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Bebop Spoken There

David Hadju: "It was kind of a lightning bolt [seeing a photo of a hi-fi store that's now occupied by a phone store]. Everyone had hi-fi systems, now everyone has a phone" - (DownBeat May 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

15478 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 499 of them this year alone and, so far, 120 this month (May 27).

From This Moment On ...

May 2023

Sun 28: Bradley Creswick's Western Swingfonia @ Whitley Bay Carnival. Free. Plaza Arena stage. 12 noon.
Sun 28: MSK @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 12:15pm. Free. Marquee stage. MSK - Steve Glendinning, Katy Trigger, Martin Douglas.
Sun 28: Musicians Unlimited @ The Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Back Chat Brass @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 1:30pm. Free. Marquee stage.
Sun 28: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Tim Kliphuis Trio @ St Mary's Church, Wooler NE71 6BZ. 3:00pm. £15.00 standard; £5.00 student/unwaged; free under 18. Afternoon Cocktail, a Wooler Summer Arts' concert promotion. Kliphuis (violin); Nigel Clark (guitar); Roy Percy (double bass).
Sun 28: Back Chat Brass @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 3:00pm. Free. Plaza Arena stage.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 28: King Bees @ The Delaval Arms, Old Hartley NE26 4RL. 5:00pm. Free. Chicago blues at its best!
Sun 28: Matt Anderson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Anderson (saxophones); Jamil Sheriff (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Dave Walsh (drums).

Mon 29: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 30: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 30: Big Chris Barber Band @ Whitley Bay Playhouse. 7:30pm.

Wed 31: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 31: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 31: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 31: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

June
Thu 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations.
Thu 01: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 01: Jake Leg Jug Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: Joseph Carville Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 02: Claire Martin & Her Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £25.00., £20.00. Feat. Jim Mullen, Alex Garnett & Jeremy Brown.
Fri 02: Guy Davis + Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm. Blues double bill.
Fri 02: Anders Ingram @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Country blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Album review: John McLaughlin - Liberation Time

It was always going to be something ’big’ to get me out of lockdown/isolation/quarantine – whatever it is I’ve been doing for the last year and a half – and John McLaughlin has, for almost half a century,  been a ‘big’ musician in my life. I’m always sceptical of instrumental albums which claim to represent a narrative, and this is no exception.

It’s a short set, presumably to comply with
the alleged vinyl revival, and looks backwards in other respects too, considering John has always been a fearless innovator, but is no worse for that.

As the Spirit Sings gets straight to it with a strong motif in the melody, John soloing first before acoustic piano, busy drumming throughout. At seventy nine and with early on-set arthritis, his chops are still extraordinary. His sound is in line with his recent work with the Fourth Dimension, with not quite the fire or excess of the original Mahavishnu Orchestra, depending on your point of view.     

I was well into the set when I realised it isn’t all by his current band the Fourth Dimension, though my instinct was correct that it’s Gary Husband on piano. It then put me in mind of Electric Guitarist from 1978, which went some way in recreating his various ensembles up to that point.

Singing our Secrets slows things down, beginning with a solo piano intro. Information is scant but I’m guessing he starts the track playing synclavier, followed by a brief piano solo introducing a straight-ahead vibe to the album, before John opens up on electric through to the close.

Lockdown Blues is by the Fourth Dimension and can be viewed on YouTube. It features each of the band, with Husband now on electric piano for the first time, an understated funky bass solo from Etienne Mbappe, but is most notable for Ranjit Barot’s konecal singing over standard western drum kit, which brings in John for the final solo.

Right Here Right Now Right On is perhaps the strongest track here, tenor saxophonist Julian Siegel (of Partisans' fame) acquitting himself magnificently on the most standard jazz I can remember from John since the start of the seventies.        

Two solo piano pieces follow, the first time John’s played the instrument on record since the Santana collaboration of 1973. The first is called Mila Repa, after a Tibetan Siddha and accomplished Buddhist, reflecting John’s lifetime devotion to Eastern Spiritualism. The two tracks total just over four minutes so don’t outstay their welcome.

The final track is the paciest track on the set and the most joyous – perhaps representing the
end of the pandemic – with John taking an extended solo, reflecting the influence of horn players and especially John Coltrane, and the wealth of ideas which still flow through his music.

There’s nothing here to surprise the McLaughlin enthusiast or enlighten anybody about the pandemic, but guitarists will likely continue to be in awe of the man, and anybody who feels he’s moved too far away from jazz for their comfort may welcome something of a return. The Fourth Dimension has marked something of a return to form and consistency for one of the greatest musicians of C20th and this continues the trend nicely. I enjoyed it a lot but doubt I’ll play it too often amongst a busy schedule of listening. Steve T

Available July 16 on the Abstract Logix/Mediastarz label.

John McLaughlin (guitar); Gary Husband (piano); Sam Burgess (bass); Vinnie Colaiuta (drums).

Right Here, Right Now, Right OnJohn McLaughlin (guitar); Julian Siegel (tenor sax); Oz Ezzeldin (piano); Jerome Regard (bass); Nicholas Viccaro (drums).

Lockdown Blues - Fourth Dimension: John McLaughlin (guitar); Gary Husband (keyboards); Etienne Mbappe (bass); Ranjit Barot (drums, vocal). 

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