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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

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); Steve White (drums).

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Paul Skerritt @ Vespa Italian Bar & Steakhouse, Primrose Hill, Jarrow. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 483 3355.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Sound the Trumpets @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hot Club du Nord @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.CANCELLED!
Thu 05: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Tommy Bentz Trio + Mark Croft Duo + George Shovlin & George Lamb @ The Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Harbour View Speakeasy's USA blues double bill + Shovlin & Lamb!
Thu 05: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Jazz Jamaica @ Sage Gateshead - June 18

Once upon a time Gateshead Quays was a round-the-clock hive of artistic activity. Baltic's doors were open to one and all showing the best in contemporary visual art and its near neighbour, Sage Gateshead, presented world class performances by folk, jazz, rock, pop and classical musicians. Then, some fifteen months ago, the lights went out. The pandemic struck and, in common with many other sectors, the performing arts came to a shuddering halt. That was then, this is now - Jazz Jamaica are back in town!

Sage One's audience divided into colour-coded zones. Your correspondent found himself in the red zone, all seats socially distanced. All present were obliged to wear a face covering during the one hour fifteen minutes or so Gary Crosby's Jazz Jamaica occupied the stage. It was an odd, if not eerie, experience. MC Crosby recalled the band's first appearance at Sage Gateshead all of fifteen, perhaps sixteen years ago, our man suggesting this was one of his favourite venues. 

Trojan Records played a vital role in popularising Jamaican reggae. Crosby's formative years found him listening to the music thanks in part to south London MC sound systems. Decades later Jazz Jamaica are on the road celebrating one of the Caribbean's finest cultural exports. The current line-up includes several names familiar to a Tyneside jazz audience (Denys Baptiste, Camilla George, Eddie Hick, Cherise Adams-Burnett), some not so familiar. From the off the band played killer rhythms, anchored by bass man Lance Rose and drummer Eddie Hick. Periodically the nine piece band would be joined by vocalists Cara Crosby-Irons and Cherise Adams-Burnett.   

Three instrumentals, one after another, promised/threatened to get the audience on its feet. Promise not to tell? One or two did just that! Green IslandLiquidator, Double Barrel (the latter giving trumpeter Mark Kavuma a first opportunity to have a blow), band and audience nicely warmed up. Cara Crosby-Irons impressed big time singing Waiting in Vein (Denys Baptiste blowing excellent tenor). For some time Mark Kavuma has been a name on BSH's radar (album reviews, an online performance from Ronnie's). Eastern Standard Time found Kavuma in blistering form - clean, articulate bop lines, be sure to catch him next time he's in town. 

As Cara Crosby-Irons returned to sing an epic Police and Thieves, the horns cleared off, leaving the stage to our vocalist with Ben Burrell playing organ, supported by an ace rhythm section - Rose, Hick, Satin Singh and the impressive Sonia Kounate on guitar . A set highlight, that's for sure. My Boy Lollipop had 'em up dancing (don't tell anyone!), An encore was assured, cue Herbie H's Cantaloupe Island 
                    
Gary Crosby (MC); Mark Kavuma (trumpet); Harry Brown (trombone); Denys Baptiste (tenor sax); Camilla George (alto sax); Sonia Kounate (guitar); Ben Burrell (piano, organ); Lance Rose (double bass); Eddie Hick (drums); Satin Singh (percussion); Cara Crosby-Irons (vocals); Cherise Adams-Burnett (vocals)


Earlier, Ladies of Midnight Blue entertained an all-seated audience on Sage Gateshead's expansive concourse. Hannabiell Sanders and Yilis del Carmen Suriel played a variety of African and Latin percussion instruments, Hannabiell also playing her now familiar bass trombone and a conch shell. Hannabiell did her best to engage with the audience but some how or other their set took a while to spark. Fifteen months into the pandemic it could take some time for audiences to remember how it used to be...applause, whoopin' and a hollerin'. Give it time, we'll get the hang of it!       

Hannabiell Sanders (bass trombone, percussion, conch), Yilis del Carmen Suriel ((percussion)

Jazz Jamaica's set list: Green IslandLiquidator; Double BarrelDon't Stay AwayWaiting in VeinWhat About Me?Eastern Standard TimePolice and ThievesHow Could I LeaveMy Boy Lollipop; Cantaloupe Island.

1 comment :

NeilC said...

Watched it on stream brilliant . Sadly the streaming patrons didn't see Cantaloupe Island encore . The Sage said the band decided not to include it when I enquired but it did not detract from a really great gig.

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