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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

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

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.

Tuesday, December 08, 2020

Album review: Collette Cooper – Lost

This fine CD was issued a few days ago with all proceeds being donated to Nordoff Robins,which is the UK's largest independent music therapy charity, for which Ms Cooper is an ambassador. The general 'feel' of the album is of driving blues and a feeling of loss, with musical surprises on some of the tracks.

There are four original songs, two popular standards (I Put a Spell on You and Street Life) plus a bonus track coda, which is informal fun, where Ms Cooper sings and tries to play harmonica. The recording was made direct to tape in one take, not obvious at all except for the coda.

The track which stood out for me is Cooper's own Perfect Girl, an entertaining cabaret number which would have been worthy of Piaf. Voice and piano lead the song, describing a too-perfect person in the limelight, with accordion comments and low bass notes supplying the darker side of the portrayal.

On blues style numbers such as Don't Throw Your Love Away, the voice has hints of Bessie Smith with a pleasing raspy undertone and Lost Soul is a heartfelt gospel song with trumpet solo and lyrics asking for help - Jesus help me find, some kind of peace of mind.

I Put a Spell on You has a repeated rhythm on piano and a solo on muted trumpet. This is all rounded off with the coda, with spoken comments: They're all lookin' at me showing the singer's very human side.

Ms Cooper, championed by BBC2, Radio6 Music and Jazz FM, plays regularly around London at venues such as the Jazz Cafe, The Roundhouse and the Piano Bar Soho. A community activist and artist who has been involved in Vivian Westwood's Cool Earth environmental charity.

I hope this recording makes a lot of money for the charity. It is available on Thelonius Punk Records via the usual suspects.

Ann Alex

Don't Throw Your Love Away; I Put a Spell on You; Lost Soul; Outta My Mind; Perfect Girl; Street Life; Coda (bonus track)

Collette Cooper (vocals); George Muranyi (piano); Francois Moreau (bass); Cyro Taylor (drums); Graeme Flowers (trumpet) + Sam Taylor (piano); Andrea Trillo (drums); Kevin Davy (trumpet); Steve Counsel (harmonica); Dan Lipman (sax); Mike Hanson (lead guitar); Frank Biddulph (violin); Martina Schwarz (accordion); Simon King, Dan Lipman (backing vocals track 6)

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