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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Saturday, May 13, 2017

CD Review: Polly Gibbons - Is It Me...?

Polly Gibbons (vocals); Tamir Henderson (piano/arr.); James Pearson (piano/arr); Shedrick Mitchell (B3); Graham Dechter (guitar); Kevin Axt (bass); Ray Brinker (drums); Willie Murillo, Vinny Dawson (trumpets); Bob McChesney, Andy Martin (trombones); Bob Sheppard, Brian Scanlon, Keith Bishop, Tom Peterson (reeds).
(Review by Lance).
Steve T suggests that all jazz singers should listen to some soul. Well, I don't know if Steve and Polly are acquainted but the latter is one lady who most certainly has, albeit not to the exclusion of other related genres. Before I'd read the notes my reaction upon hearing several of the tracks was Gladys Knight. Lo and behold, it turns out Gibbons was the support on the 2016 UK tour by Knight and George Benson.
On I Let a Song Go Out of my Heart the influence is Ella but, whether it be Gladys or Ella there's also a whole lot of Polly in there which doesn't mean she does it parrot fashion.
You Can't Just; Midnight Prayer & Is It Me...? are originals, co-written by Polly and James Pearson, that could become classic songs in their own right.
Pearson, house pianist at Ronnie's is also the guiding force behind the album, providing several arrangements and leading the core quintet augmented by 7 horns. Four of the horns, Martin; Dawson; Peterson & Scanlon, have a field day during You Can't Just - trust me they certainly can!
A surprise choice is Basin St. Blues arranged by Bill Cunliffe - it strides the decades and works. Murillo, Sheppard & McChesney solo effectively. Indeed Murillo is even more outstanding on Dr. Feelgood and I Let a Song which he also arranged.
The opening track, Ability to Swing, shows that Polly has that ability.
And much more!
The album, her third and her second on Resonance Records (RCD 1025), was released yesterday (May 12) and the launch is at Pizza Express, Soho, on Tuesday (May 16).
Listen/buy.
Lance.

1 comment :

Steve T said...

I can no longer recall where, but I did express some concern that, with the exception of Aretha, most emerging jazz singers don't seem to delve deep into the treasures of the classic soul songstresses of the sixties, seventies and eighties, in the way that their forebears of yesteryear would have, back when the same people listened to jazz, blues and soul.
I must confess that, with daylight struggling to gain entry to the house as a result of the ever increasing piles of CDs, I still haven't familiarised myself with this lady. No pressure though; I'm not expecting another Minnie Ripperton - I recall Corinna Bailey Rae's horror when Trevor Nelson compared them.
i will catch up with this lady soon, but I still hope that somebody somewhere may read this and wonder who this Jean Carn(e) lady is, or who are Linda Jones, Shirley Brown and Angie Stone?

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