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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.

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Album review: Grasso-Ravita Jazz Ensemble - Jagged Spaces

Skip Grasso (guitar); Phil Ravita (double bass/6 string elec. bass); Benny Russell (tenor/soprano saxes); Greg Small (piano); Nuc Vega (drums).

Here in the UK we probably think that great modern American jazz only happens in NYC or LA just as, back in the day, it was thought that the best UK jazz only happened in London. Newcastle's Emcee 5 put paid to that theory and five gigsters, active in the Baltimore/Washington DC area, do likewise "over there". 
The Grasso-Ravita Jazz Ensemble combine to produce some fiery straight-ahead jazz. Nine original compositions: 4 by Grasso, 2 each by Ravita and Russell and 1 by Small make up a very listenable album that should let the world know that the East Coast extends way past NYC.

The two leaders are fine soloists but, for me, the star man is Russell particularly on tenor.  He attacks the instrument like a man possessed without loss of musicality and indeed, when the heat is off, he proves to be a very lyrical player. He's marginally more controlled on soprano although still very fluent.

When I hear an album of originals of this quality I'm both pleased and saddened. Pleased by what I'm hearing but saddened that it's unlikely that any other band will pick up on them. 

I'd like to think that one day I'll go into a jam session and someone will say "How about Benny Russell's All About Cynthia?" Or any decent original that's been written in recent years.

Getting back to Jagged Spaces If I'm ever back in DC I'll make a point of catching the Grasso-Ravita Jazz Ensemble rather than visiting the Lincoln Memorial.

Lance

Release date January 15, 2021

Jagged Spaces; Her Life Incomplete; Songhai; Blue Sunshine; Circles; All About Cynthia; Latin For Leandro; The Homecoming; Chasing Shadows.

1 comment :

Russell said...

Benny Russell impressed during a recent live stream set by Greg Hatza's ORGANisation at Keystone Korner in Baltimore. Commanding but not overbearing, if he turns up in Newcastle one Tuesday night he'd make a big impression at a Black Swan jam session!

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