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Bebop Spoken There

Billy Boy Arnold: “As long as you don't think old you're good.” - DownBeat, December, 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!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Postage

16051 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1058 of them this year alone and, so far, 12 this month (Dec. 6).

From This Moment On ...

December

Sun 10: Musicians Unlimited’s Xmas Party with Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. MU 1:00-3:00pm; Zoë Gilby Quartet 4:00-6:00pm. Tickets: £7.50.
Sun 10: Alan Law, Paul Grainger & Abbie Finn @ Darlington Market, Market Square, Darlington. 1:00pm. Free. A ‘Christmas Market’ outdoor gig. Wrap up warm!
Sun 10: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Funk Soul Sista @ Stack, Seaburn. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Beth Clarke @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 10: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Whittingham Memorial Institute, Alnwick. 7:30pm. £12.00., £10.00.
Sun 10: Tele-Port @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Zhenya Strigalev.

Mon 11: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Interim Final Recitals @ Newcastle University. Details TBC.

Tue 12: Stu Collingwood Organ Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £10.00.

Wed 13: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Wed 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Hot Fingers @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 14: After Hours Student Jazz Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. . Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 14: Niffi Osiyemi Trio @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Mo Scott ‘Little Mo’s Festive Appearance’ @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Tees Hot Club w. Kevin Eland, Josh Bentham, Garry Hadfield, Adrian Beadnell @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 15: Paul Edis @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 15: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: Paul Skerritt @ Black Horse Inn, Crook. From 7:00pm.
Fri 15: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ St Cuhtbert's Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00. SOLD OUT! Waiting list open.
Fri 15: Zoë Gilby Trio @ Seventeen Nineteen, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £12.00. POSTPONED!
Fri 15: Strictly Smokin' Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. First night of two.
Fri 15: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 15: Baghdaddies @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00.; £10.00.

Sat 16: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ Sage Gateshead. 2:00pm. A Jazzy Christmas + Jambone.
Sat 16: Porritt & Barrett & Friends Xmas Special @ Cullercoats Watch House. 7:00pm. £4.00.
Sat 16: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 16: Red Kites Jazz Band @ The Staithes Café, Gateshead. 7:00pm--9:00pm.
Sat 16: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Ellingham Village Hall, Chathill. 7:30pm. £12.00., £8.00.
Sat 16: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Sat 16: Strictly Smokin' Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Second night of two.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

CD Review: Justin Morell - Concerto for Guitar and Jazz Orchestra

(Review by Max Goodall)
Justin Morell writes, describing his reasons for composing Concerto for Guitar and Jazz Orchestra, that ‘Jazz is an art form that allows musicians to draw upon an endless array of stylistic and cultural traditions. While a number of jazz artists have incorporated the sophisticated forms of classical music in their writing and performances, there are few concerti works for a jazz orchestra and fewer still composed for guitar.’ Morell has for many years been exploring the possibilities of jazz’s capacity to absorb, accommodate and be moulded by disparate influences, in both his well-received jazz CDs as a leader, and his wide-ranging compositions and commissions, as well as in his work as Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania.


I must admit that I personally am often skeptical of attempts to use elements drawn from classical music in jazz compositions, something which I feel is often motivated by assertions of classical’s ultimate intellectual superiority. Moreover, I find that, when it comes down to it, the results of such projects are often really not particularly enjoyable to actually listen to.

Despite this, on this occasion, Justin Morell has been totally successful in overcoming my skepticism. The album draws particularly from the form of the nineteenth century Romantic Concerto, using this as a basis to structure the work. The album’s success is that Morell marries this with really engaging contemporary jazz writing. The sound-world is reminiscent of that of Pat Metheny or Tim Garland. At times the music is defined by a constantly shifting, quite unstable harmony, but this also frequently breaks out into moments of lovely tasteful simplicity, particularly in Life and Times, the second movement. This forms a really quite beautiful bed over which Adam Rogers’ elegant solo guitar playing floats. While much of Rogers’ part is pre-composed, the moments at which he is required to improvise are real highlights, particularly an extended free interaction between guitar and drums in the third movement, Terraforming.

Morell’s writing for Rogers’ is masterful, with moments of incredible virtuosity juxtaposed with sweet, highly intuitive melodic writing. His use of the ensemble is also incredibly effective. In Terraforming a repetitive melodic line in the guitar is gradually taken up and developed throughout the whole Orchestra, building to a breath-taking climax. The music of this movement, and indeed the whole album, is incredibly complex and difficult. The Frost Concert Jazz Band under the direction of John Daversa show themselves to be an ensemble of remarkable quality. Their execution of Morell’s work is flawless throughout.

This is a truly exceptional album in both its performances and the quality of the compositions featured. I strongly recommend giving it a listen – you won’t regret it!
Max G.

Concerto for Guitar and Jazz Orchestra was released on December 7, 2018, on Artistshare.

John Daversa (director, conductor); Justin Morell (composer, arranger); Adam Rogers (guitar); Tom Kelley (alto sax, soprano sax); Brian Bibb (also sax, flute); Chris Thompson-Taylor (tenor sax, clarinet); Seth Crail (tenor sax, clarinet); Clint Bleil (baritone sax, bass clarinet); Russell Macklem (trumpet); Michael Dudley (trumpet); Aaron Mutchler (trumpet); Greg Chaimson (trumpet); Derek Pyle (trombone); Will Wulfeck (trombone); Eli Feingold (trombone); Wesley Thompson (bass trombone); Jake Shapiro (piano); Josh Bermudez (guitar); Mackenzie Karbon (vibraphone and glockenspiel); Lowell Ringel (bass); Garrett Fracol (drums).

1 comment :

Steve T said...

Jazz still suffers from an inferiority complex to classical music; a throwback to C19th. I remember seeing Wayne Shorter perform his classical piece he'd composed to commemorate his 80th birthday. I say I saw it but I left not long in. Like others, he believes he will only be remembered if he writes for an orchestra, but his places in history are assured: they're called the Second Great Quintet, Bitches Brew and Weather Report.
I sometimes get wrong for hijacking peoples posts so apologies.

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