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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

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.
Fri 11: Mo Scott Band @ Blues Underground, Nelson St., Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

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: 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.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 14: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman show inspired by Nina Simone, performed by Nicholle Cherrie.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law (piano), Paul Grainger (double bass), Bailey Rudd (drums).

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

Monday, October 03, 2016

CD Review: Andrew Cyrille Quartet - The Declaration of Musical Independence

Bill Frisell – Guitar; Richard Teitelbaum  - synthesiser, piano; Ben Street – double bass; Andrew Cyrille – drums.
(Review by Hugh C)
In a previous blog post, Lance has alluded to fact that I am his preferred recipient of the slightly more outré offerings that drop through his letterbox.  I was not surprised therefore, bumping into Lance at the Sirkis/Bialis gig at the Globe, when I was greeted with “I've got something for you – Bill Frisell?”.  As my answer was in the affirmative, I was handed a smart red CD still in its polythene wrap, placed it in my coat pocket and thought nothing more of it – the International Quartet were starting up.

Lance knows I like the ECM product.  Many, but by no means all, of the CDs I am offered for review are on the ECM label – this appeared to be an exception, no moody black and white photograph on the front, just a smart red cover with white lettering.  The packaging, in the cold light of Sunday morning, however, felt familiar – an outer cardboard sleeve concealing the CD jewel case.  Yes, this was ECM.
I was surprised to read that this CD was by the Andrew Cyrille Quartet, Bill Frisell being second in the listing.  This is, apparently, avant-garde drummer, Andrew Cyrille's ECM leader debut. Unusually, no promotional material (other than the CD itself) was sent to BSH for review.  When reviewing a CD I tend to read through the promotional literature before listening to the CD, this often provides me with a hook on which to hang my additional verbiage.  The CD booklet has the usual moody photographs of the band and the individual members during the recording session.  Uncharacteristically for an ECM recording, there are also four pages of commentary on the CD.  Unfortunately (for me, as reviewer) I can barely understand a word of it!  Apparently in the musical world of the 20th century we had “become enmeshed completely and needlessly in steady, even time signatures deriving from military applications, to the exclusion of any other understanding of musical flow” - and so it goes on.

To the music then – this CD comes in at 45 minutes or thereabouts.  There are 9 tracks, the first being composed by John Coltrane and the remainder by individual, or a combination of the band members.  Some are previous compositions and three are new improvisational pieces involving all four musicians.  The languorous guitar style of Frisell is dominant throughout. 

As the title of the CD and the sleeve notes suggest, the music is largely devoid of the metrical contstraint of a time signature, one does get the impression from time to time (no pun intended!) that the output is a series of interesting, but unconnected noises rather than a continuous whole.  This is not to detract from the beauty of some of the more lyrical passages.

As I have commented before in respect of some of the CDs I have been offered for review, this is likely to appeal to the enthusiast, but perhaps not to the more general audience.  Would I buy this CD - no.  Would I recommend it to others – possibly, with the enthusiast proviso above.  Will I use this review copy to scare the birds in my allotment – no, I don't have an allotment

All in all then, an interesting (to coin a phrase) adventure – but not over-inspiring.  As Jazzwise Magazine's regular correspondent, The Colonel, might say:  “Could do with some military discipline!”
Hugh C.
Track Listing:
Coltrane Time  [Coltrane]
Kaddish [Frisell]
Sanctuary [The Quartet]
Say [Street]
Dazzling (Perchordially Yours) [The Quartet]
Herky Jerky [Teitelbaum]
Begin [Frisell]
Manfred [The Quartet]
Song for Andrew No. 1 [Frisell]


The Declaration of Musical Independence is released on ECM, Cat No.  ECM2430 and is available now.

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