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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17328 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 612 of them this year alone and, so far, 17 this month (Sept. 5).

From This Moment On ...

September

Tue 10: ???

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 12: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:30pm. £4.00. ‘A Great Day in Harlem’.
Thu 12: The Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Pete Tanton & co.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. THC with guests Donna Hewitt, Bill Watson, Dave Archbold, Adrian Beadnell, Mark Hawkins.

Fri 13: Jeff Barnhart & Neville Dickie @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Two pianos, two pianists! SOLD OUT!
Fri 13: Noel Dennis Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Dilutey Juice @ Old Coal Yard, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.00. adv..
Fri 13: Ray Stubbs R & B All-stars @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. Classic blues.

Sat 14: Jeff Barnhart’s Silent Film Fest @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 14: Customs House Big Band w. Ruth Lambert @ St Paul’s Centre, St Paul’s Gardens, Spennymoor DL16 7LR. 7:00pm (6:45pm doors). Tickets £10.00. from the venue or tel: 01388 813404. A ‘BYOB’ event.
Sat 14: Emma Wilson @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. £12.00. Acoustic blues.
Sat 14: Rat Pack - Swingin’ at the Sands @ Billingham Forum. 7:30pm.

Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Jude Murphy, Steve Chambers & Sid White @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 15: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Panharmonia @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Swing Manouche @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: John Hallam with the James Birkett Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. A Blaydon Jazz Club 40th anniversary concert!

Monday, August 10, 2020

Pianist releases a feel-good parcel

(Press release)

An eighteenth-century protest song is the inspiration behind Scottish pianist Dave Milligan’s catchy and deeply grooving download single, Parcel of Rogues, which is released today, Monday 10th August.

Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation is a poem attributed to Robert Burns in 1791 to decry the members of the Parliament of Scotland who signed the 1707 Act of Union with England. In the 1960s and 1970s it was taken up by political singers including Ewan MacColl and Dick Gaughan and the folk groups The Dubliners and Steeleye Span. More recently it has come to be regarded as an international anthem.

“The melody has stayed with me since I first played it with The Unusual Suspects many years ago,” says Milligan. “It’s a powerful tune, with a kind of anthemic quality. When I was given the opportunity to record with two outstanding Italian musicians, the bassist Danilo Gallo and drummer U.T. Gandhi in Italy, I wanted to try some Scottish themes with them to see how they would respond.”  

The versatile Milligan, whose recent work has encompassed jazz, folk music and theatre, explored Parcel of Rogues with the Italians - along with a handful of other traditional melodies, including the late Hamish Henderson’s Freedom Come All Ye. “I thought those two songs worked particularly well - I had to include them in the new album, Momento,” he said. Radio producers and presenters who were sent early copies have almost unanimously selected Parcel of Rogues as the featured track.

The phrase ‘parcel of rogues’ has been used in relation to the current political situations in the UK and the US and even recently in Lebanon, and Milligan is aware of its potency.  

“It didn’t really occur to me that broadcasters might be drawn to Parcel of Rogues for non-musical reasons - some might not even be aware of the political connection,” says Milligan.

His recording doesn’t reveal the words but the narrative of the song depicts a sense of indignation at the abuse of power which led to a massive socio-political shift. “That was well over 200 years ago and people still feel it, probably more than ever,” he says. “Just look around at some of the political establishments today - the word ‘rogues’ doesn’t quite cover it.” 

Milligan has no problem with whatever associations people attribute to the track. “You make your own connection with art,” he says. “I set out to make music and that’s what this is about for me; the strength of the melody, the groove that Danilo and Gandhi created, and how good instrumental music can make people feel.”

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