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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, January 22, 2018

CD Review: Melody Gardot - Live In Europe

(Review by Ann Alex)
An album of live recordings which our singer and her band did in various cities in Europe, during the period 2012-2016. Ms Gardot explains that she originally thought she would choose the best tracks she could find, but then she decided it should rather be ‘a postcard from our tours of Europe’ giving ‘the feeling, the nostalgia, the memory’ of performances, and be a gift to herself as well as to the listener.
The information is taken from the website, www.melodygardot.co.uk.  and there are no lists of musicians. The songs appear to be originals, except for Over the Rainbow, mostly love songs, and Ms Gardot’s style leans towards cabaret, with something subtly French about the singing, which is often quiet, intimate, breathless, almost muttered. Listeners need to hear the songs a few times to fully appreciate the artistry. I estimate the instruments involved to be guitar, keys, saxes, (some tracks) strings, clarinet, flute, drums, and some delightful cello and very skilled double bass, which often introduces each song.
The cities visited include Paris, Bergen, Lisbon, London, Zurich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Utrecht. The Rain (Bergen) is highly descriptive, with long, lowering guitar chords, crashing piano chords, a strong jazz tune from saxes, and a bass solo, signifying ‘goodbye’ to a lover. Our Love Is Easy is a flowing tune, sung with breathless intimacy. Deep Within the Corners of My Mind is a song of longing with string accompaniment. From Lisbon, we hear a Latin number with percussion, clarinet and flute, and singing in Portuguese (I think). Other titles include Baby I’m A Fool; So Long; My One and Only Thrill; Les Etoiles; Goodbye. The album is rounded off with a long track, March for Mingus, which includes most of the instruments giving us a strong jazz tune, saxes in harmony, eastern type vocals, then a final band mash up with a gospel song.
I found this to be a quite listenable CD but maybe something of an acquired taste, and I’m not sure whether I would eventually acquire that taste or not. It is available as a double CD or a triple vinyl LP.
Ann Alex
PS: It’s almost 10 years since the start of BSH, so it seems like a good time to acknowledge a debt that I owe to Lance. I first met Lance when we were both members of a writers’ group in South Shields, in about 2003. (Lance writes a mean crime story, did you know?)  And since I’ve been encouraged to do reviews, it’s made me a bit more fluent with other writing, as writing is like a muscle, use it or lose it. So I’m grateful to Lance that I’m writing other stuff besides reviews, such as a few folk influenced songs. And then there’s the other debt to Lance, the £20 I owe him from when we recently shared a taxi from the Globe. Coming up soon Lance!
(In a perfect world I’d say ‘Forget the £20’ … in a perfect world - Lance)

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