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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.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

CD Review: Centennial - Newly Discovered Works of Gil Evans.

(Review by David Brownlow).
An American arranger called Ryan Truesdell (no, I hadn’t heard of him either) has assembled a stellar group of musicians and soloists to perform and record ten previously unheard works of Gil Evans on the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. The pieces have been recently discovered among the manuscripts kept by Gil’s family – wife Anita and sons Miles and Noah – and used with their permission.
There are pieces drawn from three areas of Gil’s career i.e. “The Thornhill Years” “The Individualism of” and the “Vocalists”.
Thornhill: Maids of Cadiz; How About You; Who’ll Buy My Violets; Dancing on a Great Big Rainbow.
Individualism: Punjab; Barbara Song; Waltz/Variation on the misery; So Long. 
Vocalists: Smoking my Sad Cigarette; Beg Your Pardon; Look to the Rainbow.

The “Thornhill” pieces are shorter and have a delightful mid - 1940s feel including some “Danny Polo”-ish clarinet from Scott Robinson and early “Red Rodney”- ish brassy trumpet from Greg Gisbert. All exhibit Gil’s typically ingenious orchestrations with rich textures and adventurous, unexpected voicings of instruments.
The three “Individualism” items are longer explorations of Gil’s which point the way towards his later work including extended solo sections. There are “David Sanborn/Chris Hunter” style alto solos from Steve Weston, some exceptional free-flowing vibes work from Joe Locke (standout soloist for me ) and some pithy choruses from Donny McCaslin on tenor.
A version of“Punjab” was recorded in 1964 but never released. Ryan Truesdell added tabla accompaniment to the arrangement and it now flows sympathetically. In “Barbara Song”, Gil used a section which emerged later in his career as “Copenhagen Sight” and “London”. Gil often returned to arrangements - sometimes years later- to review or revise them. “Waltz/Variation” spans 500 bars making it the longest work of Gil’s. The main theme is “The Time of the Barracudas” in which he developed and added to by extending sections and adding new melodic content. Truesdell considers it to be Gil’s “magnum opus” as it exemplifies his extraordinary abilities as a composer. One can only agree !
The three “vocal” pieces are :-
“Smoking my sad cigarette” sung by Kate McGarry
“Beg Your Pardon” sung by Wendy Gillies
“Look to the Rainbow” sung by Luciana Souza
Each of these songs showcase Gil’s unique skills in a different way. The only criticism I have is that at times, the backdrops are a little too busy - detracting slightly from the vocals.
In conclusion, this CD is a respectful tribute to Gil from Ryan Truesdell, the Evans family and ourselves, the jazz-loving public.
David Brownlow.

1 comment :

Ann Braithwaite said...

Thanks much for posting David Brownlow's review of Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Centennial CD.
I most appreciate it.
All the best,
Ann Braithwaite

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