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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wednesday, October 09, 2013

CD Review: Dan Willis and The Velvet Gentleman The Satie Project II

Dan Willis (oboe, soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones, piccolo, English Horn, clarinet, baritone clarinet, contrabass clarinet, duduk, zurna, Chinese flute, hiririchi, yokobue and EWI); Pete McCann (electric guitar); Ron Oswanski (accordion, B3 organ, Wurlitzer, electric piano); Kermit Driscoll (electric and double bass); John Hollenbeck (drums); Richard Sosinsky (double bass (11); Todd Low (ehru); Entcho Todorov (violin); Mark Vanderpoel (electric bass (7); Pablo Reippi (marimba, vibraphone and pitched gongs).
(Review by Steve H).
One of the very few Classical CDs in my collection is an album of piano works by the composer Erik Satie so I was very interested to receive this album with a jazz interpretation of the ‘Velvet Gentleman’s’ work. The CD did not disappoint. The interpretations of Satie’s compositions by Willis are fascinating and the multi instrumental renditions revelatory. This album features 3 main compositions of Satie the Gnossiennes #2 to #6 the Pieces Froides 1,11,111 and 3 takes of Vexations although not necessarily in that order.
Many of the instruments featured I have never heard of.  I thought Duduk and Yokobue were international footballers who played for Liverpool and Everton respectively but they turned out to be just 2 of the 11 instruments Willis plays, including a Hiririchi which not even a Google search could find. The nearest I could get was a Hibachi which is a Japanese barbecue! Fortunately, I found some explanations in the accompanying notes. Willis plays 3 types of double reeded instruments: a Hiririch from Japan, a Dudek and a Zurna from Armenia. Meanwhile a Yokobue is a Japanese flute and an Ehru is a two string Chinese violin. This  amazing collection of instruments makes each tune a delightful discovery where you simply do not know what you will hear next - be it a beautiful Oboe and bowed double bass on Gnossienne #5, an electro fusion on Gnossienne #7 or an oriental jamboree of the aforementioned double reeded instruments on Gnossienne #3.  
For those hoping to hear work similar to the gentle minimalist work of the late 19th century they may be taken aback, but for those wanting to experience a creative, contemporary, unique and exciting creation, they will be wholeheartedly entertained by the whirr of the Wurlitzer, the thrill of the Ehru, the warmth of the Zurna and the happy hiririchi to name but a few. 
The Satie Project 11 is available on Daywood Drive Records.
Steve H.

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