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Bebop Spoken There

Orrin Evans: “Now, getting a teaching spot is the new record deal”. (DownBeat, November, 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

17523 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 797 of them this year alone and, so far, 35 this month (Nov. 10).

From This Moment On ...

November

Mon 18: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 19: Christine Tassan et Les Imposteures @ Bowes & Gilmonby Parish Hall, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. £14.00.; £7.00. child.
Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 19: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Billingham Catholic Club. 7:30pm. £5.00. from 07757 062798 or at the door.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Christine Tassan et Les Imposteures @ Howick Village Hall, nr. Alnwick. 7:30pm. £12.00.; £6.00. child.
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 20: Hot Club of Heaton @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘third Wednesday in the month’ session.

Thu 21: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. ‘Autumn into Winter Titles (music & songs that go with the change of the seasons)’.
Thu 21: Down for the Count Swing Orchestra @ Newcastle Cathedral. 7:30pm. £25.00., £20.00., £14.00. ‘Swing Into Xmas with the Down for the Count Swing Orchestra’.
Thu 21: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Neil Brodie (trumpet); Donna Hewitt (sax); Josh Bentham (sax); Garry Hadfield (keys); Ron Smith (bass); Mark Hawkins (drums).

Fri 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The White Swan, Ovingham. 12:30-3:30pm. Line-up: Chris Perrin (clarinet, tenor sax); Phil Rutherford (sousaphone); David Gray (trombone, trumpet, vocals); Brian Bennett (banjo). To book a table tel: 01661 833188.
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: East Coast Swing Band @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:30pm.
Fri 22: Dilutey Juice @ Independent, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf.
Fri 22: Archipelago @ Poprecs, High St. West, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. Multi-bill, Archipelago on stage 8:00pm. A Boundaries Festival event.
Fri 22: Groovetrain @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. £15.00. + bf. 8:45pm (7:30pm doors).

Sat 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 11:00-1:00pm. £6.00. at the door, £4.00. advance. Tel: 0191 691 7090. A Spanish City ‘Xmas Market’ event in the Champagne Bar.
Sat 23: Washboard Resonators @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. £12.00.
Sat 23: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ Westovian Theatre, South Shields. 7:30pm.

Sun 24: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 11:00-1:00pm. £6.00. at the door, £4.00. advance. Tel: 0191 691 7090. A Spanish City ‘Xmas Market’ event in the Champagne Bar.
Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Skerritt (solo) performing with backing tapes.
Sun 24: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 24: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Washboard Resonators @ Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. £8.00.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Groovetrain @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. £15.00. + bf. 5:15pm (4:00pm doors). SOLD OUT!
Sun 24: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 24: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Globe. 8:00pm.
Sun 24: Lighthouse Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

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

Monday, March 05, 2018

CD Reviews: Carlos Vega - Bird's Ticket and Bird's Up.













(Review by Lance).
Two CDs recorded not quite 2 years apart by a modern-day hardbop quintet led by Florida born Vega who also composed all of the 20 tracks on both albums as well as blowing some paint stripping sax. It's a humdinger of a band, all strong soloists in their own right and, importantly, team players too. Although the albums were recorded in Chicago, there is often a Miami Latin feel to the music  -listen to the Cajon box* on Taurus and Virgo on Bird's Ticket! Garcia blows melodically, suggesting shades of Lee Morgan adding the fire when the occasion demands it which is often. Vega solos with both lyricism and freneticism taking the tenor into a harmonic world beyond the reach of many mere mortals.

Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth, Mindeman, Ramos and Breaker prepare the ground for landing before taking off on their own musical adventures.

Two splendid albums, both available on the Origin label.
Which one to choose? 
Tough call. 
Personally, I think the boppier Bird's Up just gets the nod but it's a split decision with Garcia's solo on, On a Mission, certainly that of a man on a mission. Vega too is on a quest, a quest that should lead him to the higher echelons of the DownBeat Polls. The intriguingly titled - Untitled Waltz for the Wednesday Morning Prayer Meeting sees the quintet augmented by Cheryl Wilson's wordless vocal, some deft guitar-picking and a fatter ensemble with the added brass of Strand and Nelson.
At the end of the day, after listening to both again I came to the conclusion that the best bet would be to spin a coin or if you've got coin to spare, buy both.
Lance.
Buy/more details Bird's Ticket - Bird's Up.
Bird's Ticket
Carlos Vega (tenor/soprano); Victor Garcia (trumpet); Stu Mindeman (piano/Rhodes); Josh Ramos (bass); Xavier Breaker (drums); Juan Pastor (Cajon on 1 track).

Bird's Up
As above minus Pastor plus Cheryl Wilson (vocal); Scott Hesse (guitar); Steve Strand (flugel); Michael B. Nelson (trombone) - all on 1 track only.

*You don't need to go to Florida for a Cajon - there's a company in South Shields make and supply them!
at

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