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Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 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

15491 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 512 of them this year alone and, so far, 133 this month (May 31).

From This Moment On ...

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED! BACK ON JUNE 15.
Thu 08: Easington Colliery Brass Band @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 08: Faye MacCalman + Blue Dust Archive @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Dilutey Juice + Ceramic @ The Ampitheatre, Sea Road, South Shields. 7:00pm. Free. A South Tyneside Festival event.
Thu 08: Lara Jones w. Vigilance State @ Lubber Fiend, Blandford Square, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Michael Littlefield @ the Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Country blues.
Thu 08: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 10: Miners' Picnic @ Woodhorn, Ashington. Music inc. Northern Monkey Brass Band (3:00-3:50pm); New York Brass Band (4:00-4:55pm).
Sat 10: Front Porch Three @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Americana, blues, jazz etc.
Sat 10: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 11: WORKSHOP: Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Workshop @ JG Windows, Newcastle. Time TBC. Further details tel. 0191 232 1356.
Sun 11: Jeremy McMurray's Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Ropner Park, Stockton TS18 4EF. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 11: Groovetrain @ Innisfree Sports & Social Club, Longbenton NE12 8TY. Doors 6:30pm. £15.00 (£7.00. under 16).
Sun 11: Jeffrey Hewer Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 13: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 13: Infusion Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 13: Alice Grace & Pawel Jedrzejewski @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv.).

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

CD Review: Seth MacFarlane - In Full Swing

Seth MacFarlane (vocal); Joel McNeely (producer/arranger); Norah Jones, Elizabeth Gillies (guest vocals).
(Review by Lance)
Seth MacFarlane is more than just a Family Guy, to quote the title of the TV show he's perhaps best known for - in the eyes of Joe Public. However, in the more discerning eyes and ears of the Bebop Spoken Here readership, MacFarlane is much more.
He's just about the classiest male vocalist around at present. Is he a jazz singer? Was Sinatra, Astaire or Crosby? Are Bublé or Bennett? Who cares? His albums invariably hit the top spots on the jazz charts but what do they know?
What I do know is that he can interpret a lyric as good as any singer past or present. The only thing he lacks is that individual stamp that identifies any of the above names. MacFarlane, nevertheless, has such a great voice that upon hearing him on late night radio you'll end up having a sleepless night trying to put a face and a name to the voice.
The singer also had a hand in the arrangements by Joel McNeely suggesting tempos and subtle changes of mood. The result would have done Nelson Riddle proud.
The material is a mix of the lesser known and the almost forgotten. The blurb sums him up accurately.
MacFarlane is the rare revivalist who knows that the Great American Songbook is more than a 100 pages thick.
Take a look at the list:
1.          The First Time It Happens                 0:03:53  
2.          Almost Like Being In Love               0:02:49           
3.          Isn't This A Lovely Day                     0:03:41           
4.          For You, For Me, For Evermore        0:03:08           
5.          Like Someone In Love                      0:03:26
6.          That Face                                           0:02:36           
7.          If I Had A Talking Picture Of You    0:03:06
             (Featuring Norah Jones)           
8.          I'm Glad There Is You                        0:03:07           
9.          You Couldn't Be Cuter                       0:02:30           
10.        I Like Myself                                      0:03:55
11.        You Can't Love 'Em All                     0:02:25
12.        Have You Met Miss Jones?               0:03:06
13.        A Kiss Or Two                                    0:02:23
14.        But Beautiful                                      0:03:52
15.        Moonlight Becomes You                    0:02:58
16.        Bonus Track: My Buick, My Love and I         0:02:01
             (Featuring Elizabeth Gillies).
After Seth MacFarlane's debut album back in 2012 I was so excited that I got myself on the Press List for his concert at Ronnie's. Alas, such was the demand for tickets from his fans that the Press List was trimmed and me with it.
This has made up for that disappointment.
Amazon.
Lance.

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