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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.

Monday, November 23, 2015

CD Review: Malija – The Day I Had Everything

Mark Lockheart (tenor & soprano saxophones, bass clarinet), Liam Noble (piano) & Jasper Høiby (double bass) + Ligeti Quartet: Mandhira de Saram (violin), Patrick Dawkins (violin), Richard Jones (viola) & Val Welbanks (cello) (tracks 2 & 11)
(Review by Russell)
Malija comprises three familiar names on the contemporary European jazz scene; Mark Lockheart (Loose Tubes, Polar Bear), Liam Noble (Julian Siegel, Bobby Wellins, Tom Rainey) and Jasper Høiby (Julia Biel, Phronesis). The reeds, piano and double bass trio began their enduring working relationship in 2009 recording, and subsequently touring, Lockheart’s In Deep CD project. The Day I Had Everything is, according to Lockheart: about many musical things…to me this is London jazz music, distinct and different from the American sound.
Eleven tracks, five composed by Lockheart, three each by Noble and Høiby, with strings augmenting two cuts, The Day I Had Everything is a masterful example of chamber jazz markedly of our time. Elegant, subtle, robust, heart-felt, this new Edition Records release surprises, and, in turn, reassures the listener. Myriad influences pepper the recording (CD and LP format); Ellingtonia, township, tango, classical motif, late-night Ronnies’ hosting the great American horn players of yesteryear. The opening track – Squared – is the first tune the trio ever played together. It reminds the trio of a ‘bluegrass feel’. It certainly has a forward motion propelled by Lockheart’s tenor.
Noble’s Mr Wrack strides purposefully into an urgent, discordant tenor squall. Lockheart’s The Pianist is a piece inspired by two musicians that the composer and pianist Noble – Duke Ellington and Earl Hines – love to bits. Measured Ellington and muscular tenor somehow work hand in glove. Malija (Ma – Mark; li – Liam, ja – Jasper), the title track, embraces breathy tenor, stately classicism, an elegant township melody as might be played by Loose Tubes, resolving on Høiby’s bass pattern.
Almost a Tango may or may not be almost a tango. One thing is for sure – the tune shifts constantly, never still, twisting tenor, Noble’s commanding piano. Mark Lockheart’s One for Us sounds for all the world like a celebration of the magic of the moment when, only in jazz, the music captures the essence of why so many listen to it. You’ve been there – a beer in hand, late night, a great gig, then one tune hits home. Jazz at its best.
The Ligeti Quartet recorded two contributions at Trinity Laban, London (strings arranged by Mark Lockheart) and the trio recorded over two days in Cardiff at Fieldgate Studios in May, 2015. The Day I Had Everything by Malija will be released on November 27. The Edition Records CD catalogue no. is: EDN 1064. Heartily recommended.      
Russell.

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