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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio + Abbie Finn @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

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: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Wednesday, April 03, 2019

CD Review: Graeme Wilson Quartet - Abscondit

Graeme Wilson (tenor sax/flute/balafon); Paul Edis (piano/keys/flute); Andy Champion (bass/bass guitar/flute); Adam Sinclair (drums/perc)
(Review by Lance).

Back in the early sixties, jazz critics had a shock awakening when they first heard the Newcastle based hardbop quintet the Emcee Five. Back then, if a band wasn't doing the rounds of the London scene they were nowhere men. However, just as the Beatles from Liverpool and the Animals from Newcastle took the London pop world by storm, so did the Emcee Five strike a blow for the provinces in the less publicised world of jazz.

Since then, the standard of jazz has risen to such heights that on most nights in most major cities you can hear jazz of world-class quality. Which leads me to pose the question - are there four better players than these guys anywhere in the country or, maybe, outside of New York?


All eight tracks were composed by Graeme Wilson whose tenor playing you wouldn't want to meet on a dark night at a jam session - or maybe you would - just have a St. John's Ambulance crew standing by. Paul Edis - a legend - a man for the occasion. You wanna symphony composed for next week, a guy to play at your daughter's wedding or someone to play some of the greatest jazz piano this (or maybe the other) side of Keith Jarrett? look no further. When it comes to bass playing no one is more fortuitously named than Andy Champion. On drums, my worthy constituent Russell has Adam Sinclair down as his favourite drummer which is a better call than the one he made for Notts County to win promotion. Adam also engineered four of the tracks as well as handling the mastering and mixing. Now if he had been in charge of Notts County...

Several of the tracks were played and broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 at last Saturday's Free Thinking Festival held at Sage Gateshead. One of the numbers was After School that has Wilson, Edis and Champion forming a flute triumvirate. The compositions are complex, rhythms, time signatures, keys and moods change. It's all done seamlessly and only serves to enhance the music. The Bings is a masterclass in the art of ballad playing. The Bold Sammy features Sinclair beating out an infectious rhythm behind the tenor. Friction Motor, not surprisingly, is fast - apart from the unexpected silences. A blast by tenor, drums digging in and an amazing unison passage by horn and keys.

Jazz as we know it but also with a Scottish feel as befits the composer's heritage. Let's hope it gets picked by the BBC's dwindling jazz content or Jazz FM it deserves worldwide exposure.
Lance.

1 comment :

Roly said...

I think Graeme's Quartet is something quite unique and rather special. As you say Lance they are all great players and it's those compositions that underpin the group. It's music that makes you think, makes you smile, at times exciting, at times gentle and so charming. I would recommend anyone to go hear them if they are playing nearby.

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