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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.

Friday, August 10, 2018

LP Review: Thelonious Monk - MØNK

Thelonious Monk (piano); Charlie Rouse (tenor); John Ore (bass); Frankie Dunlop (drums).
(Review by Lance).
Previously unreleased recordings by Monk are always interesting and this one from a 1963 concert in Copenhagen is more than merely 'interesting' it's an absolute gem.
True, we've heard most of the pieces in the studio but, hearing them live is a totally different ballgame as this lovingly restored Gearbox release proves.

Monk is, of course, the quirky, unpredictable, musical alchemist we know and love/hate (delete as applicable) but, for me, the icing on any Monkian cake is Charlie Rouse - in effect, Monk's third arm.
Just as Johnny Hodges was never the same away from Duke, nor was Rouse as effective away from Monk.
Trane, Griffin and Rollins all played well with bebop's high priest but with Rouse, it was as if they were joined at the hip and I use the word advisedly. Rouse could interpret Monk's tunes and cope with the pianist's often clunky approach like no one else.
The tenor solos are long but never boring as he moves with serpentine agility through the changes; his sound and approach as individual as that of Monk himself.

Monk's individuality is never more apparent than on the solo performance of Body and Soul. It took me many years to fully appreciate his unique approach to the piano but, when I eventually did it was a Damascus moment. Parker and Gillespie may have been the PR men for bebop but Monk was the backroom genius, his innovations more complex than the blues and rhythm changes of the other two, great as they were.

John Ore performs the bass duties as expected and longtime Monk drummer Dunlop, like Rouse, knew Monk's music inside out.

Bye-Ya; Nutty; Monk's Dream and I'm Getting Sentimental Over You are the other pieces on this classic discovery - the original tapes, it is said, were rescued from a skip and, I quote, "faithfully restored, mastered and cut using Gearbox's legendary all-analogue process, making it a genuine AAA release (analogue recording, analogue mix, analogue master) and a treat for all audiophiles, enthusiasts, historians and music lovers alike".

Well, although I've only been working from a promo CD, I can go along with all that.
There's also, apart from the standard vinyl edition, a limited run, 500 copies only. special Collector's Edition vinyl release to be issued on a first come, first served, basis.
Yer pays yer money...

It's been a good year - Chet Baker, John Coltrane and now Monk. That Buddy Bolden cylinder might turn up yet and if it does,  Gearbox will give it the treatment!
Lance.
Available Sept.

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