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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.

Monday, June 21, 2021

Sunday Night Jazz @ The Globe: Knats - June 20

(Photo by Lance)
Ferg Kilsby (trumpet); Josh Mitchell-Rayner (keyboards); Stan Woodward (bass); King David Ike-Elechi (drums).

Knats (don't ask me where they got the name from!) are a young, mega young, band and this was their first ever indoor gig although they had played an outdoor gig a couple of weeks back which Russell enthused over and which I felt the need to check out. 

There was an understandable degree of uncertainty about the first set but, hey, what do expect? They're treading the boards where many of the UK's premier jazz musicians have strutted their stuff - no pressure then - and it didn't, at least outwardly appear to faze them. Come the second set and they were firing on four!

Young Ferg on trumpet was already known to me - known as a promising 14/15 year old who'd shown up at jams as well as blowing with some family members on the patio during lockdown. Since then, he's moved from the patio to the woodshed and emerged as Freddie Hubbard or Lee Morgan. If Art Blakey had still been alive and recruiting Ferg would have been on Buhaina's radar.

(Photo by Lance)
King David - is that a name or a title? - has the Blakey drive as well as his own powerhouse approach. His extended solos possibly had the good folk in Gateshead across the river checking out the Richter Scale whilst those inside The Globe were full of appreciation for this, the latest in an ever increasing list of outstanding young drummers to appear in the region. 

Like  King D, the more modestly named frontman and bassist Stan, has just completed his A-levels and he proved his worth with rock solid support and solos as well as composing and arranging some of the pieces. Oh, and another thing, he's rather old fashioned in that he uses those appendages on the side of his head (ears) to tune up rather than some electronic device clipped to the headstock of his fretless bass. How long is it since you heard a musician say to the pianist "give me an A"? Nice to know the old order hasn't completely changed.

The pianist charged with supplying the aforementioned note, 17 year old Josh also, during the course of the evening, gave us the other 87 notes in various permutations. Another outstanding performer to look out for.

(Photo by Russell)
The material was full on, in your face, Jazz Messengers, Herbie Hancock, Miles, Weather Report and, of course, 'knaturally' - Knats. 

Music heard included: Afro Blue; All Blues; Red Room (Woodward original); Kind Folk (K. Wheeler); Resolution (Coltrane); West of the West (Christian Scott) plus music from the film Taxi Driver, a piece by Radiohead and, for the encore, which I had to miss due to the demands of public transport, an opus by Herbie Hancock. Lance.

Link re comment.

PS: When I arrived at the Jazz Co-op HQ my nerves were still as taut as an over-tuned violin E string having watched the highs and lows and, ultimately, the highs of Hartlepool United's penalty shootout out victory over Torquay United in the National League Play-off Final.

I've never experienced a game with so much drama - Alfred Hitchcock couldn't have scripted it better - and, if they turned it into a movie, tonight's music would be the perfect soundtrack - it was played with the same passion and intensity.

2 comments :

Chris Kilsby said...

Lance - thanks for review, which conjured up the mood of the night: for the record...
1. Knats name derives from Stan (backwards) and K for King!
2. Set- opened with Kack Bop (Knats original, on all streaming outlets) followed by Actual Proof (H. Hancock). Another original (Ferg) "Whilst We're Here" in the second set. Encore was Eye of the Hurricane (HH again)
3. A great night out (finally) courtesy of the amazing institution which is The Globe. Still trying to come back to earth....

Chris K

Chris Kilsby said...

Great review Lance - captured the excitement and intensity nicely! And what a great job the Globe did on the night - the Sunday jazz live plus streaming series more than keeping up with offerings from KSTV and internationally.

Couple of additions/edits to the set list...First up was Kack Bop (by Knats, available on all streaming platforms!), Actual Proof (Herbie Hancock), Red Moon (Knats), Whilst we're here (Ferg Kilsby), encore was a double speed Eye of the Hurricane (Herbie Hancock).

The band have put a couple of streamed clips on https://www.instagram.com/knatsmusic/

Chris

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