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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 2023).

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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller's Rest, Cockerton. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public). Note change of venue - this week only.
Wed 22: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Thu 23: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcasatle. From 6:30pm 'til late. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Thu 23: Kerrin Tatman + John Garner & John Pope @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 23: Sunna Gunnlaugs & Julia Hülsmann @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm. A two-piano gig. A Sage Gateshead-JNE promotion.
Thu 23: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano.
Thu 23: Sleep Suppressor @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv. Upstairs.
Thu 23: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

CD Review Jacqui Sutton, Notes From The Frontier, A Musical Journey


Jacqui Sutton (vocals, producer and musical director); Paul Chester (banjo, guitars); Anthony Sapp (basses); Ilya Janos (percussion); Eddie Lewis (trumpet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet); Henry Darragh (keyboards, trombone, melodeon); Lyndon Hughes (drums, background vocals); Cindy Scott (background vocals) Aralee Dorough (flute); Bob Chadwick (Irish flute).
(Review by Ann Alex).

How is a new musical genre created?  I guess it evolves gradually from the work of many musicians over a period of time.  Then there comes a day when they realise that they have something different from what has gone before, so it gets a label such as ‘bluegrass’ or, say, ‘western swing’.  I ask because this CD claims to be something new called ‘frontier jazz’, which is said to be a mixture of jazz, bluegrass, classical, musical theatre and folk music.  The mixture didn't work for me, but others may like it.  I heard too many disparate sounds, with vocals which didn't always match the meaning of the song lyrics.  This was a pity because Ms Sutton has a lovely voice, and the musicians are skilled with effective solos on some of the tracks.  It’s not really a jazz CD, but rather nearer to a country music feel.  The songs themselves were well worth singing.
The more acceptable tracks were Dear Friend, a sad song from musical theatre about being stood up, with an ethereal effect from the synthesizer; Weary Angel, a jazzy spiritual with good banjo and trumpet work and all the musicians playing in a final jam; Hummingbird, which incorporates Brubeck's Blue Rondo a la Turk riff into the accompaniment is an interesting experiment that may or may not have come off; Blue Mountain, a straightforward country song;  and the final track, Better Than Anything, a witty song listing everything that is not better than falling in love, which included nifty jazz piano and guitar solos.  Many of the other eight tracks worked instrumentally but the singer sometimes lapsed into singing in a soprano voice which didn't, at least to my ears, sound quite right.
I believe the CD was released in early October in the United States, Catalogue number TBTP002.
Ann Alex.

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