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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 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

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Sunday, April 21, 2019

CD Review: Nat King Cole - For Sentimental Reasons.

Nat King Cole (piano/vocals); Irving Ashby/Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller/Joe Comfort (bass); Jack Costanzo (bongos) + Billy May/Stan Kenton Orchestras - 1 track each).
(Review by Lance).

A master class, not only in singing but in jazz piano. This is what begat Oscar Peterson and provided the groundwork for the Shearing Quintet. Apart from that, the smoothest voice you'll ever hear. Strangely, Sinatra moved from fairly straight ballad singing to the most swinging cat on the block whereas Cole moved in the opposite direction.

Fortunately, the 21 tracks here, dating from 1943 to 1951, are predominantly jazz orientated with Cole's vocals and bop piano licks as delectable now as they were 70 plus years ago. The instrumentals - Cole Capers and Bop Kick - rubber stamp his piano credentials. Brief snatches of guitar from Moore and Ashby add to the mix. Peterson later used the piano, guitar and bass format for many years and, if memory serves me right, I think Ashby also had a spell with Oscar prior to Kessel and Ellis. The Canadian also recorded some vocal tracks and guess who he sounded like? Got it in one!

Walking My Baby Back Home and Orange Colored Sky both charted. The former with Billy May and those slurping saxes, the latter with Kenton's brass-heavy ensemble which did no harm at all. Nor did Pete Rugulo's arrangement of That's my Girl deserve the ignominy of being the B side to one of Cole's biggest hits - Too Young. I remember buying the 78 as a kid and playing the B side more than Too Young. After all, it was an Ellington tune. It was only when I received this album that I discovered that the Ellington in question was not Duke but the Britisher Ray Ellington!

If you like classic singing, swinging piano and, in Oscar Moore and Irving Ashby, two of the most underrated of the post-Charlie Christian guitarists then this is an absolute must.

Like the rest of the series, the re-mastering is simply magnificent.
Another one of the essential BMG Dreyfus Jazz releases due out on May 10.
Lance.
This is my Night to Dream; (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons; I've Got a Way With Women; I'll String Along With You; Walking My Baby Home; Portrait of Jennie; If You Can't Smile and Say Yes; I Used to Love You; If I Had You; I'm in the Mood For Love; 'Deed I Do; Don't Blame Me; Orange Colored Sky; On the Sunny Side of the Street; Bop Kick; I'm an Errand Boy For Rhythm; That's My Girl; You're the cream in my Coffee; It's Only a Paper Moon.

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