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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

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).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Friday, February 01, 2013

CD Review: The Ken Hatfield Sextet - For Langston

Ken Hatfield (guitar, composer, arranger); Hilary Gardner (vocals); Jamie Baum (alto flute);  Hans Glawischnig (bass); Jeff Hirshfield (drums); Steven Kroon (percussion) Langston Hughes (1902-1967 lyrics).
(Review by Ann Alex)
Phew! This review has been done just in time for what would have been Langston Hughes birthday, which is February 1.  So what, you ask?  Well the CD is a celebration of Hughes’ poetry. His writing was part of what is known in the USA as the Harlem Renaissance, sometimes known as ‘Jazz Poetry’, verse evoking blues forms, easy to listen to, yet full of rich observations about love, life and politics.
Hatfield, the composer, has gathered superb musicians for this project, including Hilary Gardner, a skilled soprano using her voice as a jazz singer should, and Jamie Baum on alto flute, making an interesting change from the usual saxes and trumpets of the front line.
Tracks include an instrumental, Overture, with a distinctly urban sound, yet quirky as well; an amusing blues I Don’t Believe in Titles; (I quote)
        Do not call me doctor if I get a Phd
        Just keep on calling me sweetie, ‘cos that is good to me
        I don’t believe in titles when it comes to love’
This track has a good bass solo and a definite 1920’s blues feel.
Then there’s Lonely Nocturne, which is about coming home with no-one to welcome you, which manages to be sad yet playful; In Time of Silver Rain the flute imitates raindrops; Silent One, with a Latin beat and percussion solo of gently ringing cymbals; political songs, one about a dead soldier and another concerning youthful revolutionaries who have no doubts; Convent/Silence, an unusual song with soft continuous cymbals which cleverly give the effect of quietness and space.  The final track is a suitable ending, The Bells Toll Kindly, about dying to the sound of bells and remembering love, but not at all morbid. The general mood of the CD is optimistic, with lots of forward-moving tunes, and many short solos on flute and guitar.  Another disc I’m glad to have in my collection.
The Ken Hatfield Sextet: For Langston is released on February1, 2013 by Arthur Circle Music.
Ann Alex.

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