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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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Thu 23: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcasatle. From 6:30pm 'til late. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Thu 23: Kerrin Tatman + John Garner & John Pope @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 23: Sunna Gunnlaugs & Julia Hülsmann @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm. A two-piano gig. A Sage Gateshead-JNE promotion.
Thu 23: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano.
Thu 23: Sleep Suppressor @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv. Upstairs.
Thu 23: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

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 @ 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.

Thursday, April 04, 2019

CD Review: Ushaw Ensemble - Ushaw Ensemble Volume 1

Paul Edis (composer, piano, musical director); Graeme Wilson (tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Andy May (Northumbrian pipes); Rob Walker (drums, percussion); Paul Susans (double bass); Emma Fisk (violin)
(Review by Russell)

Ushaw Ensemble Volume 1 is the latest chapter in the evolving story of a commissioned suite of music which met with universal critical acclaim following performances at festivals and jazz club engagements. Composer Paul Edis assembled a septet comprising notable figures on the national jazz stage alongside respected Northumbrian piper Andy May to interpret his music celebrating the life and story of St Cuthbert. The CD serves as a document of the story so far..


Volume 1 is in two parts; the greater part (St. Cuthbert Suite) comprising eleven tracks, and a stand-alone composition (Sound of Achill) closing some fifty minutes or so of absorbing music. St. Cuthbert's Theme is stated by violinist Emma Fisk, a theme which recurs periodically throughout the suite. Andy May's haunting pipes (A Shepherd from Melrose) evoke an ancient, bleak, seventh-century Northumbrian landscape in which Cuthbert lived and worked. Abbeys, monasteries and religious retreats punctuate Edis' narrative yet faith, belief, call it what you will, isn't a prerequisite when listening to the music of the Ushaw Ensemble. 

Edis' writing succeeds in fusing folk, jazz and classical elements; Fisk and May etching Cuthbert's simple, at times solitary, existence, similarly double bassist Paul Susans (Solitude), Graham Hardy (trumpet and flugelhorn) making a connection between ancient and modern horn instruments, Graeme Wilson (tenor sax, bass clarinet and flute) given license to roam across the piece, in the process unleashing a ferocious, freely improvised tenor saxophone contribution in tandem with drummer Rob Walker (The Vikings, track 8), and the architect of the Ushaw Ensemble project, Paul Edis, incorporating myriad styles and influences including, as the composer acknowledges, Debussy, Ravel, Ellington and Messiaen. 

Ushaw Ensemble Volume 1 tells a story, the music is majestic, and, as the title suggests, there is Volume 2 to look forward to.   

Ushaw Ensemble Volume 1 should be considered an essential purchase. For further details visit: www.pauledis.co.uk  

The Ushaw Ensemble will perform the music of Volume 1 at a CD launch concert at Ushaw College, April 4 (tonight), 7:30pm.         

Russell

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