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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Saturday, June 11, 2022

Hot Club du Nord @ Sage Gateshead - June 10

Emma Fisk (violin); James Birkett, Dave Harris (guitars); Bruce Rollo (bass).

Meandering (as opposed to staggering) from Sage Gateshead I met up with JNE's Bream the Younger who had also been to the concert. "I'd have thought that you'd have seen Hot Club du Nord at least 500 times" remarked Bill, not unkindly. I admitted that I had seen them more than twice but, if something is that good then each time is like the first time and this applies not only to music. 

And this was that good!

However, because their repertoire is a familiar one I'm not going to tediously rehash chapter and verse but, instead, just offer a few generalisations.

(Emma & Dave © Russell)

Much as I loved the original Hot Club - Stephane and Django were nonpareil - the guitar-heavy, chugging, rhythm did, at times, tend to create the effect of two olympic swimmers competing in a sea of Mars Bars whereas with du Nord the flow is much looser and less rigid.

Fisk is on a par with any of the current Hot Club stylists whilst the two guitarists don't attempt to turn it into a cutting contest but comp and complement each other perfectly. Bruce Rollo proved that you don't have to be in a hillbilly band to play slap bass and he slotted in very effectively.

Charlie Shavers' Undecided is always a crowd pleaser and Emma reminded us that the original Hot Club version had a vocal by Beryl Davis. Beryl, who was the daughter of bass saxophonist and co-leader of the Oscar Rabin Band Harry Davis, went on to have a successful career in America and was, in my opinion, by far the best of the British wartime singers - sorry Vera.

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square featured Emma at her melodic best reminding me of the time I heard Mel Tormé singing it with George Shearing at the RFH back in the 1980s. I also recall a version by NYJO titled A Nightingale Swang in Berkeley Square as well as the American singer Francis Day who's rendition came out as An Englishman Spoke in Grosvenor Square (site of the US Embassy).

I digress! A very enjoyable affair by what one of my fellow scribes described as the Virtuosi 4 - not a bad description at all and one I fully endorse - Lance

This Can't be Love; Body and Soul; Si Tu Savais; Belleville; Blue Drag; Swing 42; Summertime/I Found a New Baby; Nuages; Stomping at Decca; Ultravox; Bésame Mucho; Undecided; Ain't Misbehavin'; Minor Swing; A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square; Sweet Georgia Brown; J'attendrai.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

Agreed as good as ever. Nice to see a few different numbers from the last couple of times we've seen them. Just a minor correction it's Ultrafox, which as Emma told us are a German electropop band according to Google. Keep up the good work Lance

EmmaFiskJazzVio said...

Thanks for the review Lance…I didn’t spot you there last night!
Emma x

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