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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 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

17586 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 860 of them this year alone and, so far, 5 this month (Dec. 2).

From This Moment On ...

December

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Cath Stephens’ improvisation workshop @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 4:30-6:00pm. Collaborative group focusing on vocal improvisations.
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. Second Wednesday in the month.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon. £27.00. (inc. three -course meal).
Thu 12: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-6:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 12: Stuart Turner @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Jeremy McMurray (keys); Mark Toomey (alto sax); Donna Hewitt (tenor sax); Kevin Eland (trumpet); Ron Smith (bass).

Fri 13: Dean Stockdale Trio @ 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: Bellavana @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Customs House Big Band @ Stocksfield Community Association. 7:00pm. Featuring Ruth Lambert.
Fri 13: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 13: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £19.00. + bf. First night of two.
Fri 13: Ransom Van @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 13: Boys of Brass @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 9:00pm. £10.00.

Sat 14: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:15pm. Free but ticketed.
Sat 14: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm.
Sat 14: Red Kites Jazz @ Staiths Café, Autumn Dr., Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14 Lapwing Jazz Trio @ Three Sheets to the Wind, Alnwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £19.00. + bf. Second night of two.
Sat 14: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 15: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 12 noon. £8.50. Xmas party feat. Musicians Unlimited + Customs House Big Band. SOLD OUT!
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 2:00pm.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Mitch Laddie Band @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Superb blues power trio.
Sun 15: Leeway @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 15: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Sun 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 12 noon. £9.95. ‘Festive Turkey Dinner’. Book now: 0191 266 8137.
Mon 16: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Tue 17: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.
Tue 17: BBC Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘A Swinging Xmas’.
Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 17: Bellavana @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 7:45-9:35pm. Free.

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

Sunday, February 25, 2018

CD Review: Bruno Heinen – Mr. Vertigo

Bruno Heinen – Piano
(Review by Hugh).
Mr. Vertigo is Heinen's sixth album on the Babel Label and was recorded at the Vortex Jazz Club.  Heinen has an established pedigree in both the classical and jazz worlds.  The publicity material accompanying this disc describes it as “a record that defies traditional categorisation”.  I would agree with that – the overall feel is perhaps more classical than jazz, but with jazz and other influences throughout.  All ten tracks on the disc are either composed or arranged by Heinen.
Forgotten Images has a definite French impressionist feel – not surprising perhaps, as it is inspired by Claude Debussy's Images Oubliées.  György Kurtág  inspires the next piece Hommage à Kurtág, played using only the index finger on each hand - based on the instinctive moves of children arriving at a piano to play for the first time.  Daydreamer (inspired by Wayne Shorter's Night Dreamer) finds Heinen at a Fender Rhodes and has (as one might expect) a more jazz-like feel.  Virgo, taken from Stockhausen's Tierkreis, commences with a sound of a clockwork mechanism being wound; this device is an original Stockhausen music box.  Heinen then freely improvises alongside the music box.  The Peacocks is Heinen's melodic take on the Jimmy Rowles original – I would describe it as jazz-impressionist fusion.  Mirage explores space and atonality using keyed and plucked piano with overdubs and electronic post-production manipulation.  International Blues features acoustic and electronic piano – the title derives from the colour International Blue patented by artist Yves Klein.  This track does what it says on the tin!  The title track, Mr Vertigo, is inspired by the book of the same name by Paul Auster – the piece apparently describes the nightmare of a boy being buried alive by his master as part of his quest: learning to fly (I can't say this concept came through to me on listening to this track).  Inspired by a trip to India, In Kochi is based on a  South Indian Carnatic Scale Heinen learned while travelling.  The final track, Fire and Rain, is a James Taylor original and takes a look at trying to pick up and get started again.

Overall then, a mixed bag with diverse influences.  Nice enough to listen to, and interesting in places.  The folded insert in the CD case and the press release (from both of which a lot of the above review derives) are perhaps somewhat pretentious.  The music itself is an honest exploration of differing sound worlds by the artist.

Mr.Vertigo is released on Babel Label in late March 2018.  The launch is at Kings Place, London on 29 March 2018. Heinen can be also be seen (and heard) on tour at Sheffield (6 March), Hackney
(18 March), Manchester (21 March), Ashburton (1 April), Cardiff (4 April) and at the Vortex in London on 15 April.
Hugh
Babel Label Catalogue Number:  BBDV18151

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