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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

CD Review: Kate McGarry - The Subject Tonight is Love

Kate McGarry (vocals); Gary Versace (piano/keys/organ/accordion); Keith Ganz (guitars) + Obed Calvaire (drums on Whiskey); Ron Miles (trumpet on All You Need is Love).
(Review by Lance).
Until this moment in time, to me, Secret Love meant either Doris Day or Carmen McRae. Our girl Zoe Gilby does a very fine version of incorporating the two but now, Kate McGarry gives us another take and it's a good one!
Seven critically acclaimed albums to her name, a Grammy nomination and 4-star reviews in Downbeat, tell us that this is no new kid on the block. A voice that explores the meanings behind the words, that fiddles with the tune, more Carmen than Doris but tonally not close to either. She composes too.
Climb Down/Whiskey You're the Devil, an exploration of her family tree, includes such lines as;
The roads your horses plowed (sic) we have sowed.
They turned to Christ, they turned to drink, they turned to skin and bones.
It's the church or the pub, choose your cages.
Husband Ganz plays guitar and had a hand in the arrangements as well as providing, along with Versace, solid support.
Versace also has many solos that rubber stamps his credentials. Gone With the Wind sees Kate moving into Ella/Anita territory and maybe, just maybe, takes it to an even higher level.
My  Funny Valentine, like Secret Love, pays no homage to past versions and lifts the Rodgers and Hart classic from the Overdone File to the Exciting New File.
What a Difference a Day Made - a great version with Versace on organ. - challenges the 'Divine One's' version. 
The final blast on All You Need is Love is so good that, at first, you wish you hadn't had so long to wait! However, listening again, you realise that this is what it's all building up to. After all, the album is titled, The Subject Tonight is love* and that is a subject every person on the planet knows about!
It's quite a beautiful record and I'm amazed that her name isn't better known on this side of the Atlantic. But, as I've said before, there does seem to be a jazz singer on every block in every corner of the jazz world. 
McGarry has the edge on most, she could work jazz rooms, folk festivals, I think she could slot into either or maybe, given the parochial attitudes of both, neither.
That would be a great loss for both communities.
Lance
^The subject tonight is love
And for tomorrow night as well,
As of a matter of fact
I know of no better topic,
For us to discuss,
Until we die.
(Persian poet & mystic, Hafiz - 14th century)

1 comment :

Patti said...

This sounds wonderful, Lance - I reckon I'll add it to the order list! And those 14thC Persian poets certainly had a way with romantic words!

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