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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.

Saturday, October 01, 2016

Dave Lyttle Trio @ Jazz Café - September 30












David Lyttle (dms/perc); Tom Harrison (alt); Pete Turner (bs).
(Review by Lance/Photos courtesy of Mike Tilley).
The trio played, a slow minimalist number that had the audience thinking that maybe they just had time to catch "Chas and Dave" around the corner at the O2 Academy!
The silence was the loudest ever heard,
Irishman Lyttle explained that Lazy Afternoon was dedicated to the late Louis Stewart, an early mentor of the drummer/leader and we all felt slightly uncomfortable that we hadn't recognised it as such.
RIP Louis.
Things levelled out with Perpetual Smile that could have been retitled Perpetual Alto as Harrison soared like a bird for chorus after chorus building up to a climactic end leaving us all breathless . This was fine alto playing with barely a cliche in sight.
After the Flood and some amazing hand drumming. Hand drumming seems to be the in thing amongst present day percussionists  and few, if any, do it better than Lyttle who somehow incorporated shakers and scrapers into the mix. More prodigious alto playing and a bass solo from Turner making his debut with the trio,
Lullaby of the Lost featured Jean Toussaint - talking! No, the former Jazz Messenger hadn't popped in for a bottle of Geordie Jazz, instead, Lyttle who, like Harrison, has been much inspired by Toussaint played a recording of the great man giving out advice to aspiring jazz musicians as a backdrop to the music. The gist of which was to be yourself making an analogy with fingerprints. Every person's fingerprint is different and so it should be with each musician's style.
In a perfect world...
Certainly, as a band, the David Lyttle Trio falls into that category.
The set closed with Benny Carter's Wonderland. A tune, previously unfamiliar to me, with a catchy hook that the guys did justice to. 
Time to refresh and catch-up before we were off again.
A wailing blues with solos all round including some frantic 4's.
Facebook Emancipation - a cynical look at today's obsession with smartphones and their intrusion into all our activities. Demonstrated by Lyttle calling a halt mid-tune to check for a text and later Turner sharing an image on his phone before continuing with the music. It's one of the saddest aspects of society today, not least because we're all guilty of it from time to time! 
I Couldn't Do it involved some taped narration the relevance of which escaped me (I was probably checking my emails when it was explained) but the playing was ace.
Jazz Wars, a tongue in cheek look at what is and what isn't jazz, fused a multitude of styles and genres culminating with the inevitable drum solo.
The encore was a surprise - Lucky to be Me, one of the less familiar numbers from On the Town. In the film, it was sung by Gene Kelly and here Tom Harrison danced beautifully around the melody.
Very appropriate for a Friday night in Newcastle as there were plenty folk On the Town (or should that be Toon?) but they hadn't been to the Jazz Café so I did feel Lucky to be me!
Gig of the Year contender!
Lance.


1 comment :

Pam Young (on f/b) said...

Yeah Lance I felt lucky to be there too. Great gig.

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