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Bebop Spoken There

Lakecia Benjamin: "From my early days with Clark Terry, he told me 'they see you before they hear you'... I'm just not from that school of thought where I'm gonna wear my jeans and T-shirt on stage and that's going to be respectable." - (Jazzwise, February 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

15056 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 75 of them this year alone and, so far, 75 this month (Jan. 25).

From This Moment On ...

January

Fri 27: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Gala Theatre, Durham. 1:00pm. SOLDOUT!
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Hip Hop Hooray @ Bar 52, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 27: John Dikeman, Pat Thomas, John Edwards, Steve Noble @ Lit & Phil. 7:30pm. £10.00.
Fri 27: Rob Heron & the Tea Pad Orchestra @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £10.00. on the door. A Swung Eight event.
Fri 27: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. Ragtime & stride piano. 8:00pm.

Sat 28: Tyneside Improvisers Workshop @ Ye Olde Cross, Ryton. 2:00-4:00pm. All welcome.
Sat 28: Secular Sounds in a Sacred Place @ Holy Cross Church, Ryton. 4:30-7:00pm. £10.00. Continuous performance featuring: Christian Alderson, Faye MacCalman, Sally Pilkington, John Pope. Event preceded by a Tyneside Improvisers Workshop (2:00pm, see above).
Sat 28: Entartete Musik @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Brundibár Arts Festival event.

Sun 29: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon.
Sun 29: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 29: Hypnotic Brass Band @ Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £20.00.
Sun 29: Jam No.12 @ Fabio's, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. Durham University Jazz Society jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Sun 29: Origin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 31: ???

February

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Wed 01: Moonlight Serenade Orchestra UK: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Darlington Hippodrome. 7:30pm.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £1.00. All welcome.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt Duo @ Tomahawk Steakhouse, High St., Yarm. 8:00pm.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

CD Review: Jake Ehrenreich w. The Roger Kellaway Trio - A Treasury Of Jewish Christmas Songs

Jake Ehrenreich (vocals); Roger Kellaway (piano); Bruce Forman (guitars); Dan Lutz (bass); Kevin Winard (percussion)
(Review by Ann Alex)

It had to happen eventually, even to an award-winning jazz blog – the first of the seasonal CDs up for review. After hearing the album, I decided I didn’t mind at all. Any possible irritation with being reminded yet again of the time of the year etc was soon lost on hearing this well known, top class, trio, with a singer whose voice has shades of Nat King Cole, giving performances of songs that you never dreamt were written by Jewish songwriters although, in retrospect, you realise most of the standards were!.

Jake Ehrenreich grew up in Brooklyn, a Jewish child of Holocaust survivors. He first had the idea for the CD 10 years ago. The songs range from White Christmas and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer to less well-known numbers such as The Christmas Waltz and Christmas Time Is Here. The quality of the musicianship, especially the piano and bass solos, adds interest to the songs, and there are plenty of memorable lyrics. For instance, in The Christmas Waltz: ‘This song of mine in three-quarter time’ or in Winter Wonderland: ‘We’ll frolic and play the Eskimo Way’.

Each song is listed with the year of the song, the full names of the composer and lyricist and their original Jewish names. So, for instance, we have White Christmas (1942), music and lyrics by Irving Berlin (born Israel Isador Berlin). Lack of space prevents me from listing all of the details.

The other songs, some of which are new to me, is: Holly Jolly Christmas; Let It Snow; Christmas Time Is Here; Home For The Holidays; Christmas Love Song; Home For Christmas; Silver Bells; It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year; The Christmas Song.

Home For The Holidays is typically American, with a ‘travelling along’ sound to the music, lyrics about pumpkin pie, and amusing lines such as ‘from Atlantic to Pacific, Oh the traffic is horrific’. I’ll Be Home For Christmas (1943) brings a touch of sadness, with ‘I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams’. The CD as a whole works as a tribute to the massive contribution made by Jewish musicians and songwriters to the American music scene.

Jake Ehrenreich is also an author and playwright who has performed with many other artists including Whitney Houston. He was inducted into the Brooklyn Jewish Hall of Fame in 2016. Roger Kellaway is a Grammy Award winner and has recorded over 250 albums and film scores. The CD was released on  November 2. See www.jakeehrenreich.com
Ann Alex    
at

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