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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.

Wednesday, June 01, 2022

John McLaughlin and the Fourth Dimension @ Bridgewater Hall, Manchester - May 30

John McLaughlin (guitar, vocal); Gary Husband (Keyboards, drums, vocal); Etienne M’Bappe (bass, vocal); Ranjit Barot (drums, vocal).

This will have most likely been my third and final farewell to John McLaughlin live; notwithstanding him playing live with Zakir Hussain again, bringing his Mahavishnu Orchestra tour to the UK – unlikely, aged 80 – or playing Sage Gateshead  or Newcastle City Hall.

 

If you read any of the books on John or the MO, there seems to be two threads common to all of them: that anyone who saw the original MO thought it was all him, rather than him exchanging solos with violinist Jerry Goodman and keyboardist Jan Hammer, and that their lives were changed by it. Both are true of me and while, as an eleven year old hairy – to use the vernacular of the time – I would never claim it was anything other than way over my head, I knew it was a level of musicianship way beyond anything I’d come across up to that point.

 

Plenty of old hairies at the Bridgewater and plenty of applause for solos, suggesting a strong jazz contingency, and of course the guitar community always turn up. Unfortunately the sound people didn’t seem to have checked upstairs and we got muffled introductions and diminished guitar whenever the drummer was playing. So it’s a drum and bass show said somebody behind me as we went into the interval.

 

In amongst the mush, there was lots of konnakol singing from drummer Ranjit Barot, a fine bass solo and a drum solo from keyboardist Gary Husband, like Barot needed any help!  

 

Pieces included Pharaoh Sanders' The Creator Has a Master Plan, which featured on an album he did with Carlos Santana almost half a century ago; Gaza City from this band's 2015 album Black Light, but sounding to these ears like a hangover from the eighties when John, Miles, Weather Report and other post jazz-rock fusion acts were making a heavily keyboard laden variety of smooth jazz; and his tribute to Paco De Lucia, the other constant member of his acoustic trios and – in my view – his nearest rival as a guitarist, enjoying god-like statues amongst guitar communities including flamenco and gypsy jazz.

 

I approached the staff who said they would sort out the sound but Mrs T intervened to see if they could move us into the stalls and – all credit to them – they did.

 

The second set was more of the same but this time we got a drum duel, which was quite electrifying, and another serious bass solo which was more fluid and melodic than the usual slapping we seem to have had for years now. Love and Understanding from his One Truth Band’s only album Electric Dreams (1979) seems to have become a live favourite and featured an impressive vocal coda by the four of them. I recognized the final piece but didn’t want to trawl through all the albums by him I know to identify, but I have been through the first MO album The Inner Mounting Flame to identify the encore as You Know You Know. Theyd played it at the Southbank Centre the first time I saw this band, which was the first indication there could be a MO revival, which resulted in the American tour. It’s hard to tell why he selected this particular piece and I was slightly disappointed that he’d stuck with it, though sections of the audience were clearly ecstatic.

 

While he may not still quite manage the estimated eleven notes per second, it’s absolutely astounding that he can still play at this level. Naturally his detractors will always blame him for what they refer to as the guitar Olympics, but he was hardly the first guitarist to try to play lots of notes quickly, not to mention countless jazz trumpeters, saxophonists, pianists, bass players, drummers…

 

Not many detractors there as they received rapturous applause, an all but unanimous standing ovation and some isolated  worship. I’m so pleased we got to hear the second half of what will likely be my last ever John McLaughlin concert. A man I consider the most important jazz musician since John Coltrane, the greatest artist this country has ever produced in any musical field and – all things considered – the greatest guitarist of all time. Steve T         

1 comment :

Chris Kilsby said...

Steve - many thanks for the review - sad to think we may be coming to the end of days as far as John McLaughlin (JM) is concerned, remarkable as it is he is still playing at this level at age 80, when other, younger, giants have tragically been silenced (e.g. Jarrett's stroke at 73).

I'd better comment on Steve's characteristically bold closing claims on JM's prominence before we're swamped with naysayers! Recognising the futility of "greatest" labelling, I broadly agree with Steve's assessment of greatest axe-man of all time, with the exception of Hendrix who was a wild card beyond comparisons. JM's 70s canon on its own places him in the top echelon, as I am satisfied that his all round musicianship (rhythmic, harmonic, stylistic) and innovation is key here rather than the obvious notes-per-second his detractors focus on. Rolling Stone magazine ranks JM a laughable 68th, while revelling in breath taking cognitive dissonance referring to "guitar-god status", "peerless" and Jeff Beck's rating of JM as "the best guitarist alive."

Steve's other claims of "most important since Trane" and "greatest UK musical artist" are however as bold as they are beyond any reasoned argument.... Leaving aside subjective taste and chronology (Trane died in 67?) there are strong claims from others of the Miles alumni club (Hancock, Jarrett, Zawinul) who spawned their own strands, or Kenny Wheeler and Pat Metheny who have been massively influential. As for greatest Brit, aside from the Fab Four (!) I give you Elgar, Du Pre, John Ogdon et al.

Regardless of my gentle testing of Steve's enthusiastic statements - I do feel that McLaughlin's long term genius and contribution to jazz (or whatever you want to call it) has become under-recognised in recent years, perhaps due to his Monaco domicile and infrequent exposure. I'd love to hear some more celebration of his music. Any local young guns up for 50 year anniversaries of Mahavishnu Orchestra albums? Chris K

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