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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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

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.
Mar 26: Pop Jazz @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. 'Jazzified' tunes by the likes of Sylvester, Bowie, the Monkees etc., feat. Alan Law, David Gray, Richard Herdman & Jude Murphy.
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.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Friday, August 10, 2018

LP Review: Thelonious Monk - MØNK

Thelonious Monk (piano); Charlie Rouse (tenor); John Ore (bass); Frankie Dunlop (drums).
(Review by Lance).
Previously unreleased recordings by Monk are always interesting and this one from a 1963 concert in Copenhagen is more than merely 'interesting' it's an absolute gem.
True, we've heard most of the pieces in the studio but, hearing them live is a totally different ballgame as this lovingly restored Gearbox release proves.

Monk is, of course, the quirky, unpredictable, musical alchemist we know and love/hate (delete as applicable) but, for me, the icing on any Monkian cake is Charlie Rouse - in effect, Monk's third arm.
Just as Johnny Hodges was never the same away from Duke, nor was Rouse as effective away from Monk.
Trane, Griffin and Rollins all played well with bebop's high priest but with Rouse, it was as if they were joined at the hip and I use the word advisedly. Rouse could interpret Monk's tunes and cope with the pianist's often clunky approach like no one else.
The tenor solos are long but never boring as he moves with serpentine agility through the changes; his sound and approach as individual as that of Monk himself.

Monk's individuality is never more apparent than on the solo performance of Body and Soul. It took me many years to fully appreciate his unique approach to the piano but, when I eventually did it was a Damascus moment. Parker and Gillespie may have been the PR men for bebop but Monk was the backroom genius, his innovations more complex than the blues and rhythm changes of the other two, great as they were.

John Ore performs the bass duties as expected and longtime Monk drummer Dunlop, like Rouse, knew Monk's music inside out.

Bye-Ya; Nutty; Monk's Dream and I'm Getting Sentimental Over You are the other pieces on this classic discovery - the original tapes, it is said, were rescued from a skip and, I quote, "faithfully restored, mastered and cut using Gearbox's legendary all-analogue process, making it a genuine AAA release (analogue recording, analogue mix, analogue master) and a treat for all audiophiles, enthusiasts, historians and music lovers alike".

Well, although I've only been working from a promo CD, I can go along with all that.
There's also, apart from the standard vinyl edition, a limited run, 500 copies only. special Collector's Edition vinyl release to be issued on a first come, first served, basis.
Yer pays yer money...

It's been a good year - Chet Baker, John Coltrane and now Monk. That Buddy Bolden cylinder might turn up yet and if it does,  Gearbox will give it the treatment!
Lance.
Available Sept.

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