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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 2024.

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!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

CD Review: Stacey Kent – The Changing Lights.

Stacey Kent (vcl); Graham Harvey (pno); John Parricelli, Roberto Menesal (gtr); Jeremy Brown (bs); Jim Tomlinson (ten/fl); Matt Home, John Morrison (dms)
(Review by Debra M.)
Stacey Kent’s tenth album, The Changing  Lights,  stems from her love of Brazil and its music, an obsession that began as a teenager, when she discovered the bossa novas of Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto. The album is a mix of Latin standards and Jim Tomlinson collaborations with writer Kazuo Ishiguro, and poets Antonio Ladeira and Bernie Beaupere.
The legendary Brazilian guitarist Roberto Menescal also guests on his own composition ‘O Barquinho’, and on the Tomlinson/Ladeira song  ‘A Tarde’. The  intention was to recreate the feeling of ‘saudade’ , a Portuguese word with no English counterpart, which Kent describes as a vague nostalgia directed towards what one has lost as well as towards what one has never had.. 
These sentiments are encapsulated in the title track, where  Ishiguro’s  ‘changing  lights’  are symbolic in  recollections of times gone by with a former lover, triggered by a chance street encounter. His lyrics also impress in ‘The Summer We Crossed Europe in The Rain, and  in ‘Waiter, Oh Waiter’, a light hearted take on the problems of deciphering the menu in an expensive restaurant. Kent’s conversational, whimsical delivery is reminiscent of Blossom Dearie entertaining the supper clubs of New York. Yet she sounds most at ease in the rhythmic, lilting ‘One Note Samba’ , initially sung accompanied only by drums, then featuring upbeat solos  and interplay by Graham Harvey on piano & Tomlinson on flute.
Stacey’s light, warm voice and precise intonation particularly suits the melodic phrasing and rhythms of Latin music, and Jim Tomlinson’s careful arrangements are sympathetic to her understated, subtle style.  This multilingual project is a natural progression of Stacey Kent’s musical journey, and will no doubt appeal to her established international audience.  However, it is unlikely to satisfy those who prefer more vocal dynamism and improvisation. How insensitive…..
Stacey Kent – The    Changing Lights is due for release by Parlophone on Sept. 16.
Debra M.

4 comments :

Anonymous said...

More pretentious waffle from the Olive Oyl of song!

Jim Oxley

Debra Milne said...

I (hopefully) presume you are referring to Ms Kent...

Anonymous said...

Play nice Jim,

Dom C

lupo said...

I would not call it pretentious, although the recording is probably uber-polished and it misses on the carefree spirit of Brazilian music. However, Stacey Kent is elegant, subtle and charming as ever. Probably too precise for her own good

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