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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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!"

Postage

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Sat 23: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tanfield Railway, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. Free. A '1940s Weekend' event.
Sat 23: Jason Isaacs @ Stack, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 23: Andrew Porritt & Keith Barrett @ Cullercoats Watch House, Front St., Cullercoats NE30 4QB. 7:00pm.
Sat 23: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Country blues.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Friday, April 28, 2017

CD Review: Mark Lewandowski - Waller.

Mark Lewandowski (bass); Liam Noble (piano); Paul Clarvis (drums).
(Review by Lance).
Liam Noble playing Fats Waller? Nah! Chalk and Cheese.
Then I played the album and, afterwards, ate a chalk and cheese sandwich followed by a portion of humble pie.
The CD is much more palatable.
Three musicians, closer to the cutting edge of jazz, have successfully brought Fats Waller’s 1930’s classics into the twenty first century without, I would suggest, alienating purists or pathfinders. In his day, of course, Waller was indeed a pathfinder himself.
This isn’t a lip service tribute – how could it be? These guys were born long after Fats died on that train! No it’s a case of bringing Fats’ music to a present day audience and doing this without the mugging and sometimes hammy vocals that distracted the listener from the wonderful piano playing on the originals.
Lewandowski’s bass is sonorous – listen to his intro to I’ll be Glad When You’re Dead which merges into Suzannah where Noble strays from Waller to Bach as perhaps Waller also may have done.
Blue Because of You: A lovely tune that seems to share the same middle eight as Jimmy Van Heusen’s Oh You Crazy Moon – opinions please. Some fine brushwork by Clarvis on this one.
Noble’s explorative takes on Fair and Square in Love and Cinders reveal just how sensitive a musician he is.
There’s also interpretations of some of Waller’s Lollipops – as Sir Thomas Beecham used to refer to the classical warhorses. In this case, the ‘pops are; It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie cleverly fused, with I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter; Jitterbug Waltz; Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Honeysuckle Rose.
Lewandowski sets his stall out with an impressive solo rendition of Have a Little Dream of me and gives us a Surprise Ending – no spoilers from me!
An absolutely delightful album and one which can be heard live at The Globe, Newcastle, on Thursday May 11.
Available on Whirlwind WR4703.
Lance.

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