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Bebop Spoken There

Billy Boy Arnold: “As long as you don't think old you're good.” - DownBeat, December, 2023.

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...

Postage

16051 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1058 of them this year alone and, so far, 12 this month (Dec. 6).

From This Moment On ...

December

Fri 08: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle. 1:00pm. £7.00.
Fri 08: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Woodland Village Hall, Bishop Auckland. 7:00pm. £12.00.
Fri 08: Sleep Suppressor + Redwell @ Head of Steam, Neville St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00. (£8.00. adv); £5.00. student.
Fri 08: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert's Church, Shadforth, Co. Durham.
Fri 08: Têtes de Pois + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £8.00.

Sat 09: Prudhoe Community Band @ Central Station, Newcastle. 10:00am - 12 noon. Charity fundraiser.
Sat 09: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Skinnergate, Darlington. 1:00pm.
Sat 09: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 09: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Middleton & Todridge Village Hall, Morpeth. 7:30pm. £12.00., £6.00.
Sat 09: Paul Skerritt @ Slaley Hall, Hexham NE47 0BX. 7:30pm. From £42.00.

Sun 10: Musicians Unlimited’s Xmas Party with Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. MU 1:00-3:00pm; Zoë Gilby Quartet 4:00-6:00pm. Tickets: £7.50.
Sun 10: Alan Law, Paul Grainger & Abbie Finn @ Darlington Market, Market Square, Darlington. 1:00pm. Free. A ‘Christmas Market’ outdoor gig. Wrap up warm!
Sun 10: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Funk Soul Sista @ Stack, Seaburn. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Beth Clarke @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 10: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Whittingham Memorial Institute, Alnwick. 7:30pm. £12.00., £10.00.
Sun 10: Tele-Port @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Zhenya Strigalev.

Mon 11: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Interim Final Recitals @ Newcastle University. Details TBC.

Tue 12: Stu Collingwood Organ Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £10.00.

Wed 13: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Wed 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Hot Fingers @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 14: After Hours Student Jazz Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. . Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 14: Niffi Osiyemi Trio @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Mo Scott ‘Little Mo’s Festive Appearance’ @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Tees Hot Club w. Kevin Eland, Josh Bentham, Garry Hadfield, Adrian Beadnell @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Friday, November 26, 2021

Zakir Hussain concert brings a fitting and triumphant finale to the 2021 EFG London Jazz Festival @ Royal Festival Hall - Nov. 21

(Photo © Emile Holba)
Zakir Hussain (tabla); Sabir Khan (sarangi); Marcus Gilmore (drums); Abbos Kosimov (percussion).

The first half of his set saw Hussain, the critically-acclaimed Indian tabla master, collaborate with sarangi player Sabir Khan, wowing his audience at the RFH. 

They explored tabla repertoire passed down to Hussain by his father and guru, Ustad Allarakha Qureshi (1919-2000), popularly known as Alla Rakha. Rakha specialised in Hindustani classical music and was the accompanist of choice for sitar guru Ravi Shankar. Rakha greatly helped to popularise the tabla with audiences outside of the Indian sub-continent.

 

Hussain and Khan tackled the four movements of an absorbing raga which encompassed several spirited improvised passages. The four movements comprised Peshkar; an improvisation on established Kaida themes; a combination of ChhandChalan Gut and Parans (the latter two being 300 year-old traditional compositions); and a combination of Rau and Relas.

 

The chemistry and interplay between the musicians was infectious and well received by patrons who cheered at several points during the performance.

 

Sabir’s deft touch on the violin-like sarangi was apparent in his Lehra accompaniment role. This is a traditional role performed by a Sarangi player – producing a looping, repetitive pattern - which facilitated Hussain’s exciting flights of improvisational fancy.

 

(Photo © Emile Holba)
During the second half of the concert, Hussain and Khan were joined by the illustrious jazz drummer Marcus Gilmore and renowned Uzbek doyra (frame drum) and percussionist Abbos Kosimov. The quartet was influenced by Planet Drum, Hussain’s ever-evolving collaboration with the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart.

This portion of the performance explored the way in which Hindustani classical music repertoire, the jazz tradition and Uzbek drumming perfectly harmonise and compliment each other.

(Photo © Emile Holba)
It should also be mentioned that Hussain and Gilmore have had a fruitful musical partnership through the Rolex Mentor-Protege Arts Initiative: A philanthropic programme by the Swiss luxury watchmaker that has since 2002 paired legends in the disciplines of music, architecture, dance, film and visual arts, with promising young talent from across the world.

Gilmore’s drum solos were riveting as he worked his drum kit, melodically blending snare phrases, rim shots, bass drum and cymbals flourishes into the mix.

 

Kosimov was just as captivating playing several frame drums at the same time and holding audiences spellbound with other miscellaneous percussion instruments.

 

For their encore piece Sabir Khan played sarangi and rendered a folk song from the state of Rajasthan celebrating the Ghoomer festival.

Zakir Hussain led an extraordinary percussion summit bringing Indian, African and Central Asian percussive traditions together to demonstrate the oneness of humanity through rhythm.

(This review can also be accessed via US blog https://arstash.com/)

John Stevenson.

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