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Bebop Spoken There

Vadim Neselovskyi, Professor of Jazz Piano, Berklee College of Music: “Every pianist has to deal with a very complex left-hand part at some point. This is the essential pianistic experience – to split your brain into two halves and execute two very different tasks at the same time.” – (Down Beat September 2017).

Roscoe Mitchell: “To me, improvisation is trying to improve your skills so you can make these on-point compositional decisions. That takes practice.” – (Down Beat September 2017)

Archives

Today Monday September 25

Afternoon.
Jazz in the Afternoon - Crescent Club, 1 Hudleston, Cullercoats NE30 3OS. 1pm. Free.
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Classic Swing - Marquis of Granby, Streetgate, Sunniside NE16 5ES. 0191 4880954. 1pm. Free. New mainstream gig w. Bob Wade (trumpet); Olive Rudd (vocal) and other familiar faces.
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Alastair Lord (trumpet) & Kris Thomsett (organ) - St. Nicholas Cathedral, St. Nicholas Square, Newcastle NE1 1PF. 1:05. Free (retiring collection).
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Evening.
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To the best of our knowledge, details of the above events are correct but may be subject to alteration.

Thursday, July 07, 2016

Book Preview - Go Slow: The Life of Julie London.

For those who, myself included, have, at times, been scathing about the song Cry me a River and it's seemingly obligatory - along with Summertime - part of the wannabees repertoire, may like to read this essay by Michael Owen. It's a prequel to his soon to be published book - Go Slow: The Life of Julie London.
Cry me a River was such a tremendous, albeit low-key, influence on just about everyone who heard it and bought the record. It invaded Hollywood in the Jayne Mansfield film The Girl Can't Help it. Did Ms. Mansfield ever imagine that a smoky-voiced, unseen, unknown, artist, would eclipse her more obvious physical charms? I left the cinema that night in Newcastle - was it the Odeon or the Essoldo? I can't remember. All I can remember was this haunting song, sung by a singer who made me want to cry a river myself because there was an ocean dividing us!
The years rolled by and I cried a few personal rivers, thankfully not vocally, until, suddenly, Cry me a River became the number that every singer sang. It may have begun with Mari Wilson - her of the beehive hairstyle. Wilson's version was ok but not quite Julie.
Every girl still sings it, maybe it's a rite of passage...
Ella recorded Cry me a River but, even the 'First Lady'  couldn't trump Julie! 
Thanks to Maurice  Summerfield for bringing this to my attention and providing the author with info re Barney Kessel.
Lance.
at

4 comments :

  1. I'll def have to get this one ...... and I might even fry me a liver to eat while I start reading it!

    ReplyDelete

  2. yes me too, but hold the liver!

    ReplyDelete

  3. According to my quack, my liver's already fried - suggested I ate some onions....

    ReplyDelete

  4. Jack Webb had himself a cutie!!!

    ReplyDelete

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About this blog - contact details.

Bebop Spoken Here -- Here, being the north-east of England -- centred in the blues heartland of Newcastle and reaching down to the Tees Delta and looking upwards to the Land of the Kilt.
Not a very original title, I know; not even an accurate one as my taste, whilst centred around the music of Bird and Diz, extends in many directions and I listen to everything from King Oliver to Chick Corea and beyond. Not forgetting the Great American Songbook the contents of which has provided the inspiration for much great jazz and quality popular singing for round about a century.
The idea of this blog is for you to share your thoughts and pass on your comments on discs, gigs, jazz - music in general. If you've been to a gig/concert or heard a CD that knocked you sideways please share your views with us. Tell us about your favourites, your memories, your dislikes.
Lance (Who wishes it to be known that he is not responsible for postings other than his own and that he's not always responsible for them.)
Contact: lanceliddle@gmail.com I look forward to hearing from you.

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