Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Billy Boy Arnold: “As long as you don't think old you're good.” - DownBeat, December, 2023.

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...

Postage

16034 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1041 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 27).

From This Moment On ...

December

Tue 05: Customs House Big Band @ All Saints Church, Cleadon. 7:00pm. Concert in the church hall. BYOB.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Sid White. The best free show in town!

Wed 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 06: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 8:00pm. Free. Note later start time, concert performance (open to the public).
Wed 06: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free CANCELLED!
Thu 07: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay, Newcastle. 12 noon - 4:00pm. £26.00 (inc 3-course meal in in St Mary's Lighthouse Suite). SOLD OUT!
Thu 07: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 07: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.Donations. Feat. Mark Sanders. CANCELLED!
Thu 07: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00. Downstairs.
Thu 07: Tees Hot Club: Just Friends @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. Guest band night w. Richie Emmerson, Ian Bosworth, Dave Archbold, Ron Smith, Mark Hawkins. 9:00pm.

Fri 08: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle. 1:00pm. £7.00.
Fri 08: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Woodland Village Hall, Bishop Auckland. 7:00pm. £12.00.
Fri 08: Sleep Suppressor + Redwell @ Head of Steam, Neville St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00. (£8.00. adv); £5.00. student.
Fri 08: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert's Church, Shadforth, Co. Durham.
Fri 08: Têtes de Pois + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £8.00.

Sat 09: Prudhoe Community Band @ Central Station, Newcastle. 10:00am - 12 noon. Charity fundraiser.
Sat 09: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Skinnergate, Darlington. 1:00pm.
Sat 09: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 09: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Middleton & Todridge Village Hall, Morpeth. 7:30pm. £12.00., £6.00.
Sat 09: Paul Skerritt @ Slaley Hall, Hexham NE47 0BX. 7:30pm. From £42.00.

Sun 10: Musicians Unlimited’s Xmas Party with Zoe Gilby Quartet @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. MU 1:00-3:00pm; Zoë Gilby Quartet 4:00-6:00pm. Tickets: £7.50.
Sun 10: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Funk Soul Sista @ Stack, Seaburn. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Beth Clarke @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 10: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Whittingham Memorial Institute, Alnwick. 7:30pm. £12.00., £10.00.
Sun 10: Tele-Port @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Zhenya Strigalev.

Mon 11: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Interim Final Recitals @ Newcastle University. Details TBC.

Tue 12: Stu Collingwood Organ Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £10.00.

Sunday, November 03, 2019

CD Review: Kyle Eastwood – Cinematic


Kyle Eastwood (bass); Andrew McCormack (piano); Quentin Collins (trumpet); Brandon Allen (tenor sax); Chris Higginbottom (drums) + Stefano di Batista  (saxes); Camille Bertault, Hugh Coltman (vocals).
(Review by Hugh C)

Kyle Eastwood (yes, cinematic relation) brings together his two great passions, cinema and music, with his new album Cinematic.  He performs with his regular bandmates and singers Camille Bertault and Hugh Coltman.  In this album both well-known and lesser known film scores are revisited and reinterpreted in a jazz style.

CD player loaded, remote cocked and ready, GO! The CD fires off with Bullitt.  Piano and trumpet open with a discordant blast, followed by a funky rendition of the familiar tune.  Short bass and drum solos punctuate the confident delivery by these capable musicians. A brief pause, the tyre smoke clears and Taxi Driver – Theme, follows on at a more leisurely pace.  Atmospheric   saxophony sets the scene followed by muted trumpet over a slow groove generated by the rhythm section.  

Les Moulins de Mon Coeur features chantoose (as they say over there) Camille Bertault with a smoky-voiced delivery of the iconic song.  The guys get a look in too, with saxophone and trumpet solos alternating with Bertault’s vocals and scat singing.  The Eiger Sanction is a high speed romp featuring piano, saxophone and trumpet driven at speed by the rhythm section.  Gran Torino, composed by father and son Eastwood, Michael Stevens and Jamie Cullum features Hugh Coltman on vocals. 

Pink Panther – Theme, beloved of amateur bands everywhere, is given a classy outing by the guys who give it their own twist.  Per le Antiche Scale  features expressive, melodic slow piano, bass and drums and at just over 3 minutes is the shortest track on the album.  Charade sets off with militaristic style drumming to be joined by saxophone and trumpet delivering the melody with chordal piano in the background. Trumpet, saxophone and bass solos follow, with subtle support from the rhythm section.  Unforgiven - Claudia’s Theme features guitar (not credited), but possibly Eastwood on upper registers of electric bass.  Collins delivers an atmospheric trumpet line over piano and bass, to finish with solo guitar.  

Skyfall brings the entire ensemble back together for a jazzy rendition of the theme - all the band members get a look in, with short solos from each in turn.  In the final minute Higginbottom is allowed to stretch out a bit on drums.  Gran Torino is a reprise without the vocals and to my mind probably the better version (not to diss the original of course!).  Eastwood takes the melody line on double bass, ably supported by unobtrusive piano and subtle brushwork on drums.  The melody is then taken by saxophone and brought to a conclusion by a saxophone and bass duet.

The potential problem with a release of this type is that it will fall between two stools, film music and jazz.  The Jazz Police will be all over this and will apprehend the “perp” for questioning.  A shame, because the musically open listener will find this a delight.  The musicianship is exemplary and the product is musically interesting, even though I did not recognise many of the tunes (I am no film buff).  The love that has been put into this project by Eastwood is palpable.

Cinematic is released on November 8 on Jazz Village and is available for pre-order from several online retailers.
Hugh C

No comments :

Blog Archive