Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17421 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 695 of them this year alone and, so far, 100 this month (Sept. 30).

From This Moment On ...

October

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 07: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30-8:30pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Wed 09: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 09: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 09: Shunya, Dudù Kouate & Seb Rochford @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). £21.00.

Thu 10: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 10: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. ‘Collaborations - it happened all the time’.
Thu 10: Indigo Jazz Voices w. the Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.
Thu 10: Side Cafe Orkestar @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 10: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. With guests Donna Hewitt (sax); Bill Watson (trumpet); Graham Thompson (keys); Ron Smith (bass). Free.

Fri 11: Dulcie May Moreno @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 11: The Jazz Quartet + Stratosphonic @ Tynedale Rugby Club, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £15.00. A Rotary Club of Hexham event. The Jazz Quartet (Jude Murphy & co), Stratosphonic (blues/rock).
Fri 11: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Market Place, Corbridge NE45 5AW. 7:30pm. Free.
Fri 11: Crooners @ Tyne Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Sat 12: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 12: Michael Woods @ Victoria Tunnel, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00. (£10.00. adv.). Country blues guitar & vocals.
Sat 12: Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.28, £11.16, £9.04. A two-track recording launch gig.
Sat 12: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 12: Stuart Turner @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rockabilly, rhythm & blues etc. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 12: Lapwing Jazz Trio @ The Ship Inn, Low Newton. 8:00pm. Free. New trio: Paula Whitty, Richard Herdman, Jude Murphy.

Sun 13: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Emma Wilson @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sun 13: Catfish Keith @ The Cluny. 7:00pm. Country blues.
Sun 13: Cath Stephens & Paul Grainger @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Stephens & Grainger, one third of a triple bill.
Sun 13: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

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

No comments :

Blog Archive