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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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Mar 26: Pop Jazz @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. 'Jazzified' tunes by the likes of Sylvester, Bowie, the Monkees etc., feat. Alan Law, David Gray, Richard Herdman & Jude Murphy.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

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.

Saturday, May 22, 2021

Album Review: Dara Tucker – Dreams Of Waking, Music For A Better World

Dara Tucker (vocals); On  various  tracks: Cyrus Chestnut,  Sullivan  Fortner (piano); Dezron Douglas, Vicente Archer (bass); Johnathan Blake, Joe Dyson (drums); Giveton Gelin (trumpet); John Ellis (saxophone)

The worst thing about reviewing this album was finding biographical details – I had to resort to Wikipedia. The best thing was everything else, especially Ms Tucker's warm, expressive, voice, and her obvious genuine belief in what she was singing about.

Dara Tucker hails from Tulsa, Oklahoma, was born to a musical family, has won many awards in the USA, and has performed internationally since 2009. She has previously issued four studio albums but this album is different. It consists of fresh, jazz arrangements of singer-songwriter and soul compositions, protest songs from the 1960s and 1970s. So we get songs by the likes of James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon, plus the traditional Wade in the Water and Ms Tucker's own song Do We Sleep?

Ms Tucker's intention was to give voice to the cry for change and social justice which has swept the USA since the death of George Floyd. She is well assisted in this by her skilled instrumentalists, especially the pianists, and they get lots of solo work. Do We Sleep? is sung with feeling, lyrics such as 'Do we hear the cries of the broken, or do we sleep?' The clarion cry of You Haven't Done Nothing is emphasised by the saxophone playing between the lines of song, Bridge Over Troubled Water is sung very slowly over rich jazzy accompaniment; Make Someone Happy, by contrast is performed intimately with just voice and piano trio.

Wade In The Water gives us a gospel sound and a short bass solo. (Did you know about the fascinating secret code in this song? It is said that slaves escaping from the plantations were advised to swim in water so that they would lose scent and the slave owner’s dogs wouldn't be able to track them.).

The CD ends in thoughtful, sombre fashion with Randy Newman's pessimistic ironic song about 'human kindness', I Think It's Going to Rain Today, well-illustrated by heavy, low piano chords.

The album is highly recommended and available everywhere from May 28 on the Green Hill Productions label. Ann Alex

Secret Of Life; You Haven't Done Nothin; Someday We'll All Be Free; Do We Sleep?; Bridge Over Troubled Water; Make Someone Happy; What The World Needs Now; What's Going On; Love's In Need Of Love Today; You've Got A Friend; Wade in the Water; I Think It's Going To Rain Today.

2 comments :

Russell said...

Ann, you need to burn the midnight oil. Four or five of these guys are regulars at Smalls in NYC (all gigs are livestreamed, 23:00, 00:30 etc BST). Cyrus Chestnut played Newcastle's Riverside with Wayne Shorter and Sullivan Fortner works with Cecile McLorin Salvant.

Ann Alex said...

RuRussell, Thanks for all the information but I checked out only Dara Tucker on Wikipedia. I rarely include any biographies of the instrumentalists as it would make the review too long for a CD which features the singer mainly

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