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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise 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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller's Rest, Cockerton. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public). Note change of venue - this week only.
Wed 22: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Thu 23: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcasatle. From 6:30pm 'til late. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Thu 23: Kerrin Tatman + John Garner & John Pope @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 23: Sunna Gunnlaugs & Julia Hülsmann @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm. A two-piano gig. A Sage Gateshead-JNE promotion.
Thu 23: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano.
Thu 23: Sleep Suppressor @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv. Upstairs.
Thu 23: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

CD Review: Hank Marvin - Django's Castle.

Hank Marvin (gtr); Nunzio Mondia (acc); Gary Taylor (gtr); Pete Jeavons (bs)* .
(Review by Lance).
The pattern for rock/pop artists, as they approach the September of their years, seems to be to record an album of standards. Conversely, those singers who've spent their life interpreting the GASbook, as the years catch up with them, turn to more contemporary material. Each group hoping to attract a new audience - it rarely works.
However, in the case of the legendary Hank Marvin this could be the exception that proves the rule! Guitarist, Marvin is frequently cited as the biggest influence on the early British rockers such as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Jeff Beck etc and the sound of The Shadows was unique in the pre Beatles/Stones era. As such, when his relatively recent [2002] passion for the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli emerged I sensed it would be no half-baked imitation but a sincere, and yet original, tribute to the grandmaster of gypsy jazz which I guess it is.
The tunes are all part of the familiar Hot Club repertoire - Swing 42, Minor Swing, Viper's Dream, After You've Gone, Coquette, Honeysuckle Rose etc. - and the treatment is respectful with Mondia's accordion offering a contrast to the thumping guitars of the originals.
Listening again to The Shadows Twenty Greatest Hits album it suddenly occurred to me that, had Django been born 30 years later, he could well have composed Apache, Foot Tapper etc!
Yes an enjoyable album but, with so many Gypsy Jazz ensembles scattered around the world from Tyneside to Tupelo, it may only be Marvin's name that sways the listener to choose it over the rest. Marvin, of course, was born in Newcastle and it is fitting that another band working the same side of the street - Djangologie - are also north east based.
Hank Marvin - Django's Castle is currently available on Mtm Music Pty Ltd.
*Robbie Pisano (bs on 2 tracks) Matt Willis (bs on 1 track.).
Lance.

1 comment :

Hugh said...

Quality will always show through in these circumstances. I have a copy of Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton Play the Blues (http://wyntonmarsalis.org/discography/title/wynton-marsalis-and-eric-clapton-play-the-blues). This is a great album with a very classy version of "Layla". There is a YouTube version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvNIivHdy0Q

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