Total Pageviews

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.

Monday, June 03, 2019

CD Review: Tori Freestone Trio - El Mar de Nubes


Tori Freestone (tenor sax/violin/vocals)
Dave Manington (double bass); Tim Giles (drums 
(Review by Chris).

The second of my “Three Tenors” recent releases is the third album from this contemporary, UK trio led by one of our most inventive sax players. The playing is a circumspect contrast to the direct blowing of Partisans (and positively relaxing compared to Kamasi) but no less enjoyable for that!   A closer comparison might be with some of Trish Clowes’ recent playing but while there is abundant imagination and innovation here, Freestone’s all-acoustic trio don’t travel as widely in idiom or dynamics. If you’re looking for hard blowing, driving bop, funk, or even swing, this isn't for you, but this chordless trio delivers truckloads of expressive, fresh and intricate music nonetheless.   

The album opens with El Mar de Nubes (Sea of Clouds - the album inspired by a stay in Tenerife) and  introduces a distinctive, recurring style of sax interplaying with subtle drums and bass, exploring and teasing a repeated motif, stretching emphasis and tempo.  The second track, Hiding Jekyll takes this method further, twisting a phrase in all sorts of interesting directions, with bass and drums seamlessly intertwining and reinforcing. At first hearing, I found the approach a little mechanical, but as so often, it took me a couple of plays to appreciate the clever, nuanced lines. 

There is great diversity throughout the album, with Shenandoah first receiving a breathy and sparse treatment, with a contrasting reprise closing the album seeing Freestone switching to violin and singing a more familiar version.    
  
Hasta la Vista is a showcase for bass and drums (much more here than mere “rhythm section!), starting with Tim Giles’ “time games”, all three players trading licks, then alternating with more relaxed passages, with some free blowing between.  El Camino by contrast is slower, ruminating and wistful, played over loose, bubbling and splashing percussion (no time, no changes – at least not obvious to my ears!).  

A very “non-standard” Beatrice starts slowly with lovely meandering sax gliding effortlessly through the changes, gradually gathers pace as Giles swaps brushes for sticks, dabbles with a swing for a while, and reaches a full-tilt climax.

My favourite track, Los Indianos, puts percussion to the fore, with a memorable staccato sax theme giving space to Giles’ agile and lively (calypso?) lines 
Altogether, some very fine, intelligent and musical playing: worth a short trip to see them on tour June 13 @ - Newcastle Arts Centre Details.
Chris Kilsby 

Available on Whirlwind Recordings. Buy/see

No comments :

Blog Archive