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Bebop Spoken There

Delfeayo Marsalis: "Slide Hampton once told me that it's not always the person that is playing the highest or playing the fastest that's making the greatest impact." - (DownBeat March 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

Mon 20: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 20: Central Bar Quintet plays Wes Montgomery @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm. Feat. Joe Steels.

Tue 21: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 21: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Jacob Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass guitar); Bailey Rudd (drums).

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller's Rest, Cockerton. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public). Note change of venue - this week only.
Wed 22: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Thu 23: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcasatle. From 6:30pm 'til late. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Thu 23: Kerrin Tatman + John Garner & John Pope @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 23: Sunna Gunnlaugs & Julia Hülsmann @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm. A two-piano gig. A Sage Gateshead-JNE promotion.
Thu 23: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano.
Thu 23: Sleep Suppressor @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv. Upstairs.
Thu 23: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

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.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

CD Review: John Scofield and Combo 66.

John Scofield (guitar); Gerald Clayton (piano,/organ); Vicente Archer (bass); Bill Stewart (drums). 
(Review by Steve T).
Given that there's probably more guitar players than every other instrument put together - such is the scale of the rock and roll mythology - it should come as no surprise that there appears to be no shortage of emerging guitarists, including in jazz.
My friends in the guitar community assure me it all comes down to whether they got an Oasis or a Take That, though I suspect the best didn't care much for either.  
I often think jazz guitarists have an advantage over other jazz musicians because they appeal to the vast guitar community as well as jazz enthusiasts.
McLaughlin and Metheny have legions of fans and sell in quantities most jazz musicians can only dream of. Another two with a loyal following are Mike Stern and John Scofield, both of whom (like McLaughlin) benefit from having played with Miles and selling to those people  which most rock guitarists could only dream of.
The former tends to stick to the rockier end of things, for which he has always been slated by some, while Scofield has always mixed it up, playing in a traditional style, but unafraid to rock it up when he felt the need, and so it is with his latest offering.
I always like to listen to an album I'm reviewing before reading what I'm supposed to think, so was thrilled by a guitar/organ pairing - my favourite combination with a jazz guitar (with the probable exception of jazz-rock) - though the unmistakable presence of a bass player hinted at some variety.  
By track two, Clayton has switched to piano and, while he flits between the two for the remaining eight tracks, the organ plays a less prominent role for most of the album. 
Nevertheless, it's excellent stuff for anybody who relishes a guitar/ keys/ bass/ drums combo. Some faster stuff, some ballads, some blues and great soloing from all, especially the leader, tastefully rocking it up on occasion but appealing to everyone, whether their preference is for Metheny or Stern. 
He also chucks in some space-age chords; very new and happening, like the post-Rosenwinkel guitarists who may not have been born when he played with Miles back in the early eighties.
New Waltzo is the rockiest and, for me, the most interesting track on offer, with an almost psychedelic feel and the organ reminiscent of Larry Young in the Tony Williams Lifetime.
But the whole album is strong, and with Scofield at sixty six (hinted at by the name of the band and album) and having recieved grammys for his last two albums, he seems to be enjoying a glorious late-period. 
Steve T.

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