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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 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

17630 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 904 of them this year alone and, so far, 49 this month (Dec. 20).

From This Moment On ...

December

Fri 20: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 1:00-3:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 20: Baghdaddies @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Smokin’ Spitfires @ Platform 1, East Bedlington Community Centre. 7:00pm.
Fri 20: Pete Tanton’s Christmas @ 1719, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Fri 20: Alligator Gumbo @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Abbie Finn’s Finntet @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 20: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sat 21: Lindsay Hannon Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £15.00. ‘Swinging with Christmas Songs’.
Sat 21: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 21: Jackson’s Wharf Xmas Party @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 7:00pm. Free. Featuring the New ’58 Jazz Collective.
Sat 21: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sun 22: Hot Club du Nord @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £15.00. + bf. Xmas party. SOLD OUT!
Sun 22: Red Kites Jazz @ Gibside Chapel, nr. Rowlands Gill. 1:00pm. Admission charge applies.
Sun 22: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 22: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Revolutionaires @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Superb rhythm & blues outfit.
Sun 22: Laurence Harrison, Paul Grainger & Mark Robertson @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Line-up TBC.
Sun 22: The Globe Xmas Party @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Live music (musicians TBC).
Sun 22: Ray Stubbs R & B All-Stars @ Zerox, Sandhill, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).

Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED!
Mon 23: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 4:00pm. Free.
Mon 23: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Mon 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.

Tue 24: Lindsay Hannon & Mark Williams @ Ernest, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 11:00am-1:00pm. Free.
Tue 24: Paul Skerritt @ Mambo Wine & Dine, South Shields. 1:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.

Wed 25: Wot? No jazz!

Thu 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free. TBC.
Thu 26: The Boneshakers @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. The 17th annual Boneshakers’ Shindig.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Friday, August 19, 2016

CD Review: Fred Hersch Trio - Sunday Night at The Village Vanguard

Fred Hersch (piano); John Hébert (bass); Eric McPherson (drums).
Review by Dave Brownlow.
Hersch, rightfully acknowledged as one of today’s jazz masters is, like good wine, maturing with age! His choice of challenging material inspires himself and his cohorts to enthusiastically respond with vitality and sensitivity – especially, here, in the freer atmosphere of  this March 2016 session at The Village Vanguard NYC, scene of so many classic recordings.

Rogers and Hammerstein’s A Cock-eyed Optimist (an unusual vehicle for a jazz group), after an ‘impressionist’ intro, bounces cheerfully along, yes, even optimistically, with Fred spinning long lines in the upper registers of the piano.
Serpentine, the first of four originals, is a minor-keyed piece in an out-of-tempo ‘free’ style where all three contribute equally.
The Optimum Thing based on the chord changes of Irving Berlin’s The Best Thing For You opens at a brisk tempo then accelerates to a gallop. (On other nights, I’m informed, it decelerates!) This contrafact is a similar idea to Lee Konitz’ SubconsciousLee which uses Cole Porter’s What Is This Thing Called Love for its chordal base.
Calligram - an avant-garde piece dedicated to French pianist Benoit Delbecq who writes his scores in graphics. Clusters of atonal notes á la Cecil Taylor, and seemingly unconnected, lines of music abounding. McPherson’s drums clatter away in the background in the Elvin Jones style - Make of it what you will!  Blackwing Palomino (the name of a brand of pencil) is Hersch’s fourth original. A cleverly-chorded bluesy piece which swings along with a logically developed piano solo and great support from bass and drums. Again, McPherson is prominent throughout with a constant commentary of stylish rhythm.
Lennon and McCartney’s For No One is given a slow rendition far removed from the Beatles’ own take. Hersch knows the sad lyrics about a breakup and delivers a performance which draws a sympathetic response from the audience.
Kenny Wheeler’s Everybody’s Song But My Own is a wonderful tribute to the trumpeter who died last year. This is a song which everyone seems to know because it is based on a musical device known as ‘The Circle Of  Fifths’ which has been used by composers from time immemorial. Kenny Wheeler’s title ironically points this out !
Jimmy Rowles’ The Peacocks is a ballad the melody of which uses many chromatic intervals and is difficult to play – that’s why it’s not often heard. The trio gives a masterly performance with some shimmering interplay between the keyboard and percussion – one of the highlights of the album.
Fred Hersch always closes a set with a Monk piece – this time it’s We See which bounds along with impish humour. His own chordal choices show respect for the original, amply enhancing the performance to great audience reaction.
Valentine is the unaccompanied encore. This is quite an exquisite melody (to which Norma Winstone added some powerful lyrics on a previous duo setting) given a simple but emotional performance by the pianist to round off another great CD.
Overall then, a fine album with nods to the past, present and future
Available now from Palmetto-Records.com or Amazon or download it from itunes.
Dave Brownlow

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