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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 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!"

Postage

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio + Abbie Finn @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Wednesday, September 02, 2020

Album review: System 6 - Bennie's Lament

Benn Clatworthy (tenor/soprano sax, clarinet/bass clarinet, flute/alto flute); Ron Stout (trumpet); Joey Sellers (trombone); Bryan Velasco (piano); Bruce Lett (bass); Yayo Morales (drums).

I remember well the evening when Clatworthy appeared at the Globe in one of the Jazz Coop's earlier promotions - November, 2014 - and I was impressed. Likewise, in June this year, when he released a quartet album - The Pursuit. That too did nothing to lesson my enthusiasm for the London born, Los Angeles based, reedsman. And now, here he is again with his sextet - System 6.


Consisting of six of Southern California's finest instrumentalists, Bennie's Lament not only showcases the leader's prowess on his various instruments but also brings his compositional skills to the fore (he composed 9 of the 11 tracks with Morales and Sellers providing the other 2).

It's a gem ranging from the emotional, almost melancholic, Terry Briggs (who was Terry Briggs?) to the frantic free for all that is How They Talk. Most of the others fall somewhere in between. Morales' contribution, Two Little Brothers, not surprisingly features himself although not before a blistering tenor solo and some atonal polyphony from the horns in the build up.

More paint-stripping tenor on the title track tempered by some comparatively restrained, although no less exciting, piano from Velasco.

No Collusion  is relatively short at just under 3 minutes but it's long enough for meaningful solos by Sellers and Lett. It brought Horace Silver to my mind. Don't ask me why - it just did!

Paradoxically, Sellers' own composition Good Grape, at 9:42 mins, is the longest track. Needless to say all are well featured.

Sign of the Times is a straight ahead, hard bop influenced, swinger that morphs into some freer directions - Mingus Lives!

In Strayhorn's Bag is self explanatory. Think Ellington, think Sweet Pea, Passion Flower and you're in the ball park.

The Pursuit is reprised from the earlier album and re-scored for sextet. Clatworthy, on tenor, Velasco and Lett shine.

If you've spent the past 6 years kicking yourself for not being at the Globe on that memorable evening then this is your chance to make amends!
Lance

Available Oct.2 via usual suspects.

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