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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17372 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 656 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (Sept. 17).

From This Moment On ...

September

Thu 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 19: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 19: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. THC with guests Kevin Eland, Dan Johnson, Jeremy McMurray, Ron Smith.

Fri 20: Lindsay Hannon’s Tom Waits for No Man @ Gala Theatre, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 20: Rob Hall & Chick Lyall @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free (donations). SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Leeway @ 1719, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. The Old Black Cat Jazz Club. CANCELLED!
Fri 20: Gaz Hughes Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.

Sat 21: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 1:00-2:45pm. Free.
Sat 21: Vieux Carré Hot Four @ The Beehive, Hartley Lane, Earsdon Whitley Bay NE25 0SZ. 4:30pm-6:30pm.
Sat 21: Baghdaddies @ Two by Two, Albion Row, Byker, Newcastle NE6 1RQ. 6:00pm.
Sat 21: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Northumberland Club, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 21: Jude Murphy & Alan Law @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free.
Sun 22: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Richard Herdman @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 22: Remy CB Band @ Blues Underground, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:30pm. Free. Remi, 2024 Newcastle Uni graduate, superb soul/blues voice!

Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 23: Paul Booth with the Paul Edis Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. A Blaydon Jazz Club 40th anniversary concert! SOLD OUT!

Tue 24: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £12.00. (£10.00. adv. from Tully’s of Rothbury). Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 24: Sarah Gillespie @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £16.50. Duo performance with Chris Montague.

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: Moonlight Serenade Orchestra UK: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Middlesbrough Theatre. 7:30pm.

Thursday, March 09, 2023

Nigel Price-Vasilis Xenopoulos Quintet @ The Spice of Life, London - Mar. 6

Nigel Price (guitar); Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax); Leon Greening (piano); Adam King (double bass); Richard Pite (drums)

On a flying visit to London (non-stop train, actually), the advertised Monday lunchtime concert at the Spice of Life featuring the Nigel Price-Vasilis Xenopoulos Quartet was too good an opportunity to pass up. Arriving at Cambridge Circus in good time, who should be standing at the lights, guitar case in hand, waiting to cross Shaftesbury Avenue? Mr. N. Price. It's all in the timing. As the lights were changing, a quick 'hello', let's go! 

The Spice of Life's basement space, with its half-decent piano, attracted a large crowd, little wonder given the calibre of musician(s) in the house. The advertised quartet became a quintet with the addition of one of the finest pianists on the British jazz scene, Leon Greening. On the stand at half past twelve were Price, Greening, Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax), Adam King (double bass) and Jazz at the Spice of Life MC, Richard Pite (drums). Now that's what you call 'A-list'! Guitarist Price handled the introductions, the quintet opening with Jeannine. No matter how many times you've heard these guys, they're never less than superb. The 'frontline' - Price and Xenopoulos - dovetailed their solos, Price, single line runs, dizzying chordal passages, Xenopoulos the cast iron tenor player with an old school swagger.

The Touch of Your Lips, Trieste, choice material, five musicians at the top of their game. Price described Adam King as: the finest bass player...anywhere. On the evidence of this gig it would be difficult to argue. Pianist Leon Greening sat hunched over the keyboard, his back to the audience, knocking out some tremendous stuff. What a band! For All We Know heard Price in full flow. An early morning journey, the thick end of three hundred miles to London, it was well worth the effort. The first set concluded with Four (Miles Davis long-since credited as the composer), a great first set with more to come...

Second set. Being a guitarist, it hadn't escaped Nigel Price's notice that today (March 6th) marked the centenary of the birth of Wes Montgomery. During the interval the musicians agreed to devote the second set to the music of/associated with Montgomery. Excellent! From Montgomery's 1962 Full House LP, Price and co opened with the title track. Jazz guitar heaven! Gone with the Wind with Price's Joe Pass-like coda, it doesn't get any better. Road Song featured pianist Greening soloing as if for his life. Wow! Old Folks, the set's beautiful ballad, segued into Young at Heart, great stuff. Sadly, the two thirty finish was fast approaching. Price knows his stuff, and, to close, our man suggested a blues - Blues 'n' Boogie. Price, Xenopoulos, Greening, King, Pite and the spirit of Wes Montgomery. What a start to the day! Russell        

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