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Bebop Spoken There

David Hadju: "It was kind of a lightning bolt [seeing a photo of a hi-fi store that's now occupied by a phone store]. Everyone had hi-fi systems, now everyone has a phone" - (DownBeat May 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

Sun 28: Bradley Creswick's Western Swingfonia @ Whitley Bay Carnival. Free. Plaza Arena stage. 12 noon.
Sun 28: MSK @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 12:15pm. Free. Marquee stage. MSK - Steve Glendinning, Katy Trigger, Martin Douglas.
Sun 28: Musicians Unlimited @ The Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Back Chat Brass @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 1:30pm. Free. Marquee stage.
Sun 28: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Tim Kliphuis Trio @ St Mary's Church, Wooler NE71 6BZ. 3:00pm. £15.00 standard; £5.00 student/unwaged; free under 18. Afternoon Cocktail, a Wooler Summer Arts' concert promotion. Kliphuis (violin); Nigel Clark (guitar); Roy Percy (double bass).
Sun 28: Back Chat Brass @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 3:00pm. Free. Plaza Arena stage.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 28: King Bees @ The Delaval Arms, Old Hartley NE26 4RL. 5:00pm. Free. Chicago blues at its best!
Sun 28: Matt Anderson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Anderson (saxophones); Jamil Sheriff (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Dave Walsh (drums).

Mon 29: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 30: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 30: Big Chris Barber Band @ Whitley Bay Playhouse. 7:30pm.

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.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

CD Review: Deborah Latz - Fig Tree.


Deborah Latz – vocals; Jon Davis – piano; John Hart – acoustic & electric guitars; Ray Parker – double bass; Willard Dyson – drums, percussion; Peter Apfelbaum, tenor & soprano sax, flutes, percussion, Abdoulaye Diabate – voice on She Was.
(Review by Debra M.)
Fig Tree, Deborah Latz’s third album, comprises vocal jazz classics plus a number of World Music - flavoured songs, mostly original compositions. The opening   Blue Skies has a laid back, slightly funky groove. Other stylishly delivered standards  include; Hi-Fly, You’d be so Nice to Come Home to and S’wonderful, the latter featuring Ray Parker who can be heard  vocalising  his  solo.
The Brooklyn based singer has made the most of her top notch ensemble, with Parker and Jon Davis making compelling contributions, especially in duets with the vocalist. Embraceable You, by far the shortest track, is sung virtually acapella with Parker soloing on double bass throughout. This stripped down arrangement highlights Latz’s heartfelt interpretation of the lyric, as well as the purity of her tone and fine vocal control. She is also a linguist, and  is at ease with Latin rhythms, giving a relaxed rendition of Corcovado and E Luxo So in Portuguese, and of the Hellenic  folk song  Fevgo in Greek.
The guest multi-instrumentalist Peter Apfelbaum plays a treat, with a gorgeous tenor sax solo on Ill Wind, as well as making significant contributions to Latz’s originals. 
She Was,  an unusual  musical eulogy to her stepmother,  begins with a soundscape of percussion, bass and flute evoking a storm, which resolves into the sound of the ocean. It also features the Malian singer Abdoulaye Diabate, providing distinctive vocal contrast while Latz  explores the soprano end of her range. You Are, another unconventional composition,  dedicated to her husband, articulates her devotion through a sung love poem and Apfelbaum’s responsive, delicate and fluid tenor. And in the swinging  title  track, everyone has some fun  while  Latz’s “whimsical” lyric describes various animals getting together and hanging out under the Fig Tree. Her vocal improvisation is a menagerie of whistles, purrs, meows and growls, giving  an overall effect of ‘Johnny Morris meets Jazz’. Not a track for the purists, but possibly an amiable introduction to the genre for children…..
The 2 strands of this album - jazz standards, especially ballads, and original compositions / World Music - don't quite meld together. However they do  illustrate  the quality and distinctive nature of Deborah  Latz’s repertoire.
Deborah Latz - Fig Tree is available from May 7, 2013
Debra M.

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