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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.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

CD Review: Pete McGuinness Jazz Orchestra - Along For the Ride.

(Review by Lance)

The big bands will never come back - we're told! In actual fact, they've never really been away. True, the days of dinner-jacketed ensembles in hotels, dancehalls and concert halls are no longer a commercial proposition, nevertheless, the excitement of playing in a big band still proves irresistible for both student and star and audience. There's a thrill, playing in a large ensemble, that's beyond compare with (almost) anything else.

The challenge of mastering the arrangement, wallowing in the harmonies,  soloing on top of it all, the excitement when it all gels, the shared deprecation when it goes wrong, safe in the knowledge that next time you'll nail it.

Sammy Nestico, Maria Schneider and Gordon Goodwin stand on the podium when it comes to contemporary big band composers and arrangers - justifiably so. However, anyone who has climbed the ladder of success knows that their position isn't impregnable and that there are always others snapping at their heels and, in this case, much higher than their heels...

Pete McGuinness is one of the comers. Along For the Ride - the band's third album - puts his and their hats firmly in the ring when polling time comes around over at DownBeat.

The trombonist-leader cut his chops with the legacy bands of Buddy Rich and Woody Herman as well as with bands led by Lionel Hampton and Jimmy Heath. Various stints with the aforementioned Schneider Orchestra, study with Bob Brookmeyer and his developing trombone technique put him in the position to form a band that can now hold its own with any big band in New York City which, translated, means any band in the world.

And it doesn't end there. Listen to his vocal on May I Please Come In? Look over your shoulders Bennett/Bublé. Most of the personnel listed have solos to die for. Owens and Kadleck don't solo but provide the split lead trumpet a big band depends on. At the other end, Jeff Nelson's bari provides a Carney-like foundation.

If I'm ever able to persuade our local big band aficionado, Tony Eales, to review albums, this one has his name on it!
Lance.

Put on a Happy Face; You Must Believe in Spring; Old Roads; Point of Departure; Aftermath; May I Come in?; Jive Samba; Who Cares?; One For the Maestro.

Pete McGuinness (trombone/vocals/leader/composer/arranger); Bill Mobley, Jon Owens, Tony Kadleck (trumpet) Chris Rogers (flugelhorn); Matt Haviland, Mark Patterson, Bruce Eidem (trombone); Jeff Nelson (bass trombone); Dave Pietro (soprano/alto sax); Mark Phoneuf (alto sax); Tom Christensen, Ron Middleton (tenor sax); Dave Reikenberg (bari sax); Mike Holober (piano);  Andy Euloy (bass); Scott Neumann (drums).
Available June 7 - Summit Records.

1 comment :

Victor P said...

Agreed. A very exciting and varied outing, to my ears, surpassed this year, only by "Hiding Out", the stunning big band recording led by Mike Holober, the pianist here. Inventive and meticulously realized big band tone poems that excite the mind and move the heart.

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