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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Fishwick: “I can’t get behind the attitude that new is always somehow better than old” - Jazz Journal, April 15, 2019,

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...

Postage

16034 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1041 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 27).

From This Moment On ...

November

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: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). Tickets: £25.00. inc. buffet. A Gatsby themed evening.
Thu 30: Jools Holland's R & B Orchestra @ Newcastle City Hall. 7:30pm.
Thu 30: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. Guest band night: Mark Toomey Quintet (Mark Toomey, sax; Paul Donnelly, guitar; Jeremy McMurray, keys; Peter Ayton, bass; Mark Robertson, drums). 9:00pm.

December
Fri 01: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 01: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 01: Paul Skerritt @ All Saints’ Church, Eastgate, Co. Durham. 7:00pm. Xmas Tree Fest.
Fri 01: Alligator Gumbo @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 01: Nu Sound Brass @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: Struggle Buggy w. Jim Murray @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 02: Paula Jackman's Jazz Masters @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 02: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 02: Abbie Finn Trio @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm.
Sat 02: Tenement Jazz Band @ John Marley Centre, Newcastle. Swing Tyne Winter Social. £8.00. + bf. Advance purchase only, no admission at the door. BYOB. Lindy hop workshop from 11:00am. £39.00.
Sat 02: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Masham, Hartburn Village, Stockton. 7:00pm. Feat. Noel Dennis.
Sat 02: Classic Swing @ The Nuthatch, 9 - 11 Bedford St, Middlesbrough TS1 2LL. 7:00-9:00pm. Classic Swing in trio format.
Sat 02: Paul Skerritt w. Danny Miller Big Band @ Westovian Theatre, South Shields. 7:30pm.
Sat 02: Vermont Big Band @ Whitley Bay FC. 7:30pm. £10.00. (inc. hot buffet). Tickets available from WBFC’s Seahorse pub club house.
Sat 02: Milne-Glendinning Band @ Ponteland Social Club, Northumberland. 7:30pm. £18.00 (inc. stotties & soup supper). A fundraiser for Hexham Constituency Labour Party.
Sat 02: Tom Remon & Laurence Harrison @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. Xmas party night inc. buffet & special raffle. £3.00.
Sat 02: Groovetrain @ The Unionist Club, Laygate, South Shields. 9:00pm.

Sun 03: The Central Bar Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. The Central Bar Quartet plays Lou Donaldson’s Gravy Train. Featuring Jamie Toms.
Sun 03: Paul Skerritt @ Smith’s Arms, Carlton, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:00pm.
Sun 03: Johnny Hunter Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 03: Jam session @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.

Mon 04: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 04: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ People’s Kitchen, Bath Lane, Newcastle. From 5:30pm. On-street gig supporting the work of the People’s Kitchen charity. Wrap up warm! Donate!
Mon 04: Michael Young Trio w Lindsay Hannon @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: James Birkett Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Mon 04: Durham University Jazz Orchestra + Durham University Big Band @ Durham Castle DH1 3RW. 8:30pm. £6.00.; £5.00. concs; £4.00. DSM. ‘Jazzy Christmas’.

Tue 05: Customs House Big Band @ All Saints Church, Cleadon. 7:00pm. Concert in the church hall. BYOB.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Sid White. The best free show in town!

Wednesday, October 03, 2018

CD Review: Flying Machines – New Life

Alex Munk (guitar, vocals); Matt Robinson (piano, synths, Fender Rhodes); Conor Chaplin (electric bass); Dave Hamblett (drums).
(Review by Hugh C)
New Life is the second release from this London based band, their first, critically acclaimed, eponymous album having been issued in 2016.  New Life continues their trademark fusion of contemporary jazz with progressive rock.  This album continues their exploration with a mix of expansive through-composed material morphing into and out of group improvisation.

The first and title track, New Life, is a wake-up call with crashing guitar licks from Munk, worthy of any ‘70s stadium gig.  I suspect many a man (and the occasional woman) of a certain age will instantly begin to demonstrate their skills on an imaginary “axe” on hearing this track.  The main man is ably supported by the rhythm section to maintain momentum.   As the music decrescendos toward the final chord one fully expects a massive roar from the audience – but this is a studio recording.  Blink is improvised and again features fast licks on electric guitar with a great supporting bass line from Conor Chaplin – it ends all too quickly (a mere 51 seconds!).

Moondust has a less frenzied, more relaxed vibe.  Guitar is again to the fore, but much more of a jazz style with supporting harmony from Matt Robinson on keys and Conor Chaplin on bass.
Prelude to Elation starts with acoustic guitar and gentle accompanying wordless vocals, gently driven by Dave Hamblett on brushes.  This provides a short lead-in to Elation, a more substantial number and the longest on the album.  Solo guitar again commences this track with the gradual addition of other instruments.  An interesting mixture of tempi demonstrates Hamblett’s percussive skills and more expansive piano passages allow Robinson to stretch out.  Neat fretwork by Chaplin on bass is contributory to the overall sonic package – probably my favourite track on the album.

The fully improvised Standing Still commences with abstract guitar chords, synths and a gentle repetitive bass motif redolent of 20th-century space movies and best listened to while regarding Gabe Shaughnessy’s splendid pictures of the Veil Nebula which adorn the CD cover.  Kilter starts with solo guitar, over bass in a simple melody joined by piano and drums at a relaxed pace.  This track has the nearest thing to a bass solo, demonstrating Chaplin’s mastery of the instrument in a melodic style.

Fall In picks up the tempo again with Munk’s electric guitar in the ascendant, but with significant melodic contribution from bass and keys all driven by Hamblett’s powerhouse drumming.  In the centre there is a quieter interlude featuring Robinson on Fender Rhodes.  Bullet Train is the third entirely improvised track (no pun intended) and does bring to mind an image of a speeding locomotive followed by a gleaming string of carriages.  The music disaggregates towards the end (which is slightly unnerving in the context!) and segues into Take Time.  This final track slowly builds from atmospheric guitar chords over a simple drum beat and gradually gains more complexity with the addition of piano and bass. 

My initial reaction on playing the disc for the first time was – this isn’t Jazz!  Well, some of it probably isn’t, even by the most liberal interpretation of the word, but a significant part of the material on this CD is.  The jazz component and the remainder (progressive rock according to the record company press material) are both expertly crafted and skillfully delivered MUSIC, which is after all, what matters!

New Life is to be released by Ubuntu (UBU00017) on Friday 19 October 2018.  The launch is at Pizza Express in Soho on Monday 22 October.  I think this would sound great in a live setting – an opportunity exists to catch Flying Machines at the EFG London Jazz Festival on 25 November and then on tour in 2019*.
Hugh C.

* Tour dates.
            15 March – Birmingham Jazzlines
            25 March  - The Whisky Jar, Manchester
            29 March – Wakefield Jazz
            5 April – Derby Jazz
            25 April – The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen
            26 April – Edinburgh Jazz Bar
            7 May – St. Ives Jazz Club
            19 September – The Spin, Oxford
            23 October – The Lescar, Sheffield

Space in there for another NE gig perhaps? 
(Performed at Jazz Café February 2017)

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

Interesting to read Steve H's review of the 2017 Jazz Cafe gig.

The band is apparently named after Munk's father, Roger's career as an expert and world leader in the field of lighter than air technology. The company that he founded, HAV, are now flight testing the world's largest air vehicle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=n21nJIy3dlg

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