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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17421 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 695 of them this year alone and, so far, 100 this month (Sept. 30).

From This Moment On ...

October

Thu 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 03: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: Practices of Freedom workshop @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 7:30pm. Free. Book at: www.eventbrite.com.
Thu 03: Alcyona Mick + Juliana Day @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. & £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM (Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music) in assoc. w. Northern Silents & JNE.
Thu 03: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Guest band night w. '58 Jazz Collective led by trumpeter Kevin Eland with Paul Donnelly (guitar); Donna Hewitt (saxes); Dave Archbold (keys); John Daniel (bass); Alex Cromarty (drums); Darren Moore (percussion) + JAN SPENCELAYH!. Free.

Fri 04: Satoko Fujii @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & Lit & Phil.
Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Amirtha Kidambi w. Manon McCoy @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 6:20pm. £8.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. Gem Arts, JNE & Lit & Phil.
Fri 04: Ziv Taubenfeld/Olie Brice/Kresten Osgood + Andy Champion + Izumi Kimura & Gerry
Hemingway @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & Lit & Phil.
Fri 04: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: As I Sing & Breathe @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 7:30pm. Free. Tickets: www.eventbrite.com. ‘Songs & Improvisations’ - Nicols, Dalling & guests.
Fri 04: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 04: John Rowland Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 05: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: Musical Boxing Training @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 2:30pm. Free. Tickets: www.eventbrite.com. ‘A workshop for musical improvisers’. An event in a boxing ring!
Sat 05: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Wylam Village Institute, Church Road, Wylam NE41 8AP. Doors 7:00pm. Tickets £15.00. + £1.50. bf, available from: www.gigantic.com.
Sat 05: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Bright Street Big Band @ Washington Arts Centre. From 7:00pm. £12.00. Bright Street Big Band on stage at 7:30pm, preceded at 7:00pm by a swing dance taster session.
Sat 05: J.A.M. String Collective + Tara Cunningham + The Flame @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & Lit & Phil.
Sat 05: Heavy Drunk @ Anarchy Brewery, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.00. + £1.50. bf. ‘Mississippi Delta Blues Experience’ feat. Heavy Drunk, Watermelon Slim & Leonardo Giuliani.
Sat 05: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: Musical Boxing Night @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 7:30pm. Free. Tickets: www.eventbrite.com. Nicols, Dalling ao. An event in a boxing ring!
Sat 05: Milne-Glendinning Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 05: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Swarland Village Hall NE65 9JG. 8:00pm. £12.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm (12:30pm doors). £7.50.
Sun 06: Luis Verde Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 06: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 06: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 06: Catriona Bourne Quartet + Heather Ferrier + Emma Johson’s Gravy Boat @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & The Globe.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 07: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30-8:30pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Wed 09: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 09: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 09: Shunya, Dudù Kouate & Seb Rochford @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). £21.00.

Thu 10: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 10: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. ‘Collaborations - it happened all the time’.
Thu 10: Indigo Jazz Voices w. the Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.
Thu 10: Side Cafe Orkestar @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 10: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. With guests Donna Hewitt (sax); Bill Watson (trumpet); Graham Thompson (keys); Ron Smith (bass). Free.

Wednesday, October 02, 2019

CD Review: Miki Purnell - Midnight Bloom

Miki Purnell (vocal); Tamir Hendelman (piano); Alex Frank (bass);  Dean Koba (drums) + Bob Sheppard (sax/clarinet/flute x 5); Pat Kelley (guitar x 3); Tommy Aros (percussion x 4).
(Review by Lance).

Miki Purnell's second album is an appealing collection of songs loosely related to experiencing the wonders of nature at night which isn't a bad place to start.

Born and raised in Japan, after dipping her toes into the waters of jazz, Miki became a doctor in Hawaii and her career was professionally put on the backburner albeit whilst still singing after work for the residents of a nursing home. Sounds familiar? Miki wouldn't be the first doctor to combine the two.

A move to San Diego saw her parallel universe expanding. Not only did she become a member of the second largest integrative medicine team in the United States but also recorded her first CD Swingin' to the Sea which was so favourably reviewed worldwide that an eventual follow-up was inevitable.

Although the winsome little girl voice suggests shades of Chet Baker and Blossom Dearie - two of her biggest influences - it doesn't detract from her individuality. In a world where one in every three women are jazz singers (or so it seems) it is refreshing to find that unique person who stands out from the crowd. Miki Purnell does that here with a mix of the familiar, the not so familiar and a couple of her own,

"Being involved in music cultivates my creativity in medicine and in bonding with patients" says Miki.

She's equally creative in music too. On Embraceable You she applies her vocalese to a 1949 JATP Lester Young solo. Coleman Hawkins inspired her take on Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams whilst an original (co-written with pianist Henderson), Midnight Madness Called Jazz, is based on 'Round Midnight. Matt Dennis' The Night We Called it a Day, Stars (Endless Stars) by Fred Hersch and Norma Winstone, plus gems by Johnny Mandel with Dave Frishberg and the Bergmans add to what may well be the classiest vocal album of the year.

And there's more! Tamir Henderson is the perfect accompanist cum soloist - think Hank Jones and you're getting close. Bob Sheppard pops up on 5 tracks blowing tenor, clarinet and flute, adding that little bit extra. Pat Kelley does the same with some fine guitar work on four tracks with Tommy Aros helping out Koba and Frank in the rhythm section.

Next time you're feeling ill and can't get to Sacramento where Miki now practises just ask your GP to prescribe Midnight Bloom - 14 tracks, minimum twice a day with an extra dose at suppertime - it will work wonders!
Lance

Listen.

Moonlight Saving Time; Embraceable You; No Moon at All; Estrada Branca; 'Round Midnight/Midnight Madness Called Jazz; Quiet Now; Love Dance; The Night We Called it a Day; Teach me Tonight; You Are There; Solitary Moon; Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams; Stars; Midnight Bloom.

3 comments :

Ann Alex said...

Lance, I hope you are glad that it seems that 1 out of every 3 women are jazz singers. The more the merrier! It seems to me that 1 out of every 3 men are jazz sax players, but I'm not complaining, so I hope you aren't.

Lance said...

Ann, I only made the observation to emphasise that Miki Purnell is a singer who really does stand out from the crowd and is worth checking out by anyone who appreciates good jazz singing. I realise I was being facetious when I quoted '1 in 3' when it's probably nearer 1 in 5.

Miki P said...

Hello Lance!! Thank you so much for this beautiful review!!!! I showed it to my colleagues and we all love how you recommend prescription and additional dose at dinner time!! Super creative!!!

I am very honored!!

BTW, I joined the integrative medicine whenI moved to Sacramento!! In San Diego, i was just practicing family medicine!! Sorry for confusing bio.

Please take care and have a wonderful day!!! Hug!!

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