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Bebop Spoken There

Delfeayo Marsalis: "Slide Hampton once told me that it's not always the person that is playing the highest or playing the fastest that's making the greatest impact." - (DownBeat March 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!"

Postage

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Mon 20: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 20: Central Bar Quintet plays Wes Montgomery @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm. Feat. Joe Steels.

Tue 21: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 21: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Jacob Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass guitar); Bailey Rudd (drums).

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller's Rest, Cockerton. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public). Note change of venue - this week only.
Wed 22: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Thu 23: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcasatle. From 6:30pm 'til late. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Thu 23: Kerrin Tatman + John Garner & John Pope @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 23: Sunna Gunnlaugs & Julia Hülsmann @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm. A two-piano gig. A Sage Gateshead-JNE promotion.
Thu 23: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano.
Thu 23: Sleep Suppressor @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv. Upstairs.
Thu 23: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Monday, November 28, 2022

Nu Civilisation Orchestra: Joni Mitchell's Hejira & Mingus @ Fire Station, Sunderland - Nov. 27

This was some occasion. An eighteen piece big band's end of tour concert drew a sizeable audience to Sunderland's pride and joy, the Fire Station on High Street West. Tomorrow's Warriors is an institution, and under the guidance of its Artistic Director, Gary Crosby, the Nu Civilisation Orchestra is an ensemble boasting established names working alongside some of tomorrow's star names. The music of Joni Mitchell required a vocalist capable of doing justice to the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter's songbook...step forward ESKA. 

Technical issues delayed the advertised start by some twenty minutes but once we got going it was well worth the wait. Peter Edwards, baton in hand, counted 'em in, ESKA singing A Chair in the Sky. As the evening progressed it became evident that many Joni Mitchell fans were in attendance. What would the non-jazz fan make of it all? Horns, strings, an ace rhythm section, backing vocalists, the ensemble respectful of the material, ESKA's vast range delighting Mitchell aficionados, the jazz fans digging the soloists and ensemble work. Time and again ESKA  came up with the goods, not least on Furry Sings the Blues. Our vocalist vacated the stage, leaving it to the Nu Civilisation Orchestra to go into overdrive on Haitian Fight Song. This was Mingus coming out fighting, slugging anyone who got in his way. Wow! 

Special mention of Denys Baptiste, quiet, yet magisterial, particularly on Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. And then, and then...bassist Jihad Darwish (known to some as Jo Harrop's bass player), absolutely immense in the role of Jaco Pastorius. A standing ovation, Janine Irons presenting Edwards and ESKA with end-of-tour bouquets, Edwards turned to the audience: Would you like another one? As one, the emphatic reply: Yeah! The Nu Civilisation Orchestra went out on God Must be a Boogie Man. Yes, indeed. Russell        
    
Peter Edwards (conductor); ESKA (vocals); Will Gibson (alto sax, flute); Denys Baptiste (tenor sax); Rhiannon Jeffreys (baritone sax, flute); Becca Toft (trumpet); Rosie Turton (trombone); Georgio Serci (acoustic guitar); Maria Grapsa (piano, keyboards); Jihad Darwish (bass guitar); Eddie Hick (drums); Tello Morgado (percussion); Rhiannon Dimond (violin); Valeria Pozzo (violin); Jules Dos Reis (viola); Miranda Lewis (cello); Cara Crosby-Irons, Kianja Harvey-Elliott, Loucin Moskofian (backing vocals)

Set list included: A Chair in the SkyHejiraRefuge of the RoadFurry Sings the BluesAmeliaGoodbye Pork Pie HatHaitian Fight SongBlack CrowGod Must be a Boogie Man.

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