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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 ...

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. CANCELLED! BACK ON JUNE 15.
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.

Sat 10: Miners' Picnic @ Woodhorn, Ashington. Music inc. Northern Monkey Brass Band (3:00-3:50pm); New York Brass Band (4:00-4:55pm).
Sat 10: Front Porch Three @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Americana, blues, jazz etc.
Sat 10: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 11: WORKSHOP: Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Workshop @ JG Windows, Newcastle. Time TBC. Further details tel. 0191 232 1356.
Sun 11: Jeremy McMurray's Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Ropner Park, Stockton TS18 4EF. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 11: Groovetrain @ Innisfree Sports & Social Club, Longbenton NE12 8TY. Doors 6:30pm. £15.00 (£7.00. under 16).
Sun 11: Jeffrey Hewer Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 13: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 13: Infusion Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 13: Alice Grace & Pawel Jedrzejewski @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv.).

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Jazz at Lincoln Center: Voices of Freedom - Mar. 26

(Screenshot by Russell)
Betty Carter Billie Holiday Abbey Lincoln Nina Simone

A celebration of four iconic figures presented by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. At intervals three singers would join the ensemble during a performance of some fifty minutes. Trombonist Chris Crenshaw assumed the role of MD and 'scriptwriter', the orchestra's personnel remarkably stable over a decade and more. 

(Screenshot by Russell)
This was the orchestra's first performance at the prestigious New York City concert hall since February 2020, a venue Wynton Marsalis and the LCJO like to call 'The House of Swing'. Live streaming to upwards of seven hundred online patrons, Melanie Charles was the first of three vocalists to join the band. Backlash Blues as sung by Nina Simone, arranged for Ms Charles by trumpeter Marcus Printup, with Ted Nash, tenor sax, featuring in an exchange with Printup. 

(Screenshot by Russell)
Betty Carter's Droppin' Things (arr. Crenshaw) brought Ashley Pezzotti to the stage. Emotive, bold, Ms Pezzotti is likely to be able to handle operatic material. The third of the evening's vocalists, Shenel Johns, sang Freedom Day, as performed by Abbey Lincoln on Max Roach's We Insist! album. Ms Johns impressed, big time! 


The band (all chairs occupied by stellar musicians) didn't get much of an opportunity to stretch out, but, what a band! A muted Marsalis momentarily growled, Victor Goines did have a blow, and drummer Obed Calvaire, surrounded by reams of sheet music, briefly broke free to craft a fine solo. Wynton Marsalis, the driving force behind the LCJO, arranged Strange Fruit for our three vocalists. It proved to be an uplifting experience as Marsalis' arrangement, perhaps inspired by Mingus' Fables of Faubus, presented an interesting reading of Billie Holiday's historic song. Russell
                                   
Melanie CharlesShenel JohnsAshley Pezzotti (vocals); LCJO: Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Printup, Kenny Rampton, Ryan Kisor (trumpets); Walter Blanding, Sherman Irby, Ted Nash, Paul Nedzela, Victor Goines (reeds); Chris Crenshaw, Vincent Gardner, Elliot Mason (trombones); Dan Nimmer (piano); Carlos Henriquez (double bass); Obed Calvaire (drums)

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