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Bebop Spoken There

Orrin Evans: “Now, getting a teaching spot is the new record deal”. (DownBeat, November, 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

17523 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 797 of them this year alone and, so far, 35 this month (Nov. 10).

From This Moment On ...

November

Mon 11: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 12: Matthew Forster Quartet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.
Tue 12: Phil’s Elastic Band @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. Free, but ticketed, book online.

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: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: corto.alto @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 7:45pm (doors 7:00pm). £14.00. + bf.

Thu 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Faye MacCalman & John Pope @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 14: Student Performances @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 4:00pm. Inc. Olly Styles (saxophone).
Thu 14: Happy Tuesdays @ Ye Olde Cross, Ryton. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 14: John Stowell & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Top class US/UK guitar duo!
Thu 14: King Bees @ The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Superb Chicago blues band. Note, Struggle Buggy will no longer be appearing.
Thu 14: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Jeremy McMurray (keys); Kevin Eland (trumpet); Mark Toomey (alto sax); Adrian Beadnell (bass).

Fri 15: Nicola Farnon Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 15: Tim Kliphuis Trio @ Morpeth Methodist Church, Morpeth NE61 1HU. 7:30pm. £18.00.; £3.00. student (over 18); Free 18 or under. A Morpeth Music Society event. Kliphuis (violin), Nigel Clark (guitar), Roy Percy (double bass).
Fri 15: Lindsay Hannon’s Blues Trio @ 1719, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £12.00. + bf.
Fri 15: Groovetrain @ The Exchange 1856, North Shields. 7:00pm. £22.50. + bf. Groovetrain’s ‘Big Night Out’.

Sat 16: Liane Carroll: Jazz Vocal Weekend Workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 9:00am-5:00pm. £95.00. Day 1/2. SOLD OUT!
Sat 16: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm.
Sat 16: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 16: Brand New Heavies @ Boiler Shop, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £75.00. + bf; £30.00. + bf.

Sun 17: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 17: Liane Carroll: Jazz Vocal Weekend Workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 9:00am-5:00pm. £95.00. Day 2/2. SOLD OUT!
Sun 17: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 17: Liane Carroll @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Sun 17: Julian Lage @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Lage, solo guitar.

Mon 18: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

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

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