Total Pageviews

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.

Sunday, September 06, 2020

Jordon Alfonso w. The Alan Law Trio: Live Stream @ The Globe, Newcastle - Sept. 6

Jordan Alfonso (alto); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (bass); Rob Walker (drums).

A tribute to Charlie Parker - four fine musicians putting their own take on Bird's music - made for an enjoyable 75 minutes.

No surprises in the repertoire, how could there be? The music is well known to most jazz fans although, spotting Jordan's tenor lying in waiting I thought maybe Half Nelson, one of the few numbers Parker recorded on the larger horn, may have been on the menu. It remained untouched. 

Yardbird Suite got things rolling along laying down the benchmark for a set that just seemed to get better and better as the players began to gel after their long layoff. Confirmation, Night in Tunisia and then Parker's Mood. Alan Law had been doing his job perfectly up to this point but here he improved upon perfection (if that is possible!) and played as sensitive a solo as anything I've heard from him. Not to be out done Jordan also peaked.

Paul Grainger had already put in a half shift down at the coast with the Vieux Carré Hot4 during the afternoon so it was no surprise when Jordan referred to him as "The ubiquitous Paul Grainger". Perhaps he'd pickled his fingers in brine as he showed no ill effects from his earlier stint.

Rob Walker came to the fore in Blues For Alice with a tasteful drum solo and Jordan wailed like as though he was blowing in a Kansas City late night joint. And this was the one thing that was missing - the crowd, the ambiance of an audience whooping and hollering, clapping, ordering drinks, enjoying themselves. Well, many of us were doing just that at home but the band, they don't know that!

Anthropology stomped off, not too fast, just fast enough for it to make sense. My Little Suede Shoes, with its infectious melody and Latin groove, is one of those tunes that stick in your mind - I'll be still humming it this time next week even though the number that followed - Donna Lee - was my overall favourite. Everyone hit their stride and it wasn't over yet!

Now's The Time had that honour.

Bravo Jordan, Alan, Paul and Rob and, of course, the Jazz Coop for their initiative in remembering one of jazz's greatest icons. 

I want to hear this band again live live so I can share my enthusiasm with others there and then but, who knows where or when?
Lance

1 comment :

Jordan Alfonso said...

Thanks for the kind words! The tenor was indeed intended for Half Nelson but time got the better of us unfortunately. Parker didn't play tenor very much aside from a few recordings with Miles Davis!

Blog Archive