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Bebop Spoken There

Orrin Evans: “Now, getting a teaching spot is the new record deal”. (DownBeat, November, 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

17502 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 776 of them this year alone and, so far, 14 this month (Nov. 5).

From This Moment On ...

November

Fri 08: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 08: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 08: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm.
Fri 08: TC & the Groove Family + Swannek + Knats @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 09: Moscow Drug Club @ Hamsterley Village Hall, Co. Durham DL13 3QF. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Sat 09: Anth Purdy @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. ‘Swing Jazz Guitar’. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 10: The New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free. A ‘second Sunday in the month’ residency.
Sun 10: Panharmonia @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £6.00.
Sun 10: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Jude Murphy, Steve Chambers & Sid White @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 10: Moscow Drug Club @ Lesbury Village Hall, nr. Alnwick NE66 3PP. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Sun 10: SH#RP Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 11: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 12: Matthew Forster Quartet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.
Tue 12: Phil’s Elastic Band @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. Free, but ticketed, book online.

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: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: corto.alto @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 7:45pm (doors 7:00pm). £14.00. + bf.

Thu 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Faye MacCalman & John Pope @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 14: Student Performances @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 4:00pm. Inc. Olly Styles (saxophone).
Thu 14: John Stowell & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Top class US/UK guitar duo!
Thu 14: Struggle Buggy + King Bees @ The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Top class blues double bill!
Thu 14: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Jeremy McMurray (keys); Kevin Eland (trumpet); Mark Toomey (alto sax); Adrian Beadnell (bass).

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

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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