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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

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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