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Bebop Spoken There

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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...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wednesday, May 06, 2020

CD Review: Rachel Sutton – A Million Conversations


Rachel Sutton (vocals); Roland Perrin (piano); Michael Curtis Ruiz (bass); Paul Robinson (drums); Stuart Brooks (trumpet on Brother Can You Spare A Dime)

I'll be keeping this CD and playing it often, a high compliment from a reviewer. Why? Because of the high quality lyrics of these songs, mostly original, especially A Million Conversations and The Space, both very moving songs about mothers, which had me close to tears.

 The former song is about missing your mother who has died, thus: 'a million conversations since you left this world, and every single one upon my own'. And this song has a sort of clinch at the end: 'I know I see your face when I look at mine'. The Space concerns the words of an adopted child who is imagining what sort of life the birth mother had, and wishing that they had met. These two songs are contemporary rather than jazz style, with very sensitive accompaniment, especially from piano.


The rest of the songs are also well worth the listening. When Love Was New reflects sadly about a past love affair; Pick Myself Up by contrast is all about recovering, a fast lively jazzy song with a steady 4/4 piano backing and ascending and descending scales and a romping piano/bass duet; Kiss My Baby Goodbye is a Latin number with a rhythm I couldn't quite name (dum diddle diddle dum dum dum, people who know about Latin rhythms will recognise this I hope).

The two non- originals  are Brother Can You Spare A Dime? (a rather dramatic version which swings, with a skilled trumpet solo); and Evil Gal Blues, which tells of a woman enjoying herself mightily, a jazz blues with a bluesy piano solo, ending with a satisfied laugh from our singer. The song about adoption ends the CD reflectively.   

Rachel Sutton hails from Kent and grew up listening to jazz and the popular music of such as Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell. She trained as an actor and has performed leading roles in Shakespeare. She is now a singer full-time and she has sung at the Edinburgh and New York Fringe festivals, as well as at top London jazz clubs and jazz venues in the UK and abroad.

The instrumentalists are all well experienced and play with other bands and I especially noticed that Perrin, who leads instrumentally on this CD, has also played with Brotherhood Of Breath, who were mentioned in the recent BBC series about Black Music In Europe.

Ann Alex

2 comments :

Lance said...

Yes Ann, I thought you'd like this one. However, what impressed me most was the rich fullness of Rachel Sutton's voice which I thought was deserved of special mention (and praise). Just saying ...

Anonymous said...

Yes Lance, I agree about the voice but I was so keen on the songwriting that I forgot to mention it, Ann

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