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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15867 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 874 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (Sept. 25).

From This Moment On ...

September

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

Tue 03: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Paul Wight (drums).

Monday, September 30, 2019

The Things We Did Last Summer

I'm currently semi-housebound - don't ask! - and, as so often happens in these situations, a song gets lodged in your head and you can't shift it - not that I particularly want to shift this one as it's one of the best and it didn't come from the pen of Gershwin, Porter, Kern, Berlin, Rodgers, Mercer or Carmichael. No, the music was by  Jule Styne and the words by Sammy Cahn. 

This was in 1946 and  it charted for Jo Stafford who sneaked her version out ahead of Sinatra's who, seemingly, wasn't pleased.

Instrumentally, among others, Fats Navarro, Roy Hargrove, Freddie Hubbard, Richie Kamuka and Buddy de Franco made impressive recordings. However, I'm going to sneak into Ann Alex territory and concentrate on the lyric.

It's typical American 1940's bobbysoxer baloney but, despite that, every line paints a picture:

The boat rides we would take, the moonlight on the lake, 
The way we danced and hummed our favourite song. 
The things we did last summer, 
I'll remember all winter long.

Can't you just picture the young couple falling in love in a holiday setting?

The midway and the fun, the kewpie dolls we won, 
The bell I rang to prove that I was strong, 
The things we did etc.

All the fun of the fair, the sideshows, the shooting gallery, the macho man striking the hammer and ringing the bell to impress the girl and maybe ringing her bell. 

The early morning hike, the rented tandem bike, 
The lunches that we used to pack. 
We never could explain, that sudden summer rain,
The looks we got when we got back.

The knowing glances from their friends when they came back late, was the rain just an excuse?

However,  the season, changes...

The leaves began to fade, like promises we made,
How could a love that seemed so right go wrong?
The things we did last summer, I'll remember all winter long.

That final verse is the masterstroke. Sammy Cahn has taken us on a journey of fun and frothy frivolity and turned it into a saga of heartbreak.
Lance

2 comments :

Liz said...

It has everything you could wish for, a great fave of mine, esp the "knowing looks" bit, it always did make me smile, so subtle, not hitting you in the face such as today's lyrics, thanks Lance for putting this into my head for the rest of tonight and onwards!

Ann Alex said...

Lance, I don't mind you straying into my domain, lyrics are for everyone to enjoy and these are seemingly straightforward but with effective images. Songs are more difficult to write than people imagine, as you have to make your point quickly and not wander all over the place, unless you are a songwriter who can 'wander' but still be interesting, eg Bob Dylan. Others may not agree that Dylan was good in his own way so I hope I haven't opened a can of worms, or rather a can of words.

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