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Bebop Spoken There

Victor Wooten: "People don't expect to have bass players get together and sound like music and not just like a bunch of elephants" (JazzTimes April, 2022)

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! --

Postage

14226 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 14 years ago. 445 of them this year alone and, so far, 45 this month (May 13).

From This Moment On ...

May.

Sun 15 Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon.
Sun 15: Tees Valley Jazzmen @ Hammer & Pincers, Preston le Skerne, nr. Newton Aycliffe. 1:00pm.
Sun 15: Foundry Jazz Ensemble @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 15: James Kitchman & Bruno Heinen @ Hexham Abbey. 7:30pm. £12.50. (ticket inc. admission to Abbie Finn Trio concert). Hexham Jazz Festival.
Sun 15: Trish Clowes’ My Iris @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00. adv., £12.00. door.
Sun 15: Abbie Finn Trio @ Hexham Abbey. 9:00pm. (£ see above). Hexham Jazz Festival.

Mon 16: Jazz in the Afternoon @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 16: Swing Manouche @ Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. Blaydon Jazz Club.

Tue 17: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 18: Four @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, North Tyneside. 1:00pm.
Thu 19: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 3:00-5:00pm. £1.00. All welcome.
Thu 19: Castillo Nuevo @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Thu 19: Maine Street Jazzmen @ Sunniside Social Club, Gateshead. 8:30pm.
Thu 19: 58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm. TBC.

Fri 20: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Vicari (piano), Andy Champion (double bass), Abbie Finn (drums).
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 20: Swing Bridge @ Garden House Coffee, Hallgate, Hexham. 4:05pm.
Fri 20: Castillo Nuevo @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 20: Customs House Big Band w Ruth Lambert @ Exchange, North Shields. 7:30pm.
Fri 20: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £12.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club. Vicari (piano), Andy Champion (double bass), Abbie Finn (drums).

Sat 21: Elkie Brooks @ Whitley Bay Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Sat 21: Jools Holland’s R & B Orchestra @ The Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Sat 21: Milne-Glendinning Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Sun 22 Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon.
Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Foundry Jazz Ensemble @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 22: Abstract Orchestra plays J Dilla @ Wylam Brewery, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Sun 22: Panharmonia @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00 adv., £12.00. door.

Mon 23: Jazz in the Afternoon @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

CD Review: Ali Ryerson's Jazz Flute Big Band - Game Changer.

Ali Ryerson (fl/md)Hubert Laws, Holly Hofmann and Nestor Torres + 16 flutes and Mark Levine (pno); Rufus Reid (bs); Akira Tana (dms).
(Review by Lance).
For years the flute was dismissed as 'not being' an authentic jazz instrument - the polls included it in their Miscellaneous Instruments section which was a disservice to the many fine flautists on the jazz scene. Wayman Carver with Benny Carter in the 1930's was perhaps the first but, since then, first with Frank Wess and Jerome Richardson, sax players who doubled, the instrument gained recognition. Herbie Mann was probably the first modern jazz player to make the instrument his main axe. In this country Harold McNair did the same during his brief spell on this planet. Then they all came along including Hubert Laws who is heavily featured on this disc.

A flute big band? 16 or 17 flutes plus rhythm might not at first seem like a swing recipe for success but, from the opening Daahoud I was hooked! 
Broken up into a traditional format with C flutes, alto flutes bass flutes and a contra bass representing sections the ensemble produce near as much tonal variation as you get from an orthodox big band setting.
Guest soloists Hubert Laws, Holly Hofmann and Nestor Torres supply the icing to this delightful cake.
The project itself is the brainchild of flute champion Ali Ryerson, herself an outstanding player. At no time did I miss the saxes, trumpets and trombones. A  great rhythm section added to this unusual but enjoyable set up. A choice selection of modern jazz standards - Shorter's Ana Maria; Oliver Nelson's Stolen Moments; Hancock's Speak Like Child;  Dizzy's Con Alma; Hefti's Girl Talk and Li'l Darlin'; Faurés Pavanne; Coltrane's Impressions;  Tom Harrell's Sail Away - made this an absolute gem.
If you're a flautist this album is a must. If you're not - it's still a one to check out.
Ali Ryerson's Jazz Flute Big Band - Game Changer is available on Capri Records.
Lance.
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