Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15867 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 874 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (Sept. 25).

From This Moment On ...

September

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

Tue 03: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums). CANCELLED!

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Paul Skerritt @ Vespa Italian Bar & Steakhouse, Primrose Hill, Jarrow. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 483 3355.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Sound the Trumpets @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hot Club du Nord @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00. POSTPONED!
Thu 05: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Tommy Bentz Trio + Mark Croft Duo + George Shovlin & George Lamb @ The Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Harbour View Speakeasy's USA blues double bill + Shovlin & Lamb!
Thu 05: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 06: Alcyona Mick @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 06: WORKSHOP: Philosophy of Arts & Entertainment @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 2:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Balo @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 6:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Paul Skerritt @ 3Sixty Champagne Lounge, Hadrian’s Tower, Newcastle. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 933 8591.
Fri 06: Lexer/Mayes/Noble + Semay Wu + Miman @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Dulcie May Moreno @ The Vault, Hexham. 7:30pm. £20.00. Book in advance. Moreno with Alan Law, Paul Grainger & John Bradford.
Fri 06: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. 'Celebrating Oscar'.
Fri 06: Nu Brass Sounds: Big Brass Bash @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: TBC @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

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

No comments :

Blog Archive