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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

17328 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 612 of them this year alone and, so far, 17 this month (Sept. 5).

From This Moment On ...

September

Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Giles Strong Quartet @ BAA Fest, Brownrigg Lodges, Bellingham. 2:40pm.
Sun 08: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 08: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: ???

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 12: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:30pm. £4.00. ‘A Great Day in Harlem’.
Thu 12: The Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Pete Tanton & co.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. THC with guests Donna Hewitt, Bill Watson, Dave Archbold, Adrian Beadnell, Mark Hawkins.

Fri 13: Jeff Barnhart & Neville Dickie @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Two pianos, two pianists! SOLD OUT!
Fri 13: Noel Dennis Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Dilutey Juice @ Old Coal Yard, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.00. adv..
Fri 13: Ray Stubbs R & B All-stars @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. Classic blues.

Sat 14: Jeff Barnhart’s Silent Film Fest @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 14: Customs House Big Band w. Ruth Lambert @ St Paul’s Centre, St Paul’s Gardens, Spennymoor DL16 7LR. 7:00pm (6:45pm doors). Tickets £10.00. from the venue or tel: 01388 813404. A ‘BYOB’ event.
Sat 14: Emma Wilson @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. £12.00. Acoustic blues.
Sat 14: Rat Pack - Swingin’ at the Sands @ Billingham Forum. 7:30pm.

Monday, January 29, 2018

CD Review: Matthew Read Trio - Anecdotes II

Benedict Wood (guitar), Matthew Read (double bass) & Arthur Newell (drums)
(Review by Russell) 
Three recent Guildhall graduates, the Matthew Read Trio is shortly to release a second album, a second volume, titled Anecdotes II. All bar one of the eleven tracks were written by bassist Read with one other contributed by guitarist Benedict Wood. Drummer Arthur Newell doesn’t contribute a
composition to the album but his sensitive playing is first-rate from start to finish.           

A press release states that the trio draws influence from ‘jazz, folk, country, hip-hop, dance music, spirituals and both European and American church music…’ Listening to the album (twice), one or two questions arise: Are these influences evident? Should one read this blurb in advance of sitting down to listen to the recording? Bebop Spoken Here’s CD and gig reviewer Steve H said recently that he listens to a review album three times. Perhaps all BST contributors could/should follow suit. First impressions are important and further listening invariably reveals something missed the first time around. A firm conclusion about Matthew Read’s Anecdotes II is that it is the work of three top class young musicians. Another conclusion is that the album purposely doesn’t set out to blow away the listener by dint of coruscating pyrotechnics. Thoughtful, measured, beautifully recorded (by Owain Fleetwood Jenkins), Anecdotes II is an album of contemporary jazz referencing the small combos noted for their abilities as composers in addition to their intimate and immaculate performances in the studio and on stage. Perhaps In Motian refers to Paul Motian. Benedict Wood’s guitar playing would have been appreciated by the likes of Jim Hall, perhaps Barney Kessel, and then there is a contemporary giant, Pat Metheny. Influences? Perhaps.

The press release imagines Kendrick Lamar (2018 Grammy award-winning ‘Best Rap Album’) and Kurt Rosenwinkel playing together would result in something like the track K. This track, more than any other, has a distinctive hook with its retro ’60s tv series theme tune feel and it is more uptempo than the other ten cuts on the album. In the era of the digital download Read’s Revolutions laments the loss of the physical product – ie the 33 rpm album (and its artwork). The track’s waltz-time feel and subtle swing make this one of two or three standout compositions. Bandleader bassist Read was the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Dankworth Prize for Big Band composition and arranging. Anecdotes II is a testament to Read’s abilities and, what’s more, he doesn’t seek the limelight, the trio form being his primary concern.                              

The Matthew Read Trio will launch the new CD Anecdotes II* on Thursday 15 February at Kansas Smitty’s in London. The trio’s British tour is underway, tonight (29 January) it’s Manchester at the Peer Hat, tomorrow it’s Liverpool (Parr Jazz), continuing throughout February into April. The Jazz Café, Newcastle welcomes the trio on Friday (2 February), 9:00pm. Advance tickets can be obtained by telephoning the venue from noon tomorrow (Tuesday) on 0191 222 9882.
Russell.
* The CD cover doesn’t identify a record label. The catalogue number is BOD002. For further info visit: www.matthewread.co.uk  or see Matthew Read at a gig as he’s sure to have copies with him.

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