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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

15260 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 279 of them this year alone and, so far, 92 this month (March 29).

From This Moment On ...

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: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 01: Jambone @ Sage Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free (book online). A YMP! event in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 01: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibtion Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 04: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 04: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Bradley Johnston (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums).

Wed 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 05: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 05: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 05: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 06: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations. Feat. John Pope, Marie Shreer, John Garner.
Thu 06: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibtion Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 06: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Note earlier start time.

Fri 07: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: Gaz Hughes Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 07: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Traveller's Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 07: Finntet + Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion @ Bobik's, Punch Bowl, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.
Fri 07: TBA @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Blind Pig Blues Club.

Sunday, September 02, 2018

CD Review: Peter Nelson - Ash, Dust and the Chalkboard Cinema:

Peter Nelson (trombone); Alexa Barchini (voice); Nikara Warren (vibes); Josh Lawrence (trumpet); Hailey Niswanger (alto); Yuma Uesaka (bass clarinet); Willerm Delisfort (piano); Raviv Markovitz (bass); Itay Morchi (drums).
(Review by Dave Brownlow).
This intriguingly entitled album by trombonist Peter Nelson features him in three different settings – a delicate trio of vibes, wordless female vocal and trombone, a quartet of trombone, piano, bass and drums and a septet of trumpet, trombone, alto sax, bass clarinet and three rhythm.

Peter has emerged from a debilitating five-year health condition (Dystonia) which made it extremely painful and impossible to play his instrument caused by poor teaching as he learned music. He has since recovered and forged a career composing in a variety of genres and playing trombone with some of the top names in the US jazz scene. The ten unusually titled tracks on the album refer to some of the stages of Peter’s recovery and form a kind of musical suite brought to life by his collaborators each of whom has played a part in his life.

It Starts Slowly(first in your heart) is the first offering from the trio – an ethereal, out-of-this-world piece with wordless vocals and shimmering chords from the vibes contrasting sharply with the full sound of the trombone.

State of Fear (that lonely nightmare) is by the quartet – a hard-swinging performance reminiscent of a Coltrane tour-de-force with ambiguous Tyner-esque chords and some fearsome ‘machine-gun’ trombone and an unsettling drum-led coda.

As We Grow Unfamiliar (In the Void) also by the quartet is based on a repeated two-chord vamp where the rhythm team work hard to provide momentum. Agile solos from trombone and piano in ‘contemporary’ style squeeze all the possibilities from a limited chord sequence.

Cyclical Maze (Round and Round We Go) is by the septet and begins with a chorale-style intro from brass and reeds, leading to a pleasingly arranged melodic theme statement. The solos are unusual in that each player has just 8 bars, then 4, then 2 leading to a successful mass ‘free-for-all’  which completes the track.

Ghost of Sand (Slipping Through Your Fingers) is from the trio – a short out-of-tempo exploration of some imponderable idea where the brusque trombone contrasts nicely with ‘other-worldly’ floating backing.

Back to the septet for Do Nothing (If Less is More) which is a tribute to physiologist/trombonist Jan Kagarice who diagnosed and treated Nelson’s condition.

To The Water, my Eyes (To The Wave, my Heart) is a churning quartet performance with a confident theme statement with solos from bass, trombone and piano on a simple chord structure in “contemporary style.”

Peace, A Moment (you’re enough) is just trombone and bass and finds the leader in reflective mood over the bassist’s repeated motif using the instrument’s harmonics.

Behind Kind Eyes (thank you) is from the septet and sounds like something George Russell might have written. It features the alto of Niswanger, a more conventional trombone solo and a sudden and unexpected ending (i.e. no final theme statement).

Closure is a Wasted Prayer (release, relax) from the trio – is a brief, surreal, impressionist statement which concludes this CD in gentle style.

Overall, a thoughtful album in several respects – a somewhat audacious use of resources, far-reaching, imaginative compositions, and the heart-warming story of a musician, restored to health, realising his talents and abilities to the full.  

Available now on OiM 1813 from Outside In Music or peternelsonmusic.com
Dave B.

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