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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.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

CD Review: Stacey Kent – The Changing Lights.

Stacey Kent (vcl); Graham Harvey (pno); John Parricelli, Roberto Menesal (gtr); Jeremy Brown (bs); Jim Tomlinson (ten/fl); Matt Home, John Morrison (dms)
(Review by Debra M.)
Stacey Kent’s tenth album, The Changing  Lights,  stems from her love of Brazil and its music, an obsession that began as a teenager, when she discovered the bossa novas of Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto. The album is a mix of Latin standards and Jim Tomlinson collaborations with writer Kazuo Ishiguro, and poets Antonio Ladeira and Bernie Beaupere.
The legendary Brazilian guitarist Roberto Menescal also guests on his own composition ‘O Barquinho’, and on the Tomlinson/Ladeira song  ‘A Tarde’. The  intention was to recreate the feeling of ‘saudade’ , a Portuguese word with no English counterpart, which Kent describes as a vague nostalgia directed towards what one has lost as well as towards what one has never had.. 
These sentiments are encapsulated in the title track, where  Ishiguro’s  ‘changing  lights’  are symbolic in  recollections of times gone by with a former lover, triggered by a chance street encounter. His lyrics also impress in ‘The Summer We Crossed Europe in The Rain, and  in ‘Waiter, Oh Waiter’, a light hearted take on the problems of deciphering the menu in an expensive restaurant. Kent’s conversational, whimsical delivery is reminiscent of Blossom Dearie entertaining the supper clubs of New York. Yet she sounds most at ease in the rhythmic, lilting ‘One Note Samba’ , initially sung accompanied only by drums, then featuring upbeat solos  and interplay by Graham Harvey on piano & Tomlinson on flute.
Stacey’s light, warm voice and precise intonation particularly suits the melodic phrasing and rhythms of Latin music, and Jim Tomlinson’s careful arrangements are sympathetic to her understated, subtle style.  This multilingual project is a natural progression of Stacey Kent’s musical journey, and will no doubt appeal to her established international audience.  However, it is unlikely to satisfy those who prefer more vocal dynamism and improvisation. How insensitive…..
Stacey Kent – The    Changing Lights is due for release by Parlophone on Sept. 16.
Debra M.

4 comments :

Anonymous said...

More pretentious waffle from the Olive Oyl of song!

Jim Oxley

Debra Milne said...

I (hopefully) presume you are referring to Ms Kent...

Anonymous said...

Play nice Jim,

Dom C

lupo said...

I would not call it pretentious, although the recording is probably uber-polished and it misses on the carefree spirit of Brazilian music. However, Stacey Kent is elegant, subtle and charming as ever. Probably too precise for her own good

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