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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 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!"

Postage

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Monday, March 11, 2019

CD Review: Cathy Segal-Garcia - Dreamsville

Cathy Segal-Garcia (vocals); Larry Koonse (guitar); Josh Nelson (piano)
(Review by Ann Alex)

The twelfth CD from Cathy Segal-Garcia, singer, songwriter, teacher, and linchpin on the Los Angeles jazz scene, sees her working with A-list musicians, Larry Koonse, a first-call guitarist who has recorded 5 CD’s as a leader plus many others as a sideman, and pianist Josh Nelson, who has 6 albums to his credit and who has also created a multi-media show that involves music, art and visuals.

Dreamsville comprises 8 standards, 2 songs written by Ms Segal-Garcia, and also a piece from the classical repertoire, Scarlatti’s Sonata in B Minor L33, which was originally written for harpsichord. The three musicians worked out all the arrangements together during rehearsals, with the rich alto voice floating over a lush piano and guitar accompaniment.

This was mostly an enjoyable listening experience, with a dreamy feel as suggested by the title, and lots of slow songs though I was longing to hear an honest to goodness swing number. Perhaps they could have included a swinger with ‘dreamy’ words, such as No Moon At All?  The Scarlatti piece didn’t quite work for me. The guitar and piano were excellent, as on all the tracks, but the voice somehow lacked that mysterious spark on this one. I think that generally jazz and classical fusions rarely work. This fusion may have sounded better with just piano and guitar.

These reservations apart, the rest was fine. I especially liked the opening track, Henry Mancini’s Dreamsville, lots of space for an instrumental duet, and the voice playing with the word ‘dreamsville’ up to the fade-out ending. The Three of Us is a heartfelt original song about the fact that the singer’s twin sisters had both died. The three of them used to sing in a trio.

September in the Rain is a superb arrangement, rain and falling leaves portrayed in music and tapping on wood, then leaves chasing around, and the voice does pleasing variations of the tune. Pensativa is normally a bossa, but here it is done as an interesting jazz waltz. Beyond the Years is a haunting original song about finding love after many years and the CD concludes with Sometime Ago/Children’s Song, with wordless vocals and hints of free jazz.

Other tracks are: Canto Triste, Lonely Woman, Zingaro, and You Are There.

The CD is available from March 15, on Dash Hoffman Records DHR 1023, in stores and online at CDbaby.com.

Ann Alex (Our woman in South Shields!)

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