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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.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. 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, August 17, 2012

Lindsay Hannon @ The Sage, Gateshead.

Lindsay Hannon (vcl); Alan Law (pno); John Pope (bs); Mark Robertson (dms).
(Review by Lance.)
When Lindsay sings Why Try to Change me Now? I'm lost - her slave forever! The rest of her program could consist of Baa Baa Black Sheep sung backwards in Russian in 7/4 time and I wouldn't care! This was a defining moment and it was also her opening number.
Why Try to Change me Now? - a Cy Coleman tune with a triple rhyme lyric by Joe McCarthy - is one of the songs that brought Frank back into the public eye and, whilst I'm not making comparisons, Lindsay's version offers a great alternative take with its up tempo chorus and relaxed middle eight.
Nice one.

Lindsay didn't follow up with Black Sheep but instead chose Joni Mitchell's Blue Motel Room. Another gem with the lyric, You and me are always like America and Russia, catching my ear.
The superlatives are just too many to mention - The Very Thought of You (up tempo a la Anita), Billy Joel's Where is the Orchestra? the beautifully poignant Old Fashioned Hat.
Interval time, good to meet up with Bill Weston again. and Ann's friend Kath - who, like Ann, is one of  Lindsay's singing students.
The second set opened with some Herbie Hancock before moving back to Joni Mitchell and The Hissing of the Summer Lawns. Mitchell's lyrics are incredible (He gave her a room full of Chippendale that nobody sits in.) There Will Never be Another You taken out of tempo before the second chorus explosion. John Pope's bass solo on this was right on the money as indeed it was throughout. Special mention of Alan Law who hit solos worth Euro Millions - Euro? Nah, these were top dollar!
The number "borrowed" from Lindsay's pop group Iceni was sensational - almost a suite with its pastoral feel that flanked Law's explosive moments in the middle..I Ain't Got Nothin' But The Blues, St. Louis Blues and So-long Big Time (hard boiled Bogie type narrative from drummer Mark to bring it in) kept the adrenalin flowing until it was all over and we sank down into our seats and agreed that Lindsay Hannon Plus had added a helluva lot more plus' to their name.
It was near perfection, Great singer, Great trio, Great acoustics, Great dress, Great night - so why was it only "near perfect?"
It didn't last forever!
Lance.

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

It is great that Joni Mitchell is part of the repetoire of our jazz singers as the lyrics are incredible and she has a great jazz sensibility having worked with Mingus, Shorter, Hancock, Pastorius. I was interested to see in Lol Coxhill's obituary in the Guardian that he was apparently the inspiration for Mitchell's song 'For Free' when she saw him busking by Hungerford Bridge. Who says free jazz has no influence?
JC
ps - Thanks to Cameron, Rebekah Brooks and the Leveson Inquiry we now know Coxhill's first name stands for 'laugh out loud' and not 'lots of love' - it seems to fit.

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