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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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!"

Postage

15867 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 874 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (Sept. 25).

From This Moment On ...

September

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Erin Dickins Interviewed - A Bebop Spoken Here Exclusive!


1: Great album and such a great mix of tunes - standards like Can’t We Be Friends - how did you know that is my favourite song! Who shared the vocal?
Songs come from all kinds of sources…..I just adore that song! I was doing a regular gig at a fantastic little Italian restaurant called Scossa, in my hometown. A member of the staff, my friend Greg Rohman, had a jazz mix up while we were loading in one night. I told him how much I liked his taste and he burned me a disc of that mix. Well, I first heard this song (done by Ella and Louis Armstrong) while I was in the car and I had to pull over. It just knocked me out!
From the first listen, I knew exactly whom I wanted for the duet – my producer, Jesse Frederick. Jesse and I have been great friends and singing partners for many years and we are totally inside each other’s heads. I knew the key would be perfect for him, so I took a big leap of faith and tracked it.  He kept saying, “No, you should get a well-known jazz-er to do it.”  So, I actually talked to Jon Hendricks about the solo. But before I took it to him up to New York, Jesse recorded a reference vocal of the male part so Jon could hear the duet. It was perfection. Jon loved the recording, but was doing some touring at the time, so we couldn’t get him in the studio soon enough to lay the vocal.  I was secretly glad, because I really, really wanted Jesse to sing it!  And guess what? Jesse’s original reference vocal, which he sang in one take, is the final that you hear on the CD. He is an absolutely amazing singer, and I am a very happy artist!! I would LOVE to have Jon on something soon, and I’ll work on that!
 2: Can I be honest and say I don’t recall you with Man Tran? I remember Janet and Laurel so maybe you were there before them? If that was the case, going by your photo today you must have been 6 years old!
Totally! I was young enough that my mother had to sign my deal with Capitol Records!!! I was a founder of the original group with Timmy, Pat Rosalia, and Marty Nelson. Laurel and I used to do a lot of studio work together back then and Janis and I were friends, but didn’t work too much together. They started in maybe 1973 I am thinking? I attribute all my years of clean living for my youthful looks and my great memory! LOL!
3: When you left MT did you pursue a solo career immediately or was it for family reasons (I know I could check all this out but nice to have it from you.)
No, I actually got into doing studio work. New York was the heart of the recording industry and there were amazing projects going on. I recorded with Jaco Pastorius, The Talking Heads, Yoko Ono, Leonard Cohen, Gregg Allman, Roberta Flack, and many, many others.
4: Do you work with a regular band or various musicians according to the gig?
All of the above.  In a perfect world, I’d like to have the same cats play all my gigs, but that only happens when touring. I play a lot with just solo piano - with an amazing musician named Stef Scaggiari. My favorite configuration is rhythm, three horns, accordion, synth for color and a couple of singers.
5: The band on the CD is just perfect and the songs - woo-hoo! Love the title track!  Who wrote that one?
The band on the CD is astounding. My feet never touched the ground during those tracking sessions! Rob Mounsey is singularly the most tuned-in pianist I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!! His feels and melodic sense are impeccable. David Finck, Francois Moutin and Ray Marchica were just over the top, too. Totally delicious.
Bobby Troup wrote the title tune, Nice Girls Don’t Stay for Breakfast, for his wife, Julie London, with co-writer Jerome Leshay. I can just picture her singing it. I love that sultry, velvet-y melody. And I love tunes with a hook and a little humor. Yep, great tune.
6.Did you have a particular artist who inspired you to go in the direction you have taken?
All of them!  It’s not so much an artist as the music itself that is my muse. When I hear a great melody or an amazing groove, I am hooked. Music owns me and I find it irresistible. It just fills every cell of my being with joy!
7: Do want to just add a few things here that may interest lovers of your/our kind of music in the UK?
Oh, gee. Well, I am into a ton of things. I adore animals and would have a hundred if I could! I love to cook and travel. And tennis….love to play  tennis. And I love writing. Writing is a very cool way to find out about yourself. Sometimes the things that come out of my mind are a total surprise to me! I spent much of my youth with horses - riding and hunting and showing. It taught me responsibility, forgiveness and compassion. I am a student of A Course in Miracles and I think that my life is filled with miracles everyday.
8: If you do come to Europe/UK let me know - I’ll be first in line!
Sign me up! I am looking for an agent in the UK and Europe? Any ideas?
Lance, is there a chance that you might review the CD on your site? Thank you so much for all the help and support you give to indie jazz artists, and for your very kind words to me! Hope to meet you in person very soon!
Peace and Pearls,
Erin
May 2011.
Lance.

3 comments :

Liz said...

another example of your encyclopedic music memory and interviewing skills..well done Lance, you bring your subjects to us in many ways, and none better than this.
Liz

Lance said...

Never mind my "interviewing skills" the main person here is Erin who I think is a really fine singer and who deserves wider recognition.
But thanks anyway Liz - I'm flattered.

Liz said...

to be honest Lance, I wasn't familiar with her singing. However I am familiar with your sterling work on this site, hence my praise for you rather than the lady. I shall now make a point of listening to Erin as you are seldom wrong in your judgement!
Liz

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