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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

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Mar 26: Pop Jazz @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. 'Jazzified' tunes by the likes of Sylvester, Bowie, the Monkees etc., feat. Alan Law, David Gray, Richard Herdman & Jude Murphy.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

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 @ 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: '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: 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: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

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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