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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

15491 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 512 of them this year alone and, so far, 133 this month (May 31).

From This Moment On ...

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.
Sun 04: Jam No. 18 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.

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).

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Monday, May 27, 2013

CD Review: Moss Project: What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes?

Moss Freed (composer, bandleader, guitar); Ruth Goller (acoustic/electric bass); Alice Zawadzki (vocals/violin); Shabaka Hutchings (tenor sax/bass clarinet); Marek Dorcik (drums)
The writers: Naomi Alderman (The Bubble); Colum McCann (Anniversary); James Miller (What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes); Lawrence Norfolk (Caravans); Joe Dunthorne (Freud And Jung In The Tunnel Of Love); Hanan al-Shaykh (The Angel)
(Review by Ann Alex.)
This started out as a CD of original compositions which developed into a whole project which involves an attractive booklet with writing by distinguished modern authors and skilled evocative artwork by Aaron Munday.  To get the most enjoyment out of this work, it would be a good idea to set aside 2 hours to read the stories and poem, besides listening to the music.  Or why not do as I did, and listen to the music and readings at the same time?  LondonJazzNews was lucky enough to be at the launch on March 6, which involved a live performance – see www.mossfreed.com for an account of that, where you can also hear the writing read out by the authors.  Another listener that I consulted, who is an ardent jazz fan, said that he actually enjoyed reading the booklet more than the music, so it seems that you pays your money and you takes your choice!
The music is highly impressionistic and lies somewhere between jazz and contemporary folk, with lots of wordless sweet-voiced singing, skilled musicianship, (goes without saying).  The music doesn’t describe the stories exactly but is near enough to make sense of the two together.  You'll find lots of long sweeps of sound, percussive beats repeated by the voice, ethereal sounds, sometimes an intriguing ‘free’ jazz feel, an organised cacophony, with a few jazz solos as such.  Hard to describe, you must hear it for yourself.
The Bubble is an amusing tale of a woman with a bubble inside herself and the music is full of bouncy rhythm.  The author reads in a refreshing down to earth voice, none of that special ‘poetical’ voice adopted by some readers of poems. Anniversary is a more serious tale of a woman in church, and What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes is about a woman trying to get to sleep, but really much more than that. Caravans concerns pub quizzes and friendship, and I had difficulty in understanding the poem about Freud and Jung.  The Angel was definitely my favourite piece of writing, a heartwarming but unsentimental story about a heroin addict, with a surprise ending, well matched by the music.
An enjoyable multi-faceted experience, a CD which should probably be listened to more than once.
Released on the Babel Label, catalogue number BDV131114

Ann Alex 

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