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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Fishwick: “I can’t get behind the attitude that new is always somehow better than old” - Jazz Journal, April 15, 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!"

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

Sun 03: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:30pm. £7.50.
Sun 03: The Central Bar Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. The Central Bar Quartet plays Lou Donaldson’s Gravy Train. Featuring Jamie Toms.
Sun 03: Paul Skerritt @ Smith’s Arms, Carlton, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:00pm.
Sun 03: Johnny Hunter Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 03: Jam session @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.

Mon 04: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 04: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ People’s Kitchen, Bath Lane, Newcastle. From 5:30pm. On-street gig supporting the work of the People’s Kitchen charity. Wrap up warm! Donate!
Mon 04: Michael Young Trio w Lindsay Hannon @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: James Birkett Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Mon 04: Durham University Jazz Orchestra + Durham University Big Band @ Durham Castle DH1 3RW. 8:30pm. £6.00.; £5.00. concs; £4.00. DSM. ‘Jazzy Christmas’.

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.
Thu 07: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00. Downstairs.
Thu 07: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 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: 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: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 09: Abbie Finn Trio @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm.
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.

Tuesday, January 07, 2020

CD Review: Laura Noejovich - Laura Has New Standards

Laura Noejovich (voice); Takeshi Asai (piano)
(Review by James Henry)

Laura Has New Standards is a clever play on words, and in this debut album Laura Noejovich gives us a mixture of old standards in new ways, and other less familiar songs that might become new standards.

Laura Noejovich has an unusual background for an aspiring jazz singer. Originally trained as an opera singer, she then completed a degree in neurosciences in Skidmore College, NY, where she is currently a laboratory associate.  In this debut album Laura Noejovich is accompanied on piano by Takeshi Asai, originally from Japan but now based in New York, and an alumnus of Berklee College. Restricting the accompaniment to piano without a conventional rhythm section is a bold thing to do on a debut album, and Noejovich’s classical training and presence help her carry this off.

Noejovich has a strong vocal presence, with incredible power and dynamic range, as well as a phenomenal vocal range: she is able to hit long low dusky notes and then soar to great heights without becoming shrill. Takeshi Asai matches Noejovich’s vocal strength with an intense but sensitive piano accompaniment.

There are some lovely surprises in this selection. Why Don’t You Do Right by Kansas Joe McCoy is a hard times blues from the 1930’s which Noejovich begins confidently a capella and rubato, to be joined after six bars by Takeshi.  Noejovich is at her best in the more bluesy numbers, and Dreamer’s Ball (Brian May/Queen) is an utter treat. She also has a feel for show tunes, and Funny Honey from Chicago gets the full theatrical treatment. Quieter and more lyrical moments include a folksy interpretation of Lennon and McCartney’s The Fool on the Hill, with a quirky accompaniment by Asai. Once Upon A Dream (Wildhorn, from Jekyll and Hyde) and On My Own (Les Miserables) get the full wistful but hopeful stage treatment.  Standards don’t get much more standard than Gershwin tunes, and there is a huge powerful version of Summertime balanced by a lyrical and at times operatic Someone to Watch Over Me.

Laura Has New Standards is an impressive debut album. It is difficult to classify in many ways. Bits of it would be jazz in anyone’s book, some of it has to be musical theatre, and some of it is frankly operatic. Likewise, Noejovich’s vocal range is so huge I can’t decide whether she is an alto or a soprano.  But does it matter if we can’t slot music into pigeonholes?  Not a bit: just enjoy it for what it is.  Eclectic and classy sums this album up best of all.
James Henry     
Enchanted Meadow Records, November 2019

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