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Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 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

15491 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 512 of them this year alone and, so far, 133 this month (May 31).

From This Moment On ...

June

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 04: Jam No. 18 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 08: Easington Colliery Brass Band @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 08: Faye MacCalman + Blue Dust Archive @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Dilutey Juice + Ceramic @ The Ampitheatre, Sea Road, South Shields. 7:00pm. Free. A South Tyneside Festival event.
Thu 08: Lara Jones w. Vigilance State @ Lubber Fiend, Blandford Square, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Michael Littlefield @ the Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Country blues.
Thu 08: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Album Review: Sophie Bancroft and Tom Lyne – Monday Nights


Sophie Bancroft (vocals, guitar); Tom Lyne (acoustic and electric bass)

This couple coped with lockdown in the way that many jazz musicians did, by live-streaming gigs from their Scottish home each Monday evening, hence the title of the album that has come out of those gigs. The songs are a mixture of re-imagined standards, four originals written by Ms Bancroft, one offering from Tom Lyne, and a final track from the pen of Tom Waits.

The music set me wondering why on earth I hadn't heard of these two superb musicians before: what have I missed from the past? 'Brave, bright and engaging' said Jazz Journal, and I have to agree. The re-imagined standards really are that, with a fresh uncluttered feel to them

Ms Bancroft's voice is true with excellent diction and the bass plays sympathetically, sometimes on the tune, sometimes improvising or soloing, or occasionally providing rhythm for the guitar tune. This is what gives the uncluttered feel, edging towards contemporary folk on some tracks, such as the original love song Blue Room (not to be confused with the Rodgers and Hart tune of the same name).

You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To is surprisingly upbeat; Far from Mars is an intriguing song about a family preparing to go to Mars: I thought it was the Tom Waits' number listed but it turned out to be by Tom Lyne himself. Miles Away (Bancroft) is a love song sensitively sung to steady guitar chords. On The Street Where You Live is definitely jazz rather than the usual musical theatre style and the album is well rounded off with Tom Waits melancholy Grapefruit Moon, 'and I slip just like the stars, into obscurity.'

Sophie Bancroft is from a jazz-playing family and has sung at jazz festivals and venues in Britain and Europe. Her last CD came out in 2015. She also writes poetry and songs and is a vocal trainer, who has worked in various establishments, including Newcastle University. She currently teaches on the music degree course at Aberdeen University. Tom Lyne, who hails from Canada, plays bass in jazz, folk and contemporary styles in many settings. He settled in the UK in 1998.

The album will be available everywhere from November 23. See www.jazzfuel.com

 Ann Alex

Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby; You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To; Fragile Moon; Underneath The Apple Tree; Miles Away; Blue Room; Far From Mars; Comfort; On The Street Where You Live; Grapefruit Moon

4 comments :

Lance said...

Great voice - nice backing.

NeilC said...

They have an earlier album from 2012 You turned the tables on me and Sophie has quite a number of other albums to keep you company until this is released.

Jen said...

Sophie also runs annual - 4 day vocal courses (usually in April) at Cromarty along with Fiona Duncan, Brian Kellock, Sara Colman and Liane Carroll as tutors. Can really recommend this.

Anonymous said...

Sophie Bancroft has a heavenly voice and great understanding of each song she sings. Her own songs are beautiful and there is always at least one in each of her albums that speaks directly to you. So looking forward to this new album. The Monday night gigs have been a lifeline in our house and we have tried to attend every one. Relaxed and informal presentation with small insights into Sophie and Tom's life, family and friends as well as explanations for each song, why they've chosen it and what it means to them. Oh, and they have adopted a 50/50 stance for writers which means they often feature unheard of female writers and, and this is wonderful, give you some history of these artists. Buy the album, listen in on Monday nights.

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