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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

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

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.

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Album Review: Diane Schuur – Running On Faith

Diane Schuur (vocals, piano); Ernie Watts (tenor and sop sax); Kye Palmer (trumpet, flugelhorn); Thom Rotella (guitar); Bruce Lett (bass); Kendall Kay (drums)

I don't ever remember reviewing a CD where the singer's personality came across so well. Ms Schuur sings as if she really means it, occasionally speaking lines, adding a chuckle here and there, and indulging in short fun scats and wordless singing. The notes tell us that she has been blind from birth and the track There Is Always One More Time refers to blindness, with lyrics saying that it's better to be blind than not to use your eyes to see the good parts of life. I guess that she has learned her craft by ear and memory, but I did get to wonder if the real books are printed in Braille*. But I digress.

Ms Schuur, a multi-Grammy-Award winning vocalist who hails from Tacoma, near Washington USA, grew up steeped in jazz by listening to her parent’s record collection. 'Discovered' by Stan Getz at the 1979 Monterey Jazz Festival, she later collaborated with artists such as B.B. King, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder as well as an award-winning album with the Count Basie Orchestra.

For her first release in six years, the songs chosen were based on the work of some of her heroes such as Miles Davis, Carole King, Paul Simon, and Percy Mayfield.  Ms Schuur comments ' I've been focusing on the condition of our world, about what is, about what can be.'

The whole CD made very good listening and the stand-out tracks for me were  Let It Be which starts quietly with voice and piano then builds to a  soulful sound from the whole band with a stirring coda of  'go anywhere we want.'  Everybody Looks Good At The Starting Line is a humorous take on the course of life's journey; The Chicken is an instrumental with wordless singing where everyone, including drums, solos.

Swing Low Sweet Chariot is the final track, with swinging piano and voice, and the only track where our singer allows herself a piano solo. She generously lets her instrumentalists have long solos on many of the other tracks, notably on All Blues, with its trumpet solo then trumpet and guitar in harmony. then more impressive solos with the legendary Ernie Watts outstanding.

The rest of the tracks are: Walking On A Tightrope; The Danger Zone; Something So Right (Paul Simon); The Sun Will Shine On You; This Bitter Earth; Running On Faith; Way Over Yonder (Carole King).

 Highly recommended. The album was released in May on the Jazzheads label and is available everywhere. 
Ann Alex

* Diane Schuur, who has perfect pitch, did begin to learn from braille-written music but discarded it as it restricted her to having only one hand to play the piano with - Lance

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