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Bebop Spoken There

Kelly Sill: "Just because everyone is playing through the changes in the same time doesn't mean they're actually playing together" - (JazzTimes March/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

15260 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 279 of them this year alone and, so far, 92 this month (March 29).

From This Moment On ...

April

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 04: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 04: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Bradley Johnston (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums).

Wed 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 05: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 05: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 05: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 06: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations. Feat. John Pope, Marie Shreer, John Garner.
Thu 06: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibtion Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 06: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Note earlier start time.

Fri 07: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: Gaz Hughes Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 07: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Traveller's Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 07: Finntet + Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion @ Bobik's, Punch Bowl, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.
Fri 07: TBA @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Blind Pig Blues Club.

Sat 08: Me Lost Me + Ceitidh Mac + Heather Ferrier @ Bobik's, Punch Bowl, Newcastle. 7:30pm. JNE.
Sat 08: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED from last week (Sat 01).
Sat 08: Robbie Reay @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Acoustic blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Sat 08: Anth Purdy @ Mr Tighe's, Bebside, Northumberland. 8:30pm.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

CD Review: Manu Katché – Unstatic

Ellen Andrea Wang (bass, vocals); Manu Katché  (drums, vocals); Jim (James) Watson (piano, keyboards); Tore Brunborg (saxes); Luca Aquino (trumpet)  +  Nils Langren (trombone).
(Review by Hugh C)
Manu  Katché was born in 1958 in France and initially studied classical piano at age 7 in Paris.  At age 15 he enrolled at Conservatoire National de Paris and subsequently became a session and concert drummer.  He began to come to international attention in the mid-'80s when he was involved in recording and touring projects with Peter Gabriel and Sting.  He then acted as a backup musician with a variety of international artists in various genres but including Jan Garbarek.  He joined the ECM stable in 1999, releasing his first disc, Neighbourhood, followed by (in 2007) Playground.
On Unstatic, he performs with a truly international band. The first track Introducción, is a catchy rumba and does what it says on the bote – setting the tone for the rest of the disc.  The title track Unstatic kicks off with a decidedly funky groove underpinned by Katchés drumming and given that funky feel by Englishman Jim Watson's fingerwork on keyboards.  Flame&co (is there a pun in there?) follows on, taking the pace down a little, but still with a driving rhythm overlain by Aquino's nifty trumpet work.  The frantic City permits no rest until the gospel style Blossom follows featuring Brunborg's melodic alto saxophone and vocals from Wang and Katché; the listener can now draw breath.  The balladic Daze Days maintains the meditative atmosphere of the previous track with thoughtful trumpet and saxophone from Aquino and Brunborg respectively.  Rolling has both drum 'n bass setting the rhythmic undercurrent, over which the horns can play - featuring also a chorus from the beautifully toned trombone of Nils Landgren.  The track rolls away and fades to Ride Me Up.  Solo piano from Watson introduces Trickle, Wang's bass is to the fore in this track.  Katchés drum-work provides an insistent after-beat on Out of Sight over which the trumpet and saxophone weave melodic interplay.  The distinctly smoooth sound of Presentation concludes the show and MC, drummer, bandleader and composer Manu Katché introduces us to the band, as if in a live setting.
I have admired and enjoyed Katchés work since purchasing Neighbourhood way back when.  Unstatic is a fine addition to his output and is released by Anteprima Productions on April 22 in the UK. catalogue Number CD18021.  No tour dates are currently listed for the UK, but you can next catch the band at the Lublin Jazz Festival in Poland on April 24.
Hugh.

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