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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 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

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Monday, March 19, 2018

Book review: Peter Jones: This Is Hip - The Life of Mark Murphy.

"This book needed to be written for a number of reasons, the first being that Mark Murphy deserves greater recognition than he achieved in his lifetime. He mastered the art of jazz singing to an extraordinary degree, taking it to levels appreciated only by those few who knew about him and understood what he was doing."
So reads the opening paragraph by his biographer Peter Jones.
Jones is an established singer himself with several highly rated albums to his name and, no slouch with the pen either making him the ideal person to write this study of the enigmatic Murphy.
Murphy is credited with around 40 albums. Each one looked at with varying degrees of scrutiny by Jones.

Despite his admiration for the singer, Jones eschews the use of rose-coloured glasses giving his opinions as he sees and hears them. Which is how it should be.
In between, or rather intermingled with, the music we learn much about Murphy's early days, his attempts to 'make it as a singer (those attempts often foiled by his own uncompromising mission to do it 'his way'). His big love affair and the grief that followed the early death of his partner. After this tragedy, he found, in Sheila Jordan*, a tower of strength whose friendship helped him through the darkest days. 
I wasn't expecting it to be but this was a totally unputdownable book. In fact, the few times when I did put it down, apart from eating and sleeping, was to seek out and listen to a particular track singled out by the author. This led me to listen again to Rah, released by Riverside in 1961, which is according to Jones, a favourite with his fans which makes me a fan too. It's a great album.
It was actually 1985 when I became an out and out fan which was when I heard him  for the one and only time live. This was at one of the popular Newcastle jazz venues of the time - the Corner House in Heaton.
It was also where I met Whitley Bay resident Norbert Warner who published a fanzine, Mark's Time, which ran for almost 20 years and only ceased publication when Murphy and Warner fell out. This too is covered in This is Hip.
The sadness of his last years are painful to read and yet, in November 2012, he was able to record a vinyl EP for Gearbox: A Beautiful Friendship - Remembering Shirley Horn. Debra M reviewed the album in 2013 and waxed eloquent: 
This is an outstanding tribute, capturing the essence of Shirley Horn, and an absolute masterclass of vocal and piano trio.
Mark Murphy died on October 21, 2015, aged 83. It is wonderful that his memory lives on, not just with his music but with this, written from the heart, biography which also has a comprehensive, session by session, discography.
Lance
Peter Jones: This Is Hip - The Life of Mark Murphy. Equinox Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78179-473-9. © Peter Jones.
* Sheila Jordan appears at this year's Gateshead International Jazz Festival April 6-8.

1 comment :

Derek Lambert said...

Mark was playing Greys Club, Newcastle in the mid 70’s, he came to stay with me over a weekend. A quite strange person till you got to kniw him. My young children were unsure about him at first but then decided he must be an American gangster.....
I watched him on stage for a week solid and enjoyed every minute.

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