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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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

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.
Mar 26: Pop Jazz @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. 'Jazzified' tunes by the likes of Sylvester, Bowie, the Monkees etc., feat. Alan Law, David Gray, Richard Herdman & Jude Murphy.
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.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Thursday, May 25, 2017

CD Review: NYSQ - Sleight of Hand

Tim Armacost (tenor/soprano); David Berkman (piano); Daiki Yasukagawa (bass); Gene Jackson (drums).
(Review by Lance).
Another gem from Michael Janisch's  Whirlwind Recordings. And a 9 carat gem it is too! 
Mal Waldron's classic Soul Eyes kicks things off. Armacost is my kind of tenor player playing with a fluency that matches any of his historically better known predecessors. Chorus after chorus he soars, flying high, each one better than the one before then it's over, 'cept it isn't. Berkman takes control and the tension doesn't flag, Yasukagawa doesn't drop the baton either.
Wow! And this is just the first track.
As the band name implies (New York Standards Quartet) this isn't a self-indulgent collection of'originals' penned by some callow youth, but a choice selection of not overworked themes.
Ask me Now - my favourite of all the Monk ballads I've heard - moves along a tad faster than is usual for this most wonderful of tunes and is nicely taken out by Jackson who display's his prodigious technique as the track fades...
In a Sentimental Mood is another fave of mine - if, in the unlikely scenario of Armacost phoning me from New York and asking me to suggest some standards for his forthcoming album, the chances are we'd concur on at least 50% of the choices. Certainly on this one.
Sleight of Hand is a different circle of fifths. An 'original' by Berkman it is described as an irresistibly playful take on But Not For me. Can't argue with that! 
I Fall in Love Too Easily - maybe I do as I'm rapidly falling in love with this album! Armacost on soprano plays scant regard to the melody yet it is always there with the rhythm guys huffing and puffing behind him adding to the overall before fading gently in love like me.
This I Dig of You. Hank Mobley's masterpiece is given a work out that I'm sure the composer would have given the thumbs up to. The double bass intro also earned a few [Ray] Brownie points. As always, the tenorman takes it up, down and round about whilst Berkman makes me think I'd like a trio album by him. Then Jackson boots it home.
Detour Ahead's a number many chanteuses have done proud although, apparently Herb Ellis, the composer, made the definitive version. Well I haven't heard Herb's recording so, until then, this will do for me!
Lover Man. Forget the poignant emotive versions of this tune by Parker, Billie, Sarah and others. Berkman and Armacost aren't tender lover men they're virile studs strutting their stuff - vestal virgins stay indoors tonight don't go near the coast! (apologies for sexist remark).
Can't recommend this too highly!
Lance.
Whirlwind Recordings WR4704.

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