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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

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.

Fri 15: Paul Edis @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 15: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: Paul Skerritt @ Black Horse Inn, Crook. From 7:00pm.
Fri 15: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ St Cuhtbert's Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00. SOLD OUT! Waiting list open.
Fri 15: Zoë Gilby Trio @ Seventeen Nineteen, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £12.00. Fri 15: Strictly Smokin' Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. First night of two.
Fri 15: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 15: Baghdaddies @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00.; £10.00.

Thursday, July 09, 2020

Album review: AuB - AuB

Alex Hitchcock (tenor sax/synth)
Tom Barford (tenor sax/synth)
Fergus Ireland (bass/synth)
James Maddren (drums) 

AuB (pronounced ORB) are a London based quartet led by two young tenor players,  Tom Barford and Alex Hitchcock, teamed up here with a top rhythm section of Fergus Ireland (bass) and the estimable James Maddren (drums) seen in these parts most recently with Trish Clowes' band My IrisThis, their debut album on the adventurous Edition Records, is a seriously ambitious venture with top players aiming to break new ground. The “blurb” warns of an uncompromising approach, and to think “Phronesis meets Polar Bear”. 


There is certainly a rhythmic drive and depth reminiscent of Phronesis, with the added power of interlocking twin sax lead, but to my relief with great artistry and sensitivity – no showing off for its own sake here!  The undoubted intellectual seriousness is reinforced by the name, AuB, derived, as the mathematically literate among you will recognise immediately, from set theory – meaning literally “A union B”, two sets joined together, often depicted as two overlapping circles on a Venn diagram.  This is an apt analogy, as the twin tenors add up to more than the sum of their parts, as indeed does the whole band.  I’m sure the two sax players have different styles, but I didn’t try to unpick the “union” - just enjoyed the ride, as they took turns to lead, support, chase and combine 

First track Not Jazz was misleading ... it was definitely jazz to my ears!  Five minutes of high energy interlocking tenor lines seemingly effortlessly jet propelled by the section deluxe. The shorter Valencia is more thoughtful, opening with lingering and gorgeous twin sax over bass, boosted by slinky off-kilter, delightfully accented, drum part.  

Calvados introduces electronic effects to the mix, with ethereal tenor floating over menacing synth sounds and grimy backbeat. The shorter Dual Reality is reserved for the twin tenors as its name suggests, beguiling counterpoint hinting at the leaders’ classical backgroundin a delicate, immaculately played and wholesome composition.  
Ice Man is more moody, giving space to Ireland to lay down a very musical bass lead followed by tenor, all interwoven with Maddren’s ever shifting sands of time.   Doggerland is a standout, perhaps aptly named after the ancient union of our island with Europe now lost under the North Sea? This starts with saxes in union weaving a meandering melodic line over insistent drums, evolving into a passionate solo sax break, tastefully enhanced with reverb and highlighted with synth stabs before clarifying to a powerful acoustic finale.  

Overall, as powerful and accomplished a debut as you could wish for, from a new and prodigiously talented intersection of players and composers. If this is their first effort, where might they end up?!   Highly recommended to check them out for musicality, mature composition, chops, the works.  Watch this space, and I’d love to see them soon in a sympathetic space such as Sage 2?! 
Chris K 
Currently availableCat No (CD): EDN1155Format: CD & Download from www.editionrecords.com. 

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