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Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 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

15478 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 499 of them this year alone and, so far, 120 this month (May 27).

From This Moment On ...

May 2023

Wed 31: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 31: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 31: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 31: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

June
Thu 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations.
Thu 01: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 01: Jake Leg Jug Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: Joseph Carville Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 02: Claire Martin & Her Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £25.00., £20.00. Feat. Jim Mullen, Alex Garnett & Jeremy Brown.
Fri 02: Guy Davis + Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm. Blues double bill.
Fri 02: Anders Ingram @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Country blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Kurt Elling & Sheila Jordan @ The Southbank Centre/ Queen Elizabeth Hall. November 14

Kurt Elling vocals/ Laurence Hobgood piano/ John McLean guitar/ Clark Sommers bass/ Bryan Carter drums.
Sheila Jordan vocals/ Brian Kellock piano/ Kenny Ellis bass/ Stu Ritchie drums.
(Review by Debra Milne.)
This year's London Jazz Festival has featured a number of vocalists, and one of the highlights was the double bill of Sheila Jordan and Kurt Elling. Ms Jordan was accompanied by her favourite pianist Brian Kellock (who was also with her at the Sage Gateshead a few years ago) and his trio. 
Beginning her set with a low key Hum Drum Blues the lady soon got into her stride with Wouldn't It Be Lovely. The strength of her voice may reflect her 84 years, but boy can she swing, and the rhythm and phrasing of her scatting was immaculate.  A cheesy show tune transformed into a jazz vocal master class. This was followed by a bossa version of All Or Nothing At All, and Workshop Blues,  a self-penned tune she uses with her students, during which the audience and the entire band had a musical workout. 
The most affecting piece was Jimmy Webb's The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, and Kellock played such a beautiful solo, that Ms Jordan responded by placing a great big smacker of a kiss on his glistening head, whilst he was still playing. Her ability to deliver well timed, witty lyrics and vocalese came to the fore with Sonny Rollins' Pent Up House and in her last number, a blues in which she described her life story. As if relieved to have reached the end of the set, she held nothing back and her voice was more powerful. Yet there was something in reserve for Lament performed as an encore.
Kurt Elling and his band provided great contrast, although both singers use vocal improvisation as an
essential part of their performance. Elling's latest project, with long term collaborator pianist Laurence Hobgood, is a selection  of songs spanning several  decades, written in the Brill Building at 1619 Broadway.  Elling opened with a soaring Come Fly With Me, and this also showcased the band. The young drummer Bryan Carter and bassist Clark Sommers were set up as close as possible, and stayed in each other's pockets all night. 
Elling & Hobgood explored a number of well-known tunes, and their arrangements changed them into quite different pieces of music, exemplified by Sam Cooke's You Send Me. Guitarist Jim McLean's simple riff, and Elling's reworking of the melody, turned a classic pop song into something deeper and groovier. Elling also had some fun with vocal improvisation using electronic effects, before seguing into On Broadway, where the edginess of the drums and bass captured not only the mood of the lyric, but also that of New York City.  Most impressive of all was Elling's voice - the warm timbre maintained over a huge range, and his expressiveness and intonation. 
In songs such as I Only Have Eyes For You, he related the lyric with sensitivity, using his awesome vocal power with restraint. And all too soon, the set climaxed with Nature Boy, starting as a sweet ballad, which served as an introduction into an up tempo piece with extended solos all round. The band returned from their standing ovation with Kurt Elling and Sheila Jordan hand in hand - she watched most of his set from the side of the stage. The audience were then treated to a duet which included Moody's Mood For Love, with both singers providing additional vocalese  including references to the US election & Elling's (allegedly) cross-dressing bass player. Just Brill.
This show is due to be broadcast on Radio 3 on January 6 2013.
Debra Milne.

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