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Bebop Spoken There

Lakecia Benjamin: "From my early days with Clark Terry, he told me 'they see you before they hear you'... I'm just not from that school of thought where I'm gonna wear my jeans and T-shirt on stage and that's going to be respectable." - (Jazzwise, February 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

15056 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 75 of them this year alone and, so far, 75 this month (Jan. 25).

From This Moment On ...

January

Fri 27: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Gala Theatre, Durham. 1:00pm. SOLDOUT!
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Hip Hop Hooray @ Bar 52, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 27: John Dikeman, Pat Thomas, John Edwards, Steve Noble @ Lit & Phil. 7:30pm. £10.00.
Fri 27: Rob Heron & the Tea Pad Orchestra @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £10.00. on the door. A Swung Eight event.
Fri 27: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. Ragtime & stride piano. 8:00pm.

Sat 28: Tyneside Improvisers Workshop @ Ye Olde Cross, Ryton. 2:00-4:00pm. All welcome.
Sat 28: Secular Sounds in a Sacred Place @ Holy Cross Church, Ryton. 4:30-7:00pm. £10.00. Continuous performance featuring: Christian Alderson, Faye MacCalman, Sally Pilkington, John Pope. Event preceded by a Tyneside Improvisers Workshop (2:00pm, see above).
Sat 28: Entartete Musik @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Brundibár Arts Festival event.

Sun 29: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon.
Sun 29: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 29: Hypnotic Brass Band @ Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £20.00.
Sun 29: Jam No.12 @ Fabio's, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. Durham University Jazz Society jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Sun 29: Origin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 31: ???

February

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Wed 01: Moonlight Serenade Orchestra UK: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Darlington Hippodrome. 7:30pm.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £1.00. All welcome.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt Duo @ Tomahawk Steakhouse, High St., Yarm. 8:00pm.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Saturday, June 03, 2017

CD Review: Allegra Levy - Cities Between Us

Allegra Levy (vocal/composer); Kirk Knuffke (cornet); Stephen Riley (tenor); Carmen Staaf (piano/arr); Jay Anderson (bass); Billy Drummond (drums).
(Review by Lance).
The second album by the young New York singer is in complete contrast to her first album which was distinctly a display of downhearted yearning. Well done, but one to file alongside Gloomy Sunday.
There's a much more upbeat feel to this one. Mainly originals, except for Yesterdays and a couple of post bop standards with lyrics by Levy.
The voice is compelling. I didn't want to just listen, I wanted to meet her and, if I'd have been 60 years younger, I'd have wanted to date her!
When I was 60 years younger I felt the same way about Peggy Lee and Jeri Southern!

This gives an idea where Allegra Levy is coming from and, it has to be said, she fully deserves to be bracketed with the aforementioned divas.
Allegra met her boyfriend in Hong Kong where she lived for awhile. Now she's in New York and he's still in Hong Kong - maybe even popping into Ned Kelly's for a snifter - which is the inspiration for the title track.
The lyrics are worthy of any contemporary writer I didn't like Dear Friend - loved the words but not the music. Still, have you ever bought an album where you loved every track equally?
Ironically, Dear Friend is Allegra's favourite so I guess I won't get a Christmas card from her!
The band is absolutely cracking. Levy quotes Chet Baker as an inspiration and Knuffke's cornet brings Chet to mind. Did Chet ever record on cornet? That would have been lyricism to die for! Still, Knuffke is one of the most beautiful sounding players I've heard in recent years. Riley's tenor adds to the ambience, Staaf's piano and arrangements are ace whilst Drummond and Anderson are natural swingers.
One of the most enjoyable vocal albums I've heard this year.
Cherry Blossom Song; Lullaby of the Orient (Duke Jordan); I Shouldn't Tell You; Misery Makes the Music; Yesterdays (Jerome Kern); Dear Friend; Sleepwalk with me; Soy Califa (Dexter Gordon); Down Sunday (John McNeil); Leaving Today; Cities Between Us. 
Lance.
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