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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Triptych @ The Lit & Phil. May 22

Paul Edis (piano & clarinet), Paul Susans (double bass) & Rob Walker (drums)
(Review by Russell)
Triptych are: left panel Paul Edis, centre panel Paul Susans, right panel Rob Walker. The canvases prepared by Edis (composer of four of the eight numbers performed), form kept in perspective by Susans, watercolour fills applied by Walker. Classical English pastoral, broad-brush swing time sections, beer-fuelled, early morning groove.
The Lit & Phil’s monthly Friday lunchtime sessions continue to draw the crowds. Those in the know knew this was sure to be a good one and it was. The audience listened in the knowledge that the performance was being recorded. How High the Moon began the one hour set. A jazz piano trio master class – as simple as that. Edis composed Montage in a state of anguish/delirium/despair during a mind-numbing stint in the orchestra pit at one of the region’s many pantomimes (think of the money, Paul!). Composed in the quest for creativity, it largely succeeded. Oh, yes it did! Edis’ Murmurations (ask an ornithologist) threatened to lay claim to the tune of the afternoon; piano intro hinting at Misterioso, the bass line manfully kept on the straight and narrow by the bar stool-perched Susans, Rob Walker’s drumming razor-sharp in response to every subtle compositional shift.
Paul Susans’ Beer For Breakfast hit a groove and kept right on. The Pilgrim Street Set’s monthly residency at Hoochie Coochie (the Triptych boys are involved) could appeal to those who got this one. Dark Ages went back in time to …the Dark Ages. Edis switched to clarinet, partially closing the triptych panels, slowly sketching a quasi, ancient Indian tune (Walker’s hand drumming exemplary). Edis’ panto blues found him reading a book about JS Bach. It proved to be the creative spur resulting in Cerebral. Cerebral? Perhaps. Great playing, for sure. Bach must have been an outstanding improviser. Just imagine if, one day, the man walked in to the Lit & Phil (or Jazz Café) asking to sit in! As Triptych set about tackling the piece Susan’s peered at the score and said (in jest): What do these things here mean?
To close the afternoon’s entertainment Edis announced Percy Grainger’s English Country Garden. Previously played as a solo piano piece, this trio version worked well. Township jazz, or suggestions of it, could be heard. Perhaps Edis could arrange the tune for a sextet (horns) feature. Next month’s session features the Mo Scott Trio. Ms Scott – Empress of the Blues – will be in the company of Paul Edis and bassist Neil Harland. Expect jazz and blues. Expect it to be good, very good. The date for your diary: Friday 19 June (1:00pm).      
Russell.              

1 comment :

Lance said...

Russell/Paul, correct me if I'm wrong but I've always thought Percy Grainger's adaptation was titled simply "Country Gardens". It was only when words were added and recordings made by Jimmie Rodgers, Rolf Harris and others that it became "In an English Country Garden". So, unless Paul was singing, perhaps the original title should have been retained.

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