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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, July 13, 2022

Swanage Jazz Festival: July 8 - 10

(© Jeff Pritchard)
This was a great festival and there were many highlights among the acts that I managed to catch. Most of the shows took place in either the Mowlem Theatre or the nearby Swanage Conservative Club - a much smaller building. There were other venues scattered around the town such as The Centre, a couple of churches, the Purbeck House Hotel and several pubs that were hosting festival events. I restricted myself to the Mowlem Theatre and the Swanage Conservative Club so there were some acts that I didn't get to see due to the schedule making it nigh on impossible to be in two places at once.

The first band I saw was the Nigel Price Wes Reimagined Quintet and this featured two superb sax players in Vasilis Xenopoulos tenor and Tony Kofi alto. They made a big impact and I was also impressed with drummer Joel Barford a name to make a note of.   


The next act was a fine quartet led by Xhosa Cole (pictured) an outstanding Birmingham/London based musician who has an original approach to his tenor playing that I find hard to describe. As well as doing Monk’s Misterioso,  he did a great version of that old standard Almost Like Being in Love. Cole, a former BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year winner, is another name to watch out for as is his guitarist Steve Saunders who is my kind of guitarist.


Then it was a short walk to the Con Club to see my friend, alto saxist Greg Abate, who was due to hit the stage with the Craig Milverton Trio at 9pm. Before Greg’s set we heard Craig Milverton perform his Tribute to Oscar Peterson on a Korg keyboard with bass player Sandy Suchodolski and drummer Nick Millward.  Greg Abate then followed with a brilliant one hour set of hard bop during which time he was joined for a couple of tunes by festival organiser and guitarist extraordinaire Nigel Price. The Charlie Parker tune Yardbird Suite  was well received by the room full of fans and also the Kenny Barron number Voyage. On Donna Lee, Greg got into some high velocity interplay with Nick Millward and so ended one of the most exciting sets of the festival.


Other shows that I enjoyed were the Alan Barnes' Octet, Art Themen and New Directions, Mark Kavuma and the Banger Factory, and Henry Lowther and his Still Waters quintet which contained Pete Hurt who I knew from his days as a music student in Manchester.


The final show from 8-45 to 10-15 pm at the Mowlem Theatre was the Simon Spillett Big Band plays the music of Tubby Hayes  concert and it more than lived up to my expectations being chock full of great musicians and lots of exciting solos. There was even a version of Soft and Supple, a tune I played in Newcastle many years ago as a member of the Kathy Stobart Rehearsal Band. The trumpet section that Spillett selected was a strong one and it was a joy to hear Mark Armstrong in top form and also Freddy Gravita who I had not seen before.

                   

To sum up, I had a wonderful weekend of jazz and I would like to give a mention to the sound crew for making sure the whole changeover process went smoothly. Mike Farmer

2 comments :

Paul Kelly said...

Many thanks for this excellent review. It was great having Nigel Price at the Festival, fulfilling a number of roles, but I think he'd be a bit surprised to find himself described as 'Festival Organiser'. Nigel organised a magnificent Swanage Jazz Festival in 2018. But it was taken over by a new local team in 2019 and it was they who organised this year's event. Paul Kelly, Chair, Swanage Jazz Festival.

Mike Farmer said...

Sorry Paul that I thought Nigel Price was the organiser of the event. This may have been due to my seeing him at most of the events that I went to. Unfortunately there were some venues I could not get to due to my legs almost giving way but I still had a great time at the Mowlem Theatre and the Swanage Conservative Club.

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