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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17421 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 695 of them this year alone and, so far, 100 this month (Sept. 30).

From This Moment On ...

October

Thu 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 03: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: Practices of Freedom workshop @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 7:30pm. Free. Book at: www.eventbrite.com.
Thu 03: Alcyona Mick + Juliana Day @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. & £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM (Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music) in assoc. w. Northern Silents & JNE.
Thu 03: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Guest band night w. '58 Jazz Collective led by trumpeter Kevin Eland with Paul Donnelly (guitar); Donna Hewitt (saxes); Dave Archbold (keys); John Daniel (bass); Alex Cromarty (drums); Darren Moore (percussion) + JAN SPENCELAYH!. Free.

Fri 04: Satoko Fujii @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & Lit & Phil.
Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Amirtha Kidambi w. Manon McCoy @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 6:20pm. £8.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. Gem Arts, JNE & Lit & Phil.
Fri 04: Ziv Taubenfeld/Olie Brice/Kresten Osgood + Andy Champion + Izumi Kimura & Gerry
Hemingway @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & Lit & Phil.
Fri 04: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: As I Sing & Breathe @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 7:30pm. Free. Tickets: www.eventbrite.com. ‘Songs & Improvisations’ - Nicols, Dalling & guests.
Fri 04: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 04: John Rowland Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 05: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: Musical Boxing Training @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 2:30pm. Free. Tickets: www.eventbrite.com. ‘A workshop for musical improvisers’. An event in a boxing ring!
Sat 05: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Wylam Village Institute, Church Road, Wylam NE41 8AP. Doors 7:00pm. Tickets £15.00. + £1.50. bf, available from: www.gigantic.com.
Sat 05: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Bright Street Big Band @ Washington Arts Centre. From 7:00pm. £12.00. Bright Street Big Band on stage at 7:30pm, preceded at 7:00pm by a swing dance taster session.
Sat 05: J.A.M. String Collective + Tara Cunningham + The Flame @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & Lit & Phil.
Sat 05: Heavy Drunk @ Anarchy Brewery, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.00. + £1.50. bf. ‘Mississippi Delta Blues Experience’ feat. Heavy Drunk, Watermelon Slim & Leonardo Giuliani.
Sat 05: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: Musical Boxing Night @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 7:30pm. Free. Tickets: www.eventbrite.com. Nicols, Dalling ao. An event in a boxing ring!
Sat 05: Milne-Glendinning Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 05: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Swarland Village Hall NE65 9JG. 8:00pm. £12.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm (12:30pm doors). £7.50.
Sun 06: Luis Verde Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 06: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 06: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 06: Catriona Bourne Quartet + Heather Ferrier + Emma Johson’s Gravy Boat @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & The Globe.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 07: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30-8:30pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Wed 09: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 09: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 09: Shunya, Dudù Kouate & Seb Rochford @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). £21.00.

Thu 10: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 10: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. ‘Collaborations - it happened all the time’.
Thu 10: Indigo Jazz Voices w. the Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.
Thu 10: Side Cafe Orkestar @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 10: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. With guests Donna Hewitt (sax); Bill Watson (trumpet); Graham Thompson (keys); Ron Smith (bass). Free.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

CD Review: Wendy Kirkland Quartet - Piano Divas

Wendy Kirkland (piano/vocals); Pat Sprakes (guitar); Paul Jefferies (bass); Steve Smith (drums) + Gary Grace (vocal on 1 track).
(Review by Lance).
Pianist/singer Kirkland and her henchmen came up with the idea of putting together a show based on the work of the various great pianist/singers such as Krall, Simone, Blossom, Horn, Elias and others. In the years to come, some other pianist may repeat the exercise the only difference being that whoever does it will have added Wendy Kirkland to the list - she's that good!
The Chesterfield - two CDs in a row from the Peak District! Must be something in the Derbyshire air!* - chanteuse opens with Come Dance With Me. From bar one I sensed that this lady was something special and when I heard the piano solo my suspicions were confirmed.
Class!

Bahia, not the Coltrane composition, but an original co-written with guitarist and husband Sprake, has a jaunty Caribbean rhythm to it that makes you want to dance or order a Caipirinha.
Slow Boat to China - what a great [Frank Loesser] song and what a great version with just enough scatting to avoid overkill.
Some Other Time - an emotional vocal with some lovely guitar interpolations and, of course, piano played to perfection.
Hank Williams' Hey Good Lookin' might not have been Americana material as played here but the guitar and piano fours would have cut it at the Jazz Festival.
Not only is it unusual to hear It's Not Unusual played as a slow bossa but it's even more unusual to hear Jobim's Agua de Beber played as the intro. On the basis that Tom Jones got a knighthood out of It's Not Unusual then Wendy should receive a Damehood - now that would be unusual!
Ben Sidran's Be Nice [to the people on the way up - you're going to meet them on the way back down] great lyric over a familiar sequence. Again, Dame Wendy sings delightfully and with a wry sense of humour and some sparkling piano.
Samba Chica has us returning to Brazil for another Kirkland original. A wordless vocal and some killer guitar - time for another Caipirinha.
Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry Be Happy - a vocal duet between Kirkland and guest singer Gary Grace with some patter and quotes from other songs. Nice bass solo and more wordless moments of magic. 
Cheek to Cheek, basically a swinger but with several tempo changes that work well. Great piano solo that's matched by Sprakes guitar chorus.
My Baby Just Cares For Me: Sprakes great guitar chorus is matched by Kirkwood's piano solo - honours even.
Meet Me Midnight: Barry Manilow's take on Ja-Da (or Doxy) is a great song and these four don't do it any harm at all.
The Quartet have been touring the show around jazz clubs, festivals and other venues and are keen to keep it on the road. This round of gigs has certainly honed it to perfection as witnessed by the album. Maybe a trip further north sometime...
Alan Barnes and Roger Beaujolais have praised it in very positive terms but perhaps we should let Jim Mullen have the last word - 
Wendy is proof that great musicians are alive and kicking all around the UK and that they don't have to be products of our music colleges to create high quality, entertaining music.
I'll raise a glass of Caipirinha to that!
Lance.
*Gavin Barras lives in Glossop.

1 comment :

JazzKitten said...

Thank you Lance! I'm so pleased you enjoyed our album. Wendy x

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