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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

15867 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 874 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (Sept. 25).

From This Moment On ...

September

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.

Tue 03: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Paul Wight (drums).

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Paul Skerritt @ Vespa Italian Bar & Steakhouse, Primrose Hill, Jarrow. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 483 3355.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Album Review: Fred Randolph - Mood Walk

A bass-playing leader playing his own compositions wasn't a recipe that filled me with eager anticipation and my first thought was, who can I pass it on to who will appreciate it more than I will?

Then I played it! Boy did I get it wrong. The moment the needle hit the groove (figuratively speaking) I knew this was mine.

On the Upside: Randolph says it was inspired by Clifford Brown - it sure was! The head was so recognisable I tried to put a name to it but couldn't. Whatever, it's a great number.

Unaware: Chick Corea is the inspiration and Sheldon Brown impresses on flute and there are some tasty vibes from Dillon Vado. Where have I been hiding? I'd never heard of these musicians but they are Summa Cum Laude as Bud Freeman once named his band. Well, these guys are far removed from the world of Bud Freeman other than they play with the highest distinction.

T Bone Slide is a bouncy shuffle groove with Sankovich doing the business on B3. In case you think it all happens in NYC, check out Northern California where these guys hang out.

It's West Coast, but not as we remember it from the old days. The same quality of musicianship, yes, but gutsier, more intense, less ephemeral. Typical being Strange Game - David Crosby the subconscious inspiration. 

Mood Walk, runs rather than walks, enabling trumpet and tenor to blow some 21st century bebop with piano and bass adding to the recipe.

Knowing has a nice Latin feel to it, far removed from the pseudo bossa rhythms that pervade the European (and UK) scene. To misquote from the Leiber/Stoller number Peggy Lee (and Zoë Gilby) used to do so well - these cats really do know!

Mr Now came via Randolph listening to Coltrane Plays the Blues. I think that maybe Sheldon Brown also listened to the same album. But what am I doing mentioning names? Every one is Napoleon Brandy!

Todd Rundgren is name checked in the title of Todd's Idea. Sankovich plays a Wurlitzer electric piano on this one bringing back memories of the days when your allegiances were either Wurlitzer or Fender Rhodes. I think the Rhodes probably won that particular war although I  personally preferred the sound of the former.  

Nouveau Monde features the Congolese Ndombolo rhythm adding to the cosmopolitan feel of the album. Meadows is a Latin waltz and the album finishes off with Funky N.O. Thing. This does exactly what it says on the label and everyone has a good old blast.

Now available via the usual suspects - check out here.
Lance

Fred Randolph (basses); Erik Jecabson (trumpet/flugel); Sheldon Brown (tenor sax/flute); Dan Zemelman (piano); Greg Wyser-Pratte (drums) + Greg Sankovich (keys/organ) ; Silvestre Martinez (perc.); Brian Rice (perc.); Dillon Vado (vibes). 

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