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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Monday, April 05, 2021

Album review: Carla Marciano "Psychosis - Homage to Bernard Hermann"

Carla Marciano (alto/soprano sax); Alessandro La Corte (piano/keys); Aldo Vigorita (bass); Gaetono Fasano (drums).

An all-Italian quartet playing some of Bernard Hermann's film themes plus one dedicated to John Williams and one by Carla herself. It would have good to hear the music played alongside the film as Kansas Smitty's did last Christmas and, bearing in mind the previous post by Dave Sayer, I checked the packaging in case there were any DVDs hidden in perforated compartments but no such luck!

However, upon reflection, as I got more and more into the album I concluded that it would have been a distraction and these versions could stand tall on their own terms.

Prior to this, the only Marciano I'd encountered was the the former heavyweight champion from the '50s who many consider the greatest ever and who was killed in a plane crash. This Marciano has the same kind of musical power that Rocky had with the big difference that she knew when to back pedal and dance like Ali. Put the two together and you have an unbeatable combination whether in the ring or in the recording studio.

Yes, Marciano has both power and pathos in her playing. She stretches out to the far edges of the periphery without (if the world were flat) risk of falling off. Like her paisanos on this compelling exercise, Marciano knows how to swing. It may not be the swing of yesteryear but it's just as effective in its own way.

Despite the cinematic theme of the album, don't be deluded into thinking this is smooth/easy listening jazz. Don't order a tub of popcorn, make it a strong Americano or a double shot of Sambuca on the rocks or maybe both.

Quite an amazing album - some of the music is more hair-raising than the movies themselves were (that's a compliment by the way!)

Lance

PS: The album was released on Challenge Records in November 2020 but only just arrived the other day. YouTube.

Themes from (1 - 8); Taxi Driver; Marnie; Marnie to Twisted Nerve (original by Marciano); Twisted Nerve; Psycho; Vertigo (Prelude); Vertigo (Scene D'Amour); Homage to John Williams (Hedwig's Theme).

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