia live streaming from Sage Gateshead - Nov. 14

We were due to attend Yazz Ahmed's concert at Sage Gateshead - socially distanced, of course - only for Lockdown 2.0 to intervene. The music world's recently adopted default position, the live stream, once again stepped into the breach. It isn't ideal, but needs must. 

Sage One's large stage comfortably accommodated Ahmed's twelve-strong ensemble, set-up to perform in-the-round. Polyhymnia formed the basis of the one hour set. Ahmed's work, funded by Art Council England and Help Musicians UK, formed part of Sage Gateshead's 'Live 2020' concert series. Ahmed's project sought to celebrate the achievements of significant female figures. 

The suffragettes inspired tonight's opening number, Deeds Not Words. As multiple camera angles came into play a host of familiar figures on the British jazz scene came into view: alto sax ace Mr Nat Facey, on tenor and bass clarinet, Mr George Crowley, in the two-man trumpet section, Mr Noel Langley (pictured alongside Miguel Gorodi), vibes demon Mr Ralph Wyld, the in-demand Dudley Phillips on bass, and drummer Ms Sophie Alloway laying down an impeccable groove. 

Ms Ahmed (trumpet and flugelhorn) directed the ensemble with the minimum of fuss, content to let the experienced heads help realise her creation. Ruby Bridges saluted the American civil rights activist with Sophie Alloway (pictured) leading off on an apposite New Orleans' shuffle. An Arabic feel signalled Lahan al-Mansour, Ahmed's recognition of Saudi Arabia's first female feature film director Haifaa al-Mansour, a woman who, unsurprisingly, has endured varying degrees of hostility from regressive forces. The Polyhymnia ensemble, essentially an expanded version of Ahmed's Hafla septet, clearly enjoyed the occasion with many smiles and nods of appreciation for the soloists across the evening. 

Dudley Phillips' effects-laden bass playing on One Girl Among Many pointed to the courage of Malala Yousafzai in standing up to the brutality of a bunch of hoodlums with the ensemble, as one, reciting the words of Yousafzai. More inspirational women stepped up. 2857 referenced Rosa Parks' pivotal role in the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott (2857 being the number of the infamous bus service) with George Crowley in suitably belligerent, explosive form. And to close,  Barbara, in homage to pioneering British modern jazz/fusion reeds virtuoso Barbara Thompson.  

Russell  

Yazz Ahmed (trumpet, flugelhorn); Nat Facey (alto sax); George Crowley (tenor sax, bass clarinet); Kate Ingram (baritone sax); Miguel Gorodi (trumpet); Noel Langley (trumpet); Owen Dawson (trombone); Ralph Wyld (vibes); Naadia Sheriff (piano, keyboards); Dudley Phillips (bass); Elizabeth Nott (percussion); Sophie Alloway (drums).

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