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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 ...

June

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 04: Jam No. 18 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

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.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

CD Reviews: Wadada Leo Smith - Najwa & Solo Reflections and Meditations on Monk

(Review by Steve H)
Wadada Leo Smith has been a veteran of the free jazz scene since the 60’s working in various configurations from solo performances upwards. These two albums reflect his flexibility perfectly one being an ensemble piece the other a solo album.
Najwa
Wadada Leo Smith: trumpet; Michael Gregory Jackson: guitars; Henry Kaiser: guitars; Brandon Ross: guitars; Lamar Smith: guitars; Bill Laswell: electric bass; Pheeroan akLaff: drums; Adam Rudolph: percussion.
This album reminded me a lot of the Miles Davis electronic era featuring up to 4 guitars and with a very forceful bass and percussion undercurrent backing the lead instruments. Apart from the title track  (Najwa)  the pieces are all inspired/dedicated to the giants of modern jazz. 
The first and longest track on the album Ornette Coleman's Harmolodic Sonic Hierographic Forms: A Resonance Change In The Millennium starts off with heavy guitar riffs and some powerful rhythms before it morphs into a more ambient phase with Smith soloing as single guitar notes punctuate the mellow ending. 

Ohnedaruth John Coltrane: The Master Of Kosmic Music And His Spirituality In A Love Supreme starts off in a heavy rock type fashion with the bass of Laswell clearly in evidence. The mood then changes as a more funky groove takes over. 

The title and shortest track on the album Najwa references a love lost and features a piercing trumpet solo over some haunting backing. 

Ronald Shannon Jackson: The Master Of Symphonic Drumming And Multisonic Rhythms, Inscriptions Of Rare Beauty is dedicated to the late drummer who was a member of  Smith’s ‘Golden Quartet'. After a somewhat cinematic start, the music really cranks up with a tremendous soaring trumpet solo meanwhile the accompanying percussion and bass are simply outstanding. 

The final track on the album is dedicated to Billie Holiday an artist that Smith has dedicated more tunes to than anybody else The Empress, Lady Day: In A Rainbow Garden, With Yellow-Gold Hot Springs, Surrounded By Exotic Plants And Flowers is a fitting tribute to the great lady. It is a slow-moving, meditative ethereal piece quite beautiful in parts and leaves one with a very warm feeling. Despite the rather complex titles, this is a really enjoyable album and I recommend it to anyone with an appreciation of the not so narrow straight-ahead jazz scene.

Solo Reflections and Meditations on Monk

Wadada Leo Smith: trumpet
Wadada Leo Smith has a greater affinity with Thelonious Monk than any other musician. One of the things he greatly admired about Monk was his penchant for taking time out of performing to research and explore the music something that Smith as an academic and educator also does. This album comprises of 8 pieces half of which are original Monk tunes (Ruby My Dear, Reflections, Crepuscule with Nellie and  ‘Round Midnight) the other half being composed by Smith inspired by the legendary pianist. 
As with the  Najwa album the Smith tunes all have wonderfully detailed titles such as  Monk and His Five Point Ring at the Five Spot Café  and  my own favorite   Monk and Bud Powell at Shea Stadium - A Mystery. will there one day there be a song called Edis and Graham Hardy at St. James Park – A Possibility?  There is something about the pureness of a solo trumpet as it pierces the air that is quite captivating and listening to an entire CD of just solo trumpet I found a rewarding and enjoyable experience. I have heard more versions of ‘Round Midnight than almost any other song but the rendition that closes this album has to be one of the best, breathing new life into the classic standard. A wonderful end to a wonderful album.

Both albums come beautifully packaged with a booklet with detailed notes about the players and the pieces there is even a page about the artworks that adorn the sleeves of the CD case.  
Steve H.

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