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Bebop Spoken There

Simon Spillett: “ Bebop and hard bop came naturally to him [Tubby Hayes]". Morning Star, March 28, 2024.

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...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thursday, January 24, 2019

CD Review: Yonathan Avishai Trio – Joys and Solitudes

Yonathan Avishai (piano); Yoni Zelnik (double bass); Donald Kontomanou (drums).
(Review by Hugh C)

Of Israeli origin, Yonathan Avishai has been resident in France since 2000.  Initially in the Dordogne, he moved nearer to Paris, where he met Yoni Zelnik and Donald Kontomanou, with whom he has been working for the last five years.  The trio (sometimes known as the Modern Times Trio) “re-examines shifting meanings of modernity in the course of its work”.

Joys and Solitudes opens with the trio’s rendition of the thoroughly modern model of a modern composition, Mood Indigo. The track commences with a metronomic beat from Kontomanou, from which the melody is gradually built by piano and bass.  Avishai states that he “saw at some point that he became more expressive with less notes” - this certainly comes through in his expansive interpretation of this well-known Ellington/Bigard composition.  

The remaining tracks on the CD are Avishai’s own compositions.  Solo piano introduces Song for Anny before moving into three/four waltz time with the other members of the band.

Dance also features in a number of the other tracks on the CD.  Avishai was inspired to compose the third track after listening to Dino Saluzzi and Anja Lechner’s ECM collaboration, Ojos Negros.  

Tango does what it says on the tin, but with an Avishai twist – all on solo piano.  Joy sees the trio back together from the start, an upbeat number, as one would expect, with a drum solo from Kontomanou sandwiched in the middle.  Shir Boker, which (as far as I can ascertain) translates as “Morning Song” is a balladic interpretation of the content of the title – in dance terms, it is what the French would call “un slow”.  

The terpsichorean theme continues in Lya, which has a definite Township jive and will have even the most curmudgeonly listener at least tapping their toes, if not dancing round the room!  When Things Fall Apart is inspired by Avishai’s long collaboration with a fellow Israeli musician, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, and is a response to Cohen’s Into the Silence.  The title derives from a book by the American Buddhist writer, Pema Chödrön and the piece is a sequence of musical disassembly and reincarnation. 

Les Pianos de Brazzaville recalls two journeys made by Yonathan Avishai to the Republic of the Congo in Central Africa and is another jaunty, rhythmic tune with a significant hint of the Afro-Cuban rumba.  We finish on a definite high!

Joys and Solitudes is a must for pianophiles.  The trio is tight and their musicianship shines through on this excellent CD.  The CD is released on 25th January 2019 (tomorrow) on ECM 2611.

Hugh C.

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