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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

17444 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 718 of them this year alone and, so far, 100 this month (Oct. 10).

From This Moment On ...

October

Sun 13: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Emma Wilson @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sun 13: Catfish Keith @ The Cluny. 7:00pm. Country blues.
Sun 13: Lindsay Hannon + Eleanor Adams @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Note, this is a change to the previously advertised gig.
Sun 13: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 13: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A DUJS event. All welcome.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 14: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman show inspired by Nina Simone, performed by Nicholle Cherrie.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law (piano), Paul Grainger (double bass), Bailey Rudd (drums).

Wed 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 16: Cath Stephens’ improvisation workshop @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 4:30-6:00pm. Collaborative group focusing on vocal improvisations.
Wed 16: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 16: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 17: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 17: Olivia Cuttill Quintet @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 17: Moonlight Serenade Orchestra UK: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.
Thu 17: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 17: Niffi Osiyemi Trio @ The Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 17: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. Guests Jeremy McMurray (keys); Richie Emmerson (tenor sax); Mark Toomey (alto sax); Adrian Beadnell (bass). 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 18: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 18: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert’s, Crook. 7:30pm.
Fri 18: Chet Set @ Seventeen Nineteen, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. Pete Tanton & co.
Fri 18: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm (upstairs). A Hoodoo Blues dance & social event. £10.00. class & social (£10.00., £7.50., £5.00. social only). Michael Woods (country blues guitar) on stage 9:00pm.
Fri 18: East Coast Swing Band @ Hexham Abbey. 7:30pm. £9.00.
Fri 18: Ben Crosland Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 18: Durham University Jazz Society’s ‘High Standards’ @ Music Dept. Music Room, Divinity House, Palace Green, Durham University DH1 3RS. 8:009-30pm. Tel: 0191 334 1419. £7.00., £5.00.
Fri 18: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Blues Underground, Nelson St., Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

Sat 19: Sat 19: Paula Jackman’s Jazz Masters @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 19: Howlin’ Mat @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Country blues guitar & vocals. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

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

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Album review: Paul Edis Trio - Snakes and Ladders

Paul Edis (piano, Fender Rhodes); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums)

Snakes and Ladders is the latest offering from Paul Edis. Composer, pianist, bandleader, London based Edis juggles several projects and this digital download album comprises eight original compositions recorded in November 2019 in the company of Andy Champion and Russ Morgan. The piano, bass, drums format places Snakes and Ladders firmly in the tradition of the straight ahead jazz piano trio.  

Much of the material was honed on gigs in pre-pandemic times. The opening track - Whiskers - sets the highest of standards, the trio heard in full flight, a match for any piano trio either side of the Atlantic. It Ain't Broke encompasses so many wonderful contrasting and complimentary elements it simply has to be heard: languorous swing, Monk, Dr Billy Taylor, stride, Oscar P, the elegance of Nat Cole. 

The title track takes us into ballad territory with Russ Morgan's exquisite brush work to the fore alongside Andy Champion's beautifully resonant bass playing. From the quietude of Snakes and Ladders to the gospel-to-funk Fender Rhodes of Of Mice and Men and on to The Long Way Round. The title of the latter references Tyne and Wear's Metro rapid transit system. There's a Latin lilt to the number and the reader familiar with the rail network's many stations could well imagine Edis the passenger daydreaming of somewhere like Belo Horizonte as he travelled through Benton or Byker! 

Lucky Eleven (this could be one about counting and time signatures) features Morgan's impeccable brush-on-snare work, Champion's sublime bass solo and, this really does need to be said, the final ringing note on the piano is testament not only to Edis the pianist playing a fine studio piano, but also to Adam Sinclair's peerless abilities engineering, mixing and mastering the album. 

Madeira is a bright, uplifting composition and, at 4 mins 16 seconds, the shortest track. A Moog-like intro comes as a surprise, as does a fade out, the latter a most unusual occurrence! The bit in between features more sparkling, uptempo playing by the trio. To close the album, Lies opens with a lazy, swingtime feel ahead of the trio effortlessly negotiating a series of boppish twist and turns, another exemplary solo from Champion and Morgan's concise fours before returning to the swing feel to take it out. 

Snakes and Ladders is a masterful work: three A-list musicians, familiar, varied, yet original compositions. The Paul Edis Trio performing the music from this album late night at Ronnie Scott's or the Village Vanguard, NYC would go down a storm. For further details and to download the album (cover art by Lynsey Gray) visit: www.pauledis.co.uk and check out Bandcamp.          
     
      
The Paul Edis Trio will be playing an album launch gig at Gosforth Civic Theatre in Newcastle on Saturday October 17. The concert is a sell out, however, there is the option to watch a live stream of the performance, see: www.gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk
Russell

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