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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

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.

Tue 03: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Paul Wight (drums).

Thursday, October 25, 2012

CD REVIEW: All Upon A Lovely Summer’s Day: Burton Bradstock


Burton Bradstock aka Jimmy Cannon (vocals, arranger); Dorian Ford (piano); Iain Ballamy (saxophone); Julian Ferraretto (violin); Pete Berryman (guitar and co-arranger); Riaan Vosloo (bass); Tim Giles (drums); also various musicians playing strings
(Review by Ann Alex). 
This is an unusual CD of traditional folk songs played and sung in a jazz-like manner by very talented musicians who have excellent credentials and much experience.  My reaction, as a jazz-loving folkie, was mixed. 
I doubt if this would appeal to lovers of very traditional folk song, but jazz fans may like it better, as there is plenty of jazz involved.  As for folk, there are some very successful tracks, but some tracks veer too far towards classical music because the strings are overused, thus missing the gutsiness of real folk music.  The vocalist sings in a pleasantly slightly husky voice, which would have suited more gutsy, adventurous arrangements, moving away from the tune, maybe even with a bit of scat.  I think Iain Ballamy should have been used more – after all this instrument (saxophone) is starting to appear in folk clubs.
I did like The Foggy, Foggy Dew, one of the less complex arrangements, with a ragtime piano accompaniment and brushed drums percussion – very effective.  Then there was John Barleycorn (all about growing barley and making beer, but from the barleycorn’s point of view), a no-holds-barred modern jazz arrangement with a distinctly drunken sound.  All Things Are Quite Silent is a song about the press gang, and the tragic theme deserved more than just luscious playing by the strings.  Early One Morning was a missed opportunity, which needed a more lively singing style.
As I said, this is a group of skilled musicians, who should maybe try more folk song arrangements, with some instrumental only tracks, and a selection of songs such as Border Ballads, which can be done well as Blues.  I know this works, because some musicians from the Newcastle Folk Degree did this in a Sage concert last year. 
The CD -  All Upon A Lovely Summer’s Day: Burton Bradstock - is released on October 29th on the F-IRE label, catalogue number F-IRECD 58.  There is a CD launch at the Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho on 30th October.
Ann Alex (Russell is nowhere in my name!)

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