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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

16051 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1058 of them this year alone and, so far, 12 this month (Dec. 6).

From This Moment On ...

December

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 Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. MU 1:00-3:00pm; Zoë Gilby Quartet 4:00-6:00pm. Tickets: £7.50.
Sun 10: Alan Law, Paul Grainger & Abbie Finn @ Darlington Market, Market Square, Darlington. 1:00pm. Free. A ‘Christmas Market’ outdoor gig. Wrap up warm!
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.

Wed 13: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Wed 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Hot Fingers @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 14: After Hours Student Jazz Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. . Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 14: Niffi Osiyemi Trio @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Mo Scott ‘Little Mo’s Festive Appearance’ @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Tees Hot Club w. Kevin Eland, Josh Bentham, Garry Hadfield, Adrian Beadnell @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

One Night in Birdland

Fats Navarro (trumpet); Charlie    Parker (alto sax); Bud Powell (piano); Curley Russell (bass); Art Blakey (drums).
  (By David Brownlow)

  In this year of the Centenary of the birth of   Charlie Parker, a chance to look back at a gig       he played when bebop was at its height.

In the bebop era, it was true to say that Bud Powell was not Charlie Parker’s best friend. Furthermore, it was also true that Bud Powell was not Fats Navarro’s best friend either…..Personality clashes, egos, mental health issues and drugs misuse were some of the factors involved in the cut-throat business of the jazz life – putting a band together and keeping it, getting gigs, having a recording contract, going on tour or trying to have any sort of family life were problems to overcome (as now). 

Bird was very astute in his choice of sidemen – he didn’t want to be outplayed on the bandstand. That’s why he employed either a young, faltering Miles Davis, an emerging Kenny Dorham, a brash Red Rodney, or a weak Benny Harris to be the front-line partner in his Quintet. Dizzy Gillespie was already ‘leader’ material himself and wanted his own bands; Fats Navarro, the virtuoso trumpeter was just too good and piano genius Bud Powell was too unreliable because of his personal problems. 

Bud suffered from mental-health issues throughout his life at times undergoing ‘unsuitable’ treatments ie electric shock, or police brutality i.e. the cosh about the head. Recent suggestions have been that Bud may have been suffering from Autism or the personality problem Bipolar Disorder. In today’s world, he would have received more knowledgeable treatment. Nevertheless, Bud was a very difficult person to manage as a musician – not only did he have a chip on his shoulder, he had the whole bag of chips…..! At times, he would goad or provoke other players – he even challenged Tatum, Parker, and Navarro about their playing abilities. As a result, Bird couldn’t have him in his band although he loved his playing and tried to give him bits and pieces of work from time to time.

Bud and Fats also had their ‘moments’ on the bandstand. On one occasion, Navarro, incensed by the pianist’s belligerence, attempted violently to crash his trumpet down onto the hands of Bud at the keyboard to the horror of the audience. Luckily for all concerned, the assault failed, the trumpet caught the wooden frame of the piano and was wrecked – Fats had to borrow a horn from someone else to finish the gig. On another occasion, Fats poured a whole flagon of beer over Bud while on the stage.

Bearing all this background in mind, it’s amazing to believe that an occasion should arise when Bird, Fats and Bud turned up for a jam session eager and ready to play on a Monday night at Birdland, NYC, in October 1950. They joined the ‘house’ rhythm team of Curly Russell on bass and Art Blakey on drums in a ‘one-off’ performance which we’re lucky enough to be able to listen to the extraordinary music played that night. This was through he efforts of a fan, Bill Hersch, who brought his tape-recorder into the venue as requested by Boris Rose, a sound engineer who was known for illegally selling-on tapes and discs to fans and to musicians. Make no mistake, this was to be a “cutting contest” in the tradition of jazz long ago

One track, Ornithology, stands out for its sheer brilliance. After a chaotic Powell intro, Bird takes the first solo (he always took the first solo!) Characteristically forceful, looking for new ideas, he’s not quite at his most fluent best. Navarro steps up next. On this night on the bandstand, he looked a pitiful sight to the shocked audience. Wracked by coughing and with a ghastly pallor to his face, his suit hung in folds around his once ample frame. Tragically, he was suffering from advanced Tuberculosis exacerbated by his heroin habit and he died only days after this gig – how he managed to play as well as he did was an extraordinary feat. Nevertheless, he outplays Parker with fantastic support from the rhythm section, his flights up into the higher register forming part of a typically well-thought-out effort. 

The piano takes up the fight next; Bud, inspired by what just happened, attacked the keyboard as only he could. With sweat dripping down his face, his right leg braced on the floor, features contorted in a grimace, his solo builds. Tension mounts, the crowd respond, Blakey reduces volume but drives relentlessly towards the piano player’s emotional and technical climax, and yes, it is Bud, Bud Powell, who wins this round! !  Frantic ‘fours’ bring the bout to a close.

 Listener alert!

A warning to anyone wishing to listen to this music – the sound fidelity is distinctly lo-fi, harsh with extraneous noise provided by the audience from the on-location recording done on  primitive gear and with subsequent transfer to disc – but very rewarding.
Dave B.                 

1 comment :

Yardbird said...

This is music of unbelievable quality my favourite piece is the astonishing version of The Street Beat to hear the three greatest musicians of their generation together is breathtaking.

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