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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.

Monday, September 07, 2015

CD Review: Durham University Big Band – overDUBB

(Review by Russell)
A collector’s item. This line-up is unlikely to be heard ever again on CD or any other format. A band comprising classicists, scientists and other disciplines, these guys will,   in a year or two, go their separate ways (some graduated this year, they’re out of here)     establishing careers here in Britain and across the globe. University bands come and go. The Durham University Big Band of 2015 vintage is one of the very best.
Tristan Bacon, the band’s president, Charles Price, band manager and MD Chris Jones should be congratulated on documenting the array of talent heard on overDUBB. It is a band with an enviable track record – winning awards at the Great North Big Band Jazz Festival has become routine! – and the eight selections on this CD are a mixture of  the standard big band repertoire and the new. The Oscar-winning film Whiplash hit British cinema screens in time to have a winning impact on the band, so it’s great that the then-tune-of-the-moment Overture (Whiplash) makes the cut. Drummer Tristan Bacon sets a tempo and Matthew Jacobs (keyboards) and Matt McKernan (tenor) contribute bang-on solos. The band’s alto man Dan Garel composed and arranged Of Wood and Water. The aforementioned Bacon and Jacobs are heard to good effect, as is Sam Clark (trumpet).
Star vocalist Laura Paul sings on Do Better. Star vocalist? You bet! Heard live, Ms Paul projects flawless vocals a la Norma Winstone, a neo-soul/hip hop approach of which the great Soweto Kinch would no doubt approve. From the hip to the hip…Sammy Nestico. Hayburner presents the band, the full ensemble. Sections at work, Basie-ites should have few complaints. The awards in the band’s trophy cabinet include the Durham Distillery Composition Prize 2014 for JJ Wheeler’s Homage. Contemporary, sprawling, sketching across a big band canvas, Dan Garel’s alto solo the focal point, award-winning guitarist Ollie Farley takes it home. To be listened to again, and again.
The soulful Laura Paul comes in after Farley’s chorded intro to Mind, a Hoochie Coochie girl if ever there was one. J Dilla’s Fall in Love keeps the vibe going and keeps Ms Paul on the stand. Garel features once more as the band changes tempo at will, ne’er a hip-hop beat dropped. Scott Chapman’s Barcarolle closes the album. Brass and reeds excel (Chris Jones, trombone), Bacon’s drumming holds it all together, McKernan’s tenor blows again and a final trumpet salvo from Sam Clark stills the orchestra.
Durham University Big Band – overDubb is a Jazz Plus Productions release available by contacting the band. www.uni.bigband@durham.ac.uk The quality of the recording is of a very high standard. overDUBB is highly recommended. Hearing the band live (check Bebop Spoken Here’s listings) cannot fail to impress. Go hear them!
Russell.
Durham University Big Band: Daniel Garel (alto saxophone), Felicity Evans (alto saxophone), Matt McKernan (tenor saxophone), John Somerton (tenor saxophone), Naomi Tansey (baritone saxophone), Noah Lawrence (trumpet), Sam Clark (trumpet), Rasmus Borowski (trumpet), Charles Price (trumpet), Nathaniel Jackson (trombone), Chris Jones (trombone), Joshua Harper (trombone), Luke Bentley (trombone), Matthew Jacobs (keyboards), Ollie Farley (guitar), Jonathan Berry (bass), Tristan Bacon (drums) & Laura Paul (vocals)               

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