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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 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

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Thursday, March 04, 2021

Like father like daughter - Lauren Ainsborough

It's hard to know when I began to enjoy jazz. I was born less than a month before my Dad's 40th birthday, 1983 (sorry Ron), so it was very much a different era from what my Dad experienced growing up.

You could say I started enjoying it at a young age, on long car journeys to France, when we would have Ray Charles playing on repeat.

When I was in my 20s my Dad gave me an Oscar Peterson CD and that was what changed my whole perspective.

The track Hymn to Freedam, I think it's derived from I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free by Nina Simone, was so beautiful, the way that he started out quite sparse in musical notation and then added layers so that eventually his fingers were covering the whole keyboard, so skilfully yet still maintaining the melody and harmony.

I had never heard anything like that!

Then I took my Dad to see Sonny Rollins at the Barbican, as a birthday present. The calypso rhythms in St Thomas was something I wouldn't even have considered as jazz.

In my early 30s I settled in the north east. I started to go to live jazz jams, regularly with my Dad. This was when I really fell in love with jazz!

I was so lucky to be exposed to so many talented musicians and the atmosphere, the spontaneity and the camaraderie between the musicians and the listeners was inspirational. No one knew who would walk into the room and what would be created through their unique collaboration.

All of this motivated me to explore my own piano playing in different ways. I met some great local jazz musicians, who are also great teachers (Arthur Higgins & Steve Glendinning).

Then I finally found the courage to jam with other people (mainly at The Globe). Through playing at jams, I felt so much freedom and with the support of other musicians I grew so much. I found myself able to be part of the creation of music I would never have imagined was possible.

For me, jazz is not really bossa nova, bebop or swing. It is a feeling of possibility and freedom. It is the space and the support given and taken between musicians and audience. At its best, jazz removes barriers between musical genres and people.

Over a century ago, before people started recording and selling music, I guess that jams were not an unusual thing. Live music was really the only option when people wanted to listen or dance.

In modern times, this intimate connection, with music (and jazz), has been lost to many.
Now, more than ever before, the world needs to feel connected. I've never come across a better way of doing this than listening, playing or moving to music.

The evolution of jazz is not and never will be finished. Especially in the north east where there is so much talent and so many people that want to have a good time. I'm talking about dancers with so much enthusiasm that dancing with them makes you feel like a professional, brass instrument musicians who can incorporate a riff from the Prodigy into their improvisation over a jazz standard because they have such a broad knowledge of chord progressions and the passionate listener who does nothing but focus their positive attention upon the performer, willing them to create something more beautiful than they ever have done before.

I'm so excited to see what jazz will be like when the world opens up again and I am so grateful for having my Dad in my life and for the exposure that he has given me to music.
Lauren Ainsborough 

2 comments :

Patti said...

How fabulous to see this, Lauren - your introduction to jazz - what lovely memories of your start, getting into this amazing music we all love so much. And I hope it's not too long before we can see you and your jazzy Dad at local gigs again!

Ann Alex said...

Well done Lauren, this is your contribution to Internatonal Women's Day next Monday 8th March

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