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Bebop Spoken There

Dee Dee Bridgewater: “ Our world is becoming a very ugly place with guns running rampant in this country... and New Orleans is called the murder capital of the world right now ". Jazzwise, May 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

16408 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 288 of them this year alone and, so far, 85 this month (April 30).

From This Moment On ...

May

Mon 06: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 07: Calvert & the Old Fools @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 5:30-7:00pm. Free. Live recording session, all welcome.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 07: Suba Trio @ Riverside, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:30pm last entry). £21.00. All standing gig.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: Conor Emery: Jazz Trombone, Stage 3 Final Recital @ Music Studios, Assembly Lane, Newcastle University. 7:00pm. All welcome, the venue is located in the lane behind Blackwell’s, Percy St., Haymarket.
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 09: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 09: Lewis Watson Quartet + Langdale Youth Jazz Ensemble @ Laurel’s Theatre, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 09: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Dave Archbold (keys); Ron Smith (bass).

Fri 10: Michael Woods @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free. Country blues guitar & vocals. SOLD OUT!
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Citrus @ The Head of Steam, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £11.25.
Fri 10: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ St Cuthbert’s, Crook. 7:30pm. £10.00.

Sat 11: Jeffrey Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 11: Alligator Gumbo @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm.
Sat 11: Milne-Glendinning Band @ Yarm Parish Church. 7:30pm.
Sat 11: Tom Remon & Laurence Harrison @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 12: GoGo Penguin @ Wylam Brewery, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). All standing gig.
Sun 12: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Downstairs. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 12: Satin Beige @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £TBC. Upstairs. R&B cello & vocals. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 12: Fergus McCreadie Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £19.80.
Sun 12: Schmid/Wheatley/Prévost + Signe Emmeluth @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 13: Emma Fisk & James Birkett @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £8.00.

Tue 14: ???

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Prince and the Prince of Darkness

The worldwide publicity surrounding the death of rock legend Prince left me with nothing further to say. After all, he had little jazz affinity - or did he?
I began to wonder after reading a 1989 quote from Miles Davis saying "He [Prince] can be the new Duke Ellington of our times" seeing in Prince a kindred spirit to himself. The two did record and Davis featured several Prince compositions.Investigating further, I discovered references to Madhouse, a jazz/fusion band he formed with saxist Eric Leeds in Minnesota although I haven't heard them.
The photo shows Miles and Prince on NYE 1987 at Paisley Park.
This link tells more about the connection with Miles
Prince died on April 21, age 57, sadly missed by his many fans.
Rest In Peace.
Lance.

4 comments :

Patti said...

Dance, Music, Sex, Romance - what else is there to say indeed! What a genius .... and I've always loved the colour purple!

Richard Waddington said...

Having significant knowledge of Princes' music: my brother and best friend travelled to Edinburgh and Scotland respectively to see him, I have another friend who is a big fan, my wife likes him and I've heard a number of his albums and have been working through them chronologically; knowing Miles as an idol, or as near to an idol as I do these days, I can't help wondering whether Miles was being mischievous comparing Prince to Duke, who he refers to in his auto/ biography as the King of Jazz. Like Sinatra saying ' Something ' was the best love song for fifty years and attributing it to Lemon and McCartney.
Like Bowie, Prince was an accomplished popstar, doing the haircuts, clothes and attempting to create a media mystique, and like Bowie, he was one of the best though, unlike Bowie he was a fine guitarist, though the multi-instrumentalist bit is overstated.
Like Michael Jackson he was a better popstar than he was a Soul Artist.
He made enough good music to fill up a CD while Miles made dozens of great albums, many of which should be rated amongst the best albums ever made, and Duke made countless classics and may well be Americas' great composer.
Long after his contribution to music was over Miles remained a prickly character and we possibly shouldn't take everything he said too seriously.

Patti said...

Maybe it should be Music, Dance, Romance, Sex - in that order! But it probably wouldn't have scanned quite so well, with Prince's music!

Richard Waddington said...

Just come across an interesting quote in Rickey Vincents' tome 'Funk'.' When pop superstar Prince intimated that ' it's time for jazz to die ' in 1983, he touched the pulse of the musical community.' Given the trajectory of Miles at that time and his position within the jazz community which was turning its back on electricity, his comment seems less surprising. Plus there was that wardrobe to browse through.

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