Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 2024.

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...

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

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Album review : Misha Mullov-Abbado - DREAM CIRCUS

Misha Mullov-Abbado (double bass), James Davison (trumpet, flugelhorn), Matthew Herd (alto),  Sam Rapley (tenor), Liam Dunachie (piano, Hammond organ), Scott Chapman (drums)

My album of the year so far. Cleverly written and played, but also beautiful, musical and although “classically” inflected in places, definitely jazz:  distinctly modern but with mainstream and lyrical roots.  This third outing by London based double bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado confirms a new and substantial British ensemble composing voice, joining the tradition of Kenny Wheeler, Mike Gibbs and Issie Barratt.  


Misha Mullov-Abbado  (shall I just call him MMA?!), son of music royalty Viktoria Mullova and Claudio Abbado, comes to us via training at Cambridge and the Royal Academy. He inevitably attracts oodles of media attention, and his parentage must bring pressure as well as a stellar musical head start. (I apologise to my sons that they don’t have parents like this!).  His interviews reveal an unpretentious and grounded individual, who “didn’t think of himself as a jazz musician because after all it is all just music”.  MMA is clearly a top bass player with a full range of chops, who drives the show powerfully though unobtrusively: but it is his compositional skills that are to the fore here.  

While the production line of UK conservatoires has generated astonishing technical power and musicianship in recent years,  full of innovation, new influences, artifice and impact, I am less convinced of the enduring nature of the output compositionally.   This is different! A serious statement yes, sophisticated and complex in places, but also with infectious enthusiasm and fun, with wholesome, catchy tunes and grooves abounding.

The sextet format is brilliantly exploited both for solo blowing as well as the best of ensemble playing. The writing and arrangements are reminiscent at times of Kenny Wheeler’s bands at their best, not as gloriously quirky perhaps, but fresh with unexpected twists and turns, and often hitting a purposeful and breathtaking stride. Even the inevitable time signature games keep a firm grip on groove.

Needless to say this is all executed with fabulous and characterful playing by the array of young superstars in the making. The superb twin saxes of Herd and Rapley slide from smooth to skronky, and Davison’s trumpet soars between powerful melodic lines (reminiscent of Andre Canniere’ recent Ghost Days) and Wheeler-esque forays into the stratosphere.  Chapman’s drumming is perfectly matched to the setting – not so much the skittering impressionism of some current UK players, but precise, confident and varied.

There are several stand out tracks, with the lively Infamous Grouse bewitching with repeats, changes in tempo and time, and reassuring with a rollicking groove in between.  Blue Deer evolves from a slow and stately intro, through a loose section, resolving to a glorious soaring melody swapped between horns, over a complex but driving pulse, recalling (bass player) Avishai Cohen’s band at their best.  

Equinox shows MMA’s more classical leaning, with polyphonic interlocking giving way to a range of solos,  lovingly handing the tune round.  Astronaut shows MMA’s fun side, as a cheeky stop/start waltz, with old time vibes.

A monster of a tenor solo is matched by a classy trumpet outing on the superb 11 minute long Seven Colours.  A sonorous repeated bass drone in 5, driven by mallets on drums, conjures a dreamy eastern trance for Bear, embellished by breathy horns. Little Vision showcases Dunachie on piano, with a fluent and agile solo to match delightful comping elsewhere.

All in all, highly recommended, with something for everybody in a classy and substantial outing, with compositions to match the superb playing, all superbly produced by Jasper Høiby, bassist with Phronesis.
Chris K

Released June 12, 2020.  Recorded at The Village Recording in Copenhagen, September 2019. Format: CD & DN   Buy here.

2 comments :

Roly Veitch said...

Based entirely on this articulate review (I confess I didn't know of the musicians) I took a chance and bought this album. I'm glad I did. It's brilliant. The music ranges from delicate and beautiful lyricism to powerful crescendos of excitement! Great music from great players each of whom, apart from their other qualities, has a really lovely tone on their respective instruments.
Roly

Chris Kilsby said...

Roly - glad (and relieved!) you liked it as much as I did. Makes reviewing worthwhile! Chris

Blog Archive