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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

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.

Tue 03: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Paul Wight (drums).

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Album Review: Glenn Close & Ted Nash - Transformation

Ted Nash (composer, conductor, sop sax); Glenn Close (curator); Wayne Brady, Amy Irving, Matthew Stevenson, Eli Nash (spoken word); Wynton Marsalis (trumpet) + Members of the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra 

This album is a collection of spoken word and jazz on the theme of transformation, metamorphoses, big changes of all kinds, including the creation of life itself, the changes in the life of a transgender person, normal life after being in prison, changes for people of colour, the climate crisis. The readings are from the work of writers such as poet Ted Hughes.

The music illustrates the themes really well e.g.  for creation we have ambient chords and twisting 'wiggly' piano sounds to portray creatures. Then people are born, to a self confident, slinky, brassy tune and a swinging sax solo.

The transgender son reads out a letter to his father and the father accepts the changes with a happy, lively, piece which gradually gains speed. A woman comes out of prison to join the crowds, and the music trots along in rhythm, fine trumpet playing, followed by an impressive drum solo of very varied tones.

The angry black man speaks to the accompaniment of clapping sounds and a strong groove. He forgives those who've insulted him to the sound of cool, smooth jazz with hints of Porgy And Bess. The two final tracks remind us of the climate crisis and problems with the ozone layer, but leave us quietly to hope for solutions.

If this all sounds a bit 'heavy', yes it is, but I thought it was forgivably so, saved by the quality of the music, which has a freewheeling improvised quality, and also by the importance of the themes. Some of the readings didn't quite gel for me, for instance the changes in Derek, a prejudiced white man didn't sound quite genuine, but generally speaking I found this an enjoyable listen, but perhaps not suitable for everyone.

The album is available from May 7, 2021, both as a CD and digitally, on the Tiger Turn label.  

Ann Alex

Creation Part 1; Creation Part 11; Dear Dad/Letter; Dear Dad/Response; Preludes For Memnon; One Among Many; Rising Out Of Hatred; A Piece By The Angriest Black Man In America; Forgiveness; Wisdom Of The Humanities; Reaching The Tropopause

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