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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 2023).

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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Saturday, April 08, 2017

CD Review: Peg Powler Band - Northern Lines

(Review by Ann Alex).
I’ve been given special dispensation by Blogmaster Lance to review this folk music CD on BSH. We encountered this excellent band when we dropped by the Prohibition Bar on the Friday of the GIJF, and, after chatting with the band, were given a review copy.
The songs are all originals except for one traditional number (Katie Cruel) and they have the distinction of being immediately memorable and accessible, with strong hooks to draw in the listener, and themes not a million miles away from many a blues number.

There are tales of female murderers (Mary Ann Cotton), the dangers of the working life (Spend Your Money Quick), about the hazards of working in a munitions factory during WW2; love songs (The Crying Song) which has lines familiar to jazzers about crying a river. I loved Emily Said, which concerned the 19thC American poet Emily Dickinson, who wrote some 1800 poems but was unappreciated in her lifetime. The title Northern Lines is illustrated by the CD cover which shows a derelict railway station and many of the songs refer to Teesside, where the band presumably hail from.
The track Old Northern Line tells about the railway line through time, where lovers have met, industry has died, the land is scarred, which evokes the post-industrial present. This track naturally has train rhythms and percussion swishes to remind us of the days of steam.
The instrumentation is appropriate and skilfully done, with wonderful fiddle-playing, sensitive drums and skilled guitar. The titles of the tracks not yet mentioned are: Peg Powler (another wicked female); Wildfire; Everybody Wants To Be; Don’t Be Afraid; Go Tell The Fisherman’s Daughter; A Ballad Of Swords And Shields; Swallow Song.
This band deserves to be better known among folkies, and it is highly recommended for folk-loving jazz fans as well.
The music was released on July 2, 2016 on Time &Tide records and is available for streaming and download. Link.

Ann Alex
Ian Bartholomew (guitar, lead and backing vocals); Sara Dennis (Ukulele, lead and backing vocals); Mags Forward (fiddle, backing vocals); David Pratt (drums, perc, backing vocals); All songs arranged by the band and (except 1) written by Bartholomew and Dennis. Also one song by Pratt and Bartholomew. Chris Davison (bass guitar on 3 tracks).

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