Simon Says - updated.

(With the Parliamentary Jazz Awards now only 2 weeks away I've flagged up this previous post by top tenor saxist Simon Spillett, himself a former APPJAG award winner, on the off chance that any of the MPs who have yet to cast their vote may not have read the post and the related comments - Lance)
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In the teen years of the 21st Century, a hundred years since jazz exploded into international prominence, attempting to capture the music's sprawling, constantly expanding reaches - more diverse now than ever - is a little like attempting to contain an ocean in a sieve. However, there is one blog that, in my opinion, undertakes this daunting task far better than any other: Bebop Spoken Here. Don't be misled by the title: although it flags up where its founder Lance Liddle's musical heart is at, this is by no means some retro-focused chronicle of faded glories. In fact, BSH puts an unmistakable capital C into comprehensive, so wide is its artistic vision. 

Local heroes and legends alike all cross its pages. Indeed, its coverage ranges from the most intimate of parochial gigs around the UK's North East, often highlighting the work of exciting young musicians long before they've reached greater prominence, onwards and upwards to what's happening at the international cutting edge.

Jazz Blogs are now part of the music's landscape, yet I can think of none that is run more enthusiastically, with less prejudice, or with equal openmindedness than BSH. From neophyte Millennials through to the most venerable of veteran listeners, it truly has something for every kind of jazz fan. It provokes, prompts and postulates, but above all, it does the one thing which all writing on jazz must surely do to be seen as a genuine success: it makes the reader listen to the music. Small wonder it's found itself accorded a Parliamentary Jazz Awards nomination. Congratulations to Lance and all those who support his inestimably valuable efforts. 

Simon Spillett
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See also: http://lance-bebopspokenhere.blogspot.com/2018/09/top-of-bops.html