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Bebop Spoken There

Kelly Sill: "Just because everyone is playing through the changes in the same time doesn't mean they're actually playing together" - (JazzTimes March/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

15260 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 279 of them this year alone and, so far, 92 this month (March 29).

From This Moment On ...

April

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 04: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 04: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Bradley Johnston (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums).

Wed 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 05: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 05: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 05: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 06: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations. Feat. John Pope, Marie Shreer, John Garner.
Thu 06: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibtion Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 06: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Note earlier start time.

Fri 07: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: Gaz Hughes Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 07: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Traveller's Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 07: Finntet + Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion @ Bobik's, Punch Bowl, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.
Fri 07: TBA @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Blind Pig Blues Club.

Sat 08: Me Lost Me + Ceitidh Mac + Heather Ferrier @ Bobik's, Punch Bowl, Newcastle. 7:30pm. JNE.
Sat 08: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED from last week (Sat 01).
Sat 08: Robbie Reay @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Acoustic blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Sat 08: Anth Purdy @ Mr Tighe's, Bebside, Northumberland. 8:30pm.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

CD Review: Dave Askren/Jeff Benedict - It's All About The Groove

Jeff Benedict (alt); Dave Askren (gtr); John Belzaguy (bs); Ramon Banda (dms).
(Review by Lance)
Cool but not in a sanitised way, rather more of a groove which is what this albums all about. It's All About The Groove is a delicious mix of standards and originals by two great players supported by another two top notchers. Benedict's alto has a bright post Parker fluency that gets the enigmatic Nature Boy - even without words it's an enigmatic tune! - up and running, the enigma solved! Askren, is a lyrical guitarist. The pair combine to make Old Folks work over a Kansas City shuffle beat - now that's a groover's groove if ever there was one!
Monk's Mood is an artwork in balladry. Benedict soulful and sonorous, Askren expanding Monk's harmonic concept, making each chord, each solo flight another pastel to an already rich tapestry. Like Friends, based on Just friends, not surprisingly brings Bird to mind and the alto soars above the guitar like an eagle whilst the rhythm boys lay down a, quote: " funky half time swing groove" if you say so. Speak Low - swingin' up tempo - perfect for these guys who trade '8's with Banda before taking it out with such a relaxed swing it's impossible to credit how they can be so laid back and still play more notes than a racecourse bookie has in his satchel.
McCannism is dedicated to jazz soul master Les McCann. Captures the idiom perfectly. You Stepped Out of a Dream is straightforward swing that has everyone soloing whilst While We're Young is a delightful jazz waltz with the alto reminding us what a great tune this is - but then again, most of Alec Wilder's are!
Finally, the curiously titled, The Weather is Here, Wish you were Beautiful, a boppy up-tempo original by Benedict who lays down some post Charlie Christian lines before Banda boots it on its way.
A disc that should be everyone's playlist.
Dave Askren/Jeff Benedict - It's All About The Groove is available on the DaWay Music label.
Sound Samples.
Lance. 

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