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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Album review: Amber Weekes – The Gathering

Well here it is, the first of the Christmas CDs. I approached it with some trepidation, would it be the usual sentimental offering that singers seem to feel obliged to issue at this time of year? No problem, this CD is just that bit different from the rest, no doubt helped by the loveliness of Ms Weekes' voice, which has a beautiful warm and tender tone. We get nine standards, including one I'd never heard before, plus the final track, The Gathering, an original with lyrics by our singer.

The song I didn't know is Some Children See Him, a truly poignant lyric about how children picture the Christ child as one of their own race ('with almond eyes' or 'dark as day'). The song opens with a haunting tune of drums and bagpipes (yes, bagpipes!) and ends with a long orchestral coda. Another poignant song is I'll Be Home For Christmas, enhanced by a short guitar solo. Poignant because I thought of all the people who won't be able to meet at Christmas this year.

The Christmas Waltz is made a little different by Ms Weekes' rather flirtatious spoken remarks at the end; Winter Wonderland is a swinger with brief sax comments during the song; The Gathering reminds us that Christmas is a time to gather and forget resentments of the past. My Romance becomes a slow wonderfully out-of time ballad.

CV: Hails from Los Angeles. Parents both singers. Studied with many teachers, including Sue Raney. Sung in countless clubs and venues in Southern California. Performed at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Recently issued an album Pure Imagination.

Available from the usual suspects. This would make a good Christmas gift, or you could buy it as a gift to yourself!

Ann Alex

The Christmas Waltz; I'll Be Home For Christmas; My Romance; I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus; Some Children See Him; What Are you Doing New Year's Eve?; Winter Wonderland; Silent Night; Let It Snow; The Gathering 

Amber Weekes (vocals); musicians on various tracks: Josh Nelson, Tony Campodonico, Eddy Olivieri (piano, Rhodes); John B Williams, Adam Cohen, Kevin Brandon (bass); Fritz Wise, Sinclair Lott, Nathaniel Scott (drums); Paul Jackson Jr, Doug MacDonald, Jacques Lesure (guitar); Rickey Woodward (sax); Andrew Carney (trumpet); Richard Heath, Munyugo Jackson (perc); Ernie Fields Jr (bagpipes); Gregory Cook (celeste); Nio Wilson, JoAnn Tominaga, Marcus D Cargill, Gregory Cook, (background vocals); Mark Cargill (violin, string arrangements, conductor strings and horns). 

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