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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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

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.
Mar 26: Pop Jazz @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. 'Jazzified' tunes by the likes of Sylvester, Bowie, the Monkees etc., feat. Alan Law, David Gray, Richard Herdman & Jude Murphy.
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).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Monday, March 23, 2015

CD Review: Vicky Tilson Quartet – Mojo Risin'


Vicky Tilson – double bass; Dee Byrne - alto sax; Stuart Fiddler – guitar; Reinis Axelsson - drums
(Review by Hugh C).
Vicky Tilson, a graduate of the Guildhall post-grad jazz course, formed her first quartet in 2009 and released an album, Picture from Jitske, in the same year.  Tales from a Forgotten City followed in 2010. 
Mojo Risin’, recorded at the Cable Street Records studios in East London where Reinis Axelsson worked as a sound engineer, enabled Tilson to record in analogue and “give the album a certain warmth that digital does not”.
The album features three re-recorded stand out tunes from the quartet's first two albums, together with six new pieces exploring themes of depression, determination, immortality and patience.
A total of just over 58 minutes. 
Inspiration came from the words of Jim Morrison in The Doors song LA Woman -Mr Mojo Risin’ ”.  Tilson considers mojo risin’ to embody “everything that is good about a person on the rise; improving, developing into something spectacular like a phoenix rising from the ashes”.  She felt that was how her life was going as she composed the album, having recently been through her own personal annus horribilis.
Only the Brave starts with a rhythmic groove by the bass 'n drums soon joined by Byrne on alto and Fiddler on guitar.  The track has a funky feel with short solo passages from each.  Black Dog takes the mood down (literally) soon to morph into a kaleidoscopic whorl of sound from Byrne's alto, to be followed by steady state in four, with some nice solo work from Fiddler's guitar.  Better Late Than Never has a more uplifting feel with clever interplay between alto and guitar over a driving tempo set by the rhythm section.  Funk is back with Boho Chic featuring nifty guitar work by Stuart Fiddler over Axelsson's drums.  Headlovin' continues in the upbeat tempo with stratospheric squeals from Byrne's alto interspersed with finger pickin' good guitar work by Fiddler. 
The Eternal Ending isn't - there's still three more tracks to go!  This features a beautiful melodic line by Byrne on alto sax.  There’s no let-up in the rhythm though.  As one might expect when the band leader is a bassist there is extensive bass solo work! 
The pleasant thing to this reviewer is how the solos are seamlessly integrated into the musical narrative.  Pas du Tout has a more reflective feel than the preceding tracks allowing for a more spread out appreciation of each instrumentalist’s contribution to the whole.  The Crunch and The Kicker take us out with an almost drum 'n bass feel to the latter.
This is a crackling listen – buy it! – available March 23 on the F-IRE label.  Catalogue number F-IRECD79.   The Quartet have gigs coming up in the South and in Northern Ireland.  These guys would sound great in the some of the more intimate venues here in the North East – programmers take note!
Hugh C.

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