Total Pageviews

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

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

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.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

CD Review: Joachim Caffonnette Trio - Vers L'Azur Noir

Joachim Caffonnette (piano); Alex Gilson (bass); Jean-Baptiste Pinet (drums)
(Review by Lance)

Sadly, non-jazz pressures caused me to delay my review of this very enjoyable album by Belgium pianist Caffonnette and his two French confrères. Doubly sad as it meant not being able to draw attention to their recent UK tour which, although it bypassed Newcastle, given the number of mainland Europe bands that do turn up on Tyneside, was something of a surprise. However, the tour did include Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, Luton, Hove and, of course, London at no less a place than Kansas Smitty’s.

So, if you live within a close radius of the above towns and cities then you will probably have caught the gig and bought the CD already. If you didn’t make it - maybe you caught one of those bugs that always seem to be going around - then this is the chance to find out what you missed.

The fact that they played at Smitty’s tells you it isn’t going to be exit jazz (way out) although, by the same token, it is far from being dated.

Caffonnette has a gentle touch, reflective, searching. Bill Evans meets Debussy and Thelonious Monk. Monk’s Dream – one of three non-originals – shows that this pianist can swing with his own voicings building upon Monk’s foundation. Great number – great rendition.

Another surprise is Hey Jude which, like so many Beatles’ tunes, proves to be receptive to instrumental interpretations and, in many cases, better without the sometimes mystic and meaningless words!

Caff’s originals are captivating, delving into the harmonic possibilities which he knows are there – well he should do as he composed them! They all have deep meaning and relate to events the composer found inspiration from. Too complex to relate here but the album notes add to our understanding of the music.

Bass and drums do the necessary and have their moments to shine which they take at the cusp. However, this isn’t the Lord of the Manor throwing crumbs to his hirelings, it’s an integrated unit where each man’s contribution is neither less nor more than that of the others and, as such, it works beautifully.
Lance.
Perspectives; Inner Necessity; Tripoli’s Sorrow; Hey Jude; Vers L’Azur Noir; Sugar Man; A Mawda; Monk’s Dream; Jax and Reddy.

No comments :

Blog Archive