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Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 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

15478 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 499 of them this year alone and, so far, 120 this month (May 27).

From This Moment On ...

May 2023

Wed 31: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 31: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 31: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 31: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

June
Thu 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations.
Thu 01: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 01: Jake Leg Jug Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: Joseph Carville Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 02: Claire Martin & Her Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £25.00., £20.00. Feat. Jim Mullen, Alex Garnett & Jeremy Brown.
Fri 02: Guy Davis + Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm. Blues double bill.
Fri 02: Anders Ingram @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Country blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

Saturday, May 16, 2015

CD Review: Buddy Rich - Birdland

(Review by Russell).
A 2015 Oscar nomination, the ongoing demand for posthumously released Buddy Rich material and private on-the-road recordings made by a keen (prescient?) band member. Birdland represents the Buddy Rich band in concert during the latter half of the 1970s. Eleven tracks recorded on tour at unspecified locations (some at Birdland?), the lack of   discography matters little.
The private recordings are those of Alan Gauvin. In his excellent notes accompanying Birdland the saxophonist readily acknowledges the lo-fi quality of the recordings. The life of a touring musician – travel, hotel, soundcheck – didn't afford him the luxury of achieving professional standard recordings: I started out recording on a Sony portable tape deck/AM/FM console with built in speakers and external mike inputs and a thirty dollar Radio Shack stereo mike placed right up in front of the sax section. Years later Gauvin is now able to make available these recordings to the Buddy Rich fan base.
Alan Gauvin reveals that he got along just fine with Buddy Rich. He witnessed volcanic temper tantrums and lived to tell the tale! The Oscar-winning Whiplash gave an impetus to the release of Birdland. Digital downloads exceeded expectations and the CD format will be released on May 25 (a vinyl LP is scheduled for a release on June 22 - now that would be nice!). Rich gave his blessing to Gauvin recording concert performances (had he heard the results it may have been a different matter!) and we should be grateful that the Buddy Rich archive is enhanced with the addition of Birdland.
Mexicali Rose opens the CD and it is immediately apparent that the sound quality isn't that of twenty first century studio recordings. The band sound is listenable (the vitality one associates with any Rich outfit is evident), the soloists’ contributions (great as they undoubtedly are) suffer in terms of being off-mic. This doesn't detract from the listening experience. In fact, it makes one listen all the more intently. The band’s featured tenor sax soloist Steve Marcus can be heard (he produced a big sound fitting for the Rich band) and others are clearly identifiable; Gauvin himself (alto) on Milestones, Turk Mauro (on God Bless the Child, Bob Mintzer on Moment’s Notice (it should be noted that Mintzer is on this track only) and the ‘Killer Force’ trumpet section (Dave Stahl, Dean Pratt and Ross Konikoff with either Jon Marshall or Waynon Reed) hit the rafters on Three Day Suckers.
Buddy Rich does play a couple of trio features (he wasn’t totally intent on blowing away the audience) with Just Friends and I Hear a Rhapsody but it is, of course, the sheer thrill of one of the great big bands roaring at the behest of it’s leader that makes Birdland an essential purchase. Buddy Rich Birdland is released on May 25 on Lightyear/Lobitos Creek Ranch (catalogue no. 5365646223).              
(Russell).
Buddy Rich (drums/bandleader), Alan Gauvin (alto & soprano saxophones, flute), Bill Blount (alto saxophone), Frank Basile (alto saxophone), Steve Marcus (tenor & soprano saxophones), Bobby Mintzer (tenor saxophone & flute), Turk Mauro (baritone saxophone), Rick Stepton (trombone), Dale Kirkland (trombone), David Boyle (trombone), Dave Stahl (trumpet), Dean Pratt (trumpet), Ross Konikoff (trumpet), John Marshall (trumpet), Waymon Reed (trumpet), Barry Keiner (piano), Tom Warrington (bass guitar) & Jon Burr (bass guitar) + various tracks Chuck Wilson (alto saxophone), Gary Pribek (tenor saxophone), Dave Kennedy (trumpet), Chuck Schmidt (trumpet), John Mosca (trombone), Clint Charmin (trombone) & Ed Eby (trombone).   

2 comments :

Jacob Morrison-Wood (Wienerworld) said...

A fantastic review – please pass on our thanks and appreciation to Russell..

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post I purchased the CD digitally from Amazon and there are no liner notes. This is a good representation of Buddy's work and Keiner was a great pianist.

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