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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

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.

Fri 11: Dulcie May Moreno @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 11: The Jazz Quartet + Stratosphonic @ Tynedale Rugby Club, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £15.00. A Rotary Club of Hexham event. The Jazz Quartet (Jude Murphy & co), Stratosphonic (blues/rock).
Fri 11: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Market Place, Corbridge NE45 5AW. 7:30pm. Free.
Fri 11: Crooners @ Tyne Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Fri 11: Mo Scott Band @ Blues Underground, Nelson St., Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

Sat 12: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 12: Michael Woods @ Victoria Tunnel, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00. (£10.00. adv.). Country blues guitar & vocals.
Sat 12: Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.28, £11.16, £9.04. A two-track recording launch gig.
Sat 12: Stuart Turner @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rockabilly, rhythm & blues etc. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 12: Lapwing Jazz Trio @ The Ship Inn, Low Newton. 8:00pm. Free. New trio: Paula Whitty, Richard Herdman, Jude Murphy.

Sun 13: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Emma Wilson @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sun 13: Catfish Keith @ The Cluny. 7:00pm. Country blues.
Sun 13: Cath Stephens & Paul Grainger @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Stephens & Grainger, one third of a triple bill.
Sun 13: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 14: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman show inspired by Nina Simone, performed by Nicholle Cherrie.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law (piano), Paul Grainger (double bass), Bailey Rudd (drums).

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

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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