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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 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

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Album review: Spike Wilner Trio - Aliens & Wizards

Spike Wilner (piano); Tyler Mitchell (double bass); Anthony Pinciotti (drums)

Spike Wilner is the man behind the success of Smalls (no apostrophe!) and Mezzrow (that's Mezzrow, partner venue to Smalls Jazz Club). Throughout the pandemic Wilner has kept the Greenwich Village, NYC venues going, seven nights a week, periodic lockdowns not withstanding. Now, in a new collaboration with Cory Weeds' Cellar Music Group, pianist Wilner has released an album in the company of long term trio partners Tyler Mitchell, bass, and drummer Anthony Pinciotti. 

Aliens & Wizards, recorded at GB's Juke Joint in August 2020, comprises nine tracks spanning some three quarters of an hour's playing time. Six of Wilner's compositions plus three distinct, distinctly different, numbers - Righty-O! (John Ellis), Blue Gardenia (Bob Russell-Lester Lee) and Stella By Starlight (Ned Washington-Victor Young) - showcase the trio's command of a wide range of material heard on the album. Righty-O!, taken at a sparkling tempo, suggests the three musicians are comfortable in one another's company. In these pandemic times Wilner's Adagio (Mitchell's mournful arco bass intro) and Prayer for Peace (beautifully recorded, a blues of sorts) reflect, perhaps, a year of pain and loss endured by many in NYC and across the globe. 

Wilner's Mindset is surprisingly different to the material heard elsewhere on the album. Free-ish, convincingly so, with a baroque-like ending. The twists and turns of the title track, Aliens & Wizards, features some dazzling piano playing from bandleader Wilner and the set closer, Trick Baby, suggests composer/pianist/club manager Wilner is a fan of Oscar P (and Nat Cole, if Blue Gardenia is anything to go by). 

Aliens & Wizards by the Spike Wilner Trio is available from tomorrow (Friday 23 April) on the Cellar Music Group label (cat no. CM120120). This evening (Thursday 22) Spike Wilner will be playing piano in his own club (Mezzrow) in a trio performance with bassist Tyler Mitchell and drummer Anthony Pinciotti. The first of two sets begins at half past midnight (the early hours of Friday, BST). 

Russell

3 comments :

Unknown said...

Thank you for this lovely review!

Spike Wilner

Spike Wilner said...

Thank you for this lovely review!

Patti said...

Hey Spike! We'll look forward to seeing you in NYC, in Smalls or Mezzrow's - when international travel is allowed again!! We're loving your livestreams for now - time difference notwithstanding - but can't wait for the real thing .......

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