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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.

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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