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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

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Sat 23: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tanfield Railway, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. Free. A '1940s Weekend' event.
Sat 23: Jason Isaacs @ Stack, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 23: Andrew Porritt & Keith Barrett @ Cullercoats Watch House, Front St., Cullercoats NE30 4QB. 7:00pm.
Sat 23: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Country blues.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

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.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

CD Review: Dorothy Doring and Phil Mattson - Compositions By Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn


Dorothy Doring (voice); Phil Mattson (piano)
(Review by Ann Alex).
This CD does just what is says on the tin, or rather the CD insert, and does it really well. I’d recommend this if you're feeling depressed, as the general effect is cheering despite some sad love songs, and if it’s nostalgia you're after, there’s lots of that from these mainly 1930’s and 40’s numbers.
Dorothy Doring is an experienced singer of country, rock and blues, as well as jazz, and has a rich, cool vocal tone with a vulnerable edge.  Phil Mattson, twice nominated for a Grammy award, is a skilled arranger for bands such as Manhattan Transfer, and has accompanied such artists as Bobby McFerrin.  His piano is well matched to the songs, with short solos and a variety of styles, including hints of rags and American musicals.  The 11 tracks are: Day Dream; Everything But You; Something To Live For; Love You Madly; I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good; In A Mellow Tone; Lush Life; I'm Just A Lucky So And So; I Didn't Know About You; I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart; Heaven.  
I liked especially Everything But You, which lists everything the singer possesses, including ‘a knife and a fork to spoon with’.  Clever lyrics abound in these songs with lots of witty rhymes. In A Mellow Tone is a lively swing with rag elements from the piano; Lush Life (most readers will know that Strayhorn did both words and music) is sung in a halting, intimate, sensitive voice, and the lyrics give us lots of internal rhymes such as ‘where one relaxes on the axis of the wheel of life’.  The final number, Heaven, (Ellington, later, from 1967) is a wonderful ethereal tune with an airy feel which suits the subject, but what a difficult song to sing.  I tried, and just couldn't grasp the tune.  Well done, Ms Doring!
The CD is available on the Artist Records label, with a street date of March 26, 2013, and can also be obtained via iTunes; CDbaby.com; and Amazon.com.
Ann Alex

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