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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Sat 23: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tanfield Railway, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. Free. A '1940s Weekend' event.
Sat 23: Jason Isaacs @ Stack, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 23: Andrew Porritt & Keith Barrett @ Cullercoats Watch House, Front St., Cullercoats NE30 4QB. 7:00pm.
Sat 23: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Country blues.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Monday, May 29, 2023

Sunday night @ the Globe: Matt Anderson Quartet - May 28

(© Ken Drew)
Matt Anderson (tenor sax); Jamil Sheriff (piano); Andy Champion (bass); Dave Walsh (drums).

The Globe was crowded even though it was one of those bank holidays that seem to turn up every other week. Perhaps folk are getting wise to the fact that there are better things to do than hanging around airports or being stuck in gridlocked traffic on these occasions.

Like listening to some live jazz by an ace quartet.

I've followed Matt Anderson's career with interest ever since I first heard him at the Scarborough Jazz Festival back in 2011 as well as via various albums and concerts in and around the north east that have seen him develop into a major player along the way.

Although the gig was part of a tour promoting his latest recording The Town and The City he didn't push it down our throats every five minutes as so many others do and he only actually played a couple of numbers from it. Sometimes the soft sell works better than the foot in the door approach.

After Wayne Shorter's Mister Weird they followed up with Joe Henderson's Punjab. I was unfamiliar with the tune and yet the opening two bars sounded very familiar (see graphic) then the penny dropped. That opening motif was a phrase that local trombonist the late Ronnie McLean invariably inserted into his solos. Irrespective of whether the tune was 12 bars or 32 bars those six notes in that order usually showed up somewhere along the line! As Ronnie had probably never heard of Joe Henderson (and vice versa) was this a case of great minds thinking alike?

Whatever, it was a fine Blue Note style romp. Sireen, was composed by Matt for his Armenian girl friend. A sombre introspective piece it wasn't exactly Nancy (with the laughing face) although it would be interesting to have some (English) words added to the compelling theme.

The Idiot, inspired by Dostoevsky's novel of the same name had an outstanding piano solo by Sheriff proving that he was no idiot before the set closed with Bud Powell's Celia. Out and out bebop with all four, like the audience, on a high.

Over the years I've invariably been knocked out by Andy Champion but his solo on Shorter's Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum was, even by his high standards, exceptional. He played more notes on double bass than, say, Tubby Hayes and Johnny Griffin combined did on tenor!

Prior to that we heard Monk's Bye-ya with Sheriff also on the money (lots of notes). Dave Walsh a powerhouse on drums driving hard on sticks, seducing softly on brushes, in short, a tower of strength.

Matt led from the front, setting the benchmark for everything that followed avoiding the trap of ending every number with a round of fours - less is more when it comes to fours!

A super session, a not to be missed one should they turn up in your neck of the woods. Lance  

Mister Weird; Punjab; Sireen; The Idiot; Celia; Bye-ya; Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum; New Old Blues; Dance Cadaverous; Green Shoots

1 comment :

Patti said...

What an ace gig this was! A packed house of very enthusiastic jazz fans loved every moment - the band were loving it too. Incidentally, Matt explained that 'Sireen' was a tribute to his Armenian fiancé, with the title an Armenian word for 'beautiful' - awww! 'Green Shoots' he told us was composed to celebrate the birth of his son, Robert - awwww, again!

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