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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Fishwick: “I can’t get behind the attitude that new is always somehow better than old” - Jazz Journal, April 15, 2019,

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...

Postage

16034 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1041 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 27).

From This Moment On ...

November

Tue 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval NE25 0AT. 12:30pm. ‘Afternoon Jazz Tea Party’ £12.00. Tickets from: 0191 237 3697.
Tue 28: Full Score & Durham University Jazz Orchestra @ St Oswald’s Church, Durham. 7:00pm. £8.00., £7.00. conc., £6.00. DSM. ‘Singing with a Swing’. In support of the Angel Trust.
Tue 28: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. £12.00., £10.00. Doors 7pm/Music 8pm.

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: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). Tickets: £25.00. inc. buffet. A Gatsby themed evening.
Thu 30: Jools Holland's R & B Orchestra @ Newcastle City Hall. 7:30pm.
Thu 30: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. Guest band night: Mark Toomey Quintet (Mark Toomey, sax; Paul Donnelly, guitar; Jeremy McMurray, keys; Peter Ayton, bass; Mark Robertson, drums). 9:00pm.

December
Fri 01: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 01: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 01: Paul Skerritt @ All Saints’ Church, Eastgate, Co. Durham. 7:00pm. Xmas Tree Fest.
Fri 01: Alligator Gumbo @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 01: Nu Sound Brass @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: Struggle Buggy w. Jim Murray @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 02: Paula Jackman's Jazz Masters @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 02: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 02: Abbie Finn Trio @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm.
Sat 02: Tenement Jazz Band @ John Marley Centre, Newcastle. Swing Tyne Winter Social. £8.00. + bf. Advance purchase only, no admission at the door. BYOB. Lindy hop workshop from 11:00am. £39.00.
Sat 02: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Masham, Hartburn Village, Stockton. 7:00pm. Feat. Noel Dennis.
Sat 02: Classic Swing @ The Nuthatch, 9 - 11 Bedford St, Middlesbrough TS1 2LL. 7:00-9:00pm. Classic Swing in trio format.
Sat 02: Paul Skerritt w. Danny Miller Big Band @ Westovian Theatre, South Shields. 7:30pm.
Sat 02: Vermont Big Band @ Whitley Bay FC. 7:30pm. £10.00. (inc. hot buffet). Tickets available from WBFC’s Seahorse pub club house.
Sat 02: Milne-Glendinning Band @ Ponteland Social Club, Northumberland. 7:30pm. £18.00 (inc. stotties & soup supper). A fundraiser for Hexham Constituency Labour Party.
Sat 02: Tom Remon & Laurence Harrison @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. Xmas party night inc. buffet & special raffle. £3.00.
Sat 02: Groovetrain @ The Unionist Club, Laygate, South Shields. 9:00pm.

Sun 03: The Central Bar Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. The Central Bar Quartet plays Lou Donaldson’s Gravy Train. Featuring Jamie Toms.
Sun 03: Paul Skerritt @ Smith’s Arms, Carlton, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:00pm.
Sun 03: Johnny Hunter Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 03: Jam session @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.

Mon 04: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 04: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ People’s Kitchen, Bath Lane, Newcastle. From 5:30pm. On-street gig supporting the work of the People’s Kitchen charity. Wrap up warm! Donate!
Mon 04: Michael Young Trio w Lindsay Hannon @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: James Birkett Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Mon 04: Durham University Jazz Orchestra + Durham University Big Band @ Durham Castle DH1 3RW. 8:30pm. £6.00.; £5.00. concs; £4.00. DSM. ‘Jazzy Christmas’.

Saturday, February 10, 2018

CD Review: Dan Pugach Nonet - Plus One

(Review by Dave Brownlow)
Let’s get one thing quite clear from the start – this is an excellent album of modern/contemporary jazz played by a Nonet plus One of first-rate musicians who are not only terrific soloists but fine readers capable of playing and interpreting Dan Pugach’s complex charts. Dan is the bandleader/drummer/arranger/composer/ who’s been working at a high level in the jazz business since completing his Batchelor’s and Master’s degrees at Berklee and The City College of New York. As a composer/arranger, Dan brings such a freshness and imagination to the music rarely found today and as a drummer, he’s full of energy, driving the band, inspiring his soloists and occasionally soloing fiercely himself.
Brooklyn Blues is a rousing opener having a ‘funky’ groove providing opportunities for lively blues solos from trombone, baritone, drums and piano interspersed with tightly played ensemble sections. Coming Here is a medium-tempo original which has some lovely “Gil Evans-ish” harmonies and movement and features Ingrid Jensen’s first solo spot. She is now a quite outstanding trumpeter, playing with a warm burnished tone, swooping, gliding with great dexterity throughout the ranges of the horn with the fluency of (say) Kenny Wheeler or the great Fats Navarro. An expansive tenor solo follows driven by the leader through some fearsome note-reading by the band to a “Mulligan-esque” final chord.
Dolly Parton’s Jolene features Pugach’s wife Nicole Zuratis (described by the drummer as “my secret weapon”) in the first of four vocals of the album - which she also arranged herself. Carmen Staaf has the piano solo with echoes of McCoy Tyner in there. Ingrid again shines before a moving final conclusion
Zelda a gentle original ballad features David Smith on flugelhorn – another formidable talent, who’s clearly inspired by the arrangement. A blues-tinged Belo’s Bellow has a flowing alto solo from Andrew Gould with Staaf on electric piano providing another tone-colour. Chick Corea’s Crystal Silence has Nicole taking the vocal in an “operatic soprano style” which is surprising – but it works! There’s tenor sax, ensemble passages, a bass contribution before a final re-visit to the theme. Quincy Jones’ lovely song Love Dance is Nicole’s next vocal, this time back in ‘jazzy’ mode again. Smith makes two contributions to this track with astonishing virtuosity. Our Blues co-written by the husband and wife team is a down-home 12-bar blues which really gets to the bottom of the matter.  Nicole lays down the law here “I’ve got some news before I kick you out – You’re much more clever when you shut your mouth!” Gorgeous ensemble passages, a low-down piano solo from Staaf and a tenor solo add to the story. The closer Discourse This is a contemporary Pugach composition in several parts. Smith on trumpet has the up-tempo first segment, Gould on alto the slower middle section leading to a drums-led finale. Ambitious writing challenges the band throughout which makes for an exciting, abrupt ending. “The Sound Of Surprise” appears in every track!
Totally recommended, a rare 5 stars from me!
Released on February 16 by Unit Records UTR 4816 or at www.danpugach.com
Dave.
Ingrid Jensen or David Smith (tpt/flugel); Mike Fahie (tmb); Jen Hinkle (bass tmb); Andrew Gould (alto/flute); Jeremy Powell (tnr/clar); Anthony Gutauskas (bari/bass clar); Nicole Zuraitis (voice); Carmen Staaf or Jorn Swart (pno); Tamir Schmerling (bass); Bernardo Aguiar (pandiero); Dan Pugach (dm/composer/arranger/leader).

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