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Bebop Spoken There

James Brandon Lewis: "Sometimes I'm not thinking about anything other than blowing the paint off the walls, and other times I'm narrating a story about my life." - (DownBeat June 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

15516 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 536 of them this year alone and, so far, 25 this month (June 7).

From This Moment On ...

Sat 10: Miners' Picnic @ Woodhorn, Ashington. Music inc. Northern Monkey Brass Band (3:00-3:50pm); New York Brass Band (4:00-4:55pm).
Sat 10: Jeffrey Hewer @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington. 6:00-8:00pm. Free.
Sat 10: Front Porch Three @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Americana, blues, jazz etc.
Sat 10: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 11: WORKSHOP: Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Workshop @ JG Windows, Newcastle. Time TBC. Further details tel. 0191 232 1356.
Sun 11: Jeremy McMurray's Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Ropner Park, Stockton TS18 4EF. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 11: Groovetrain @ Innisfree Sports & Social Club, Longbenton NE12 8TY. Doors 6:30pm. £15.00 (£7.00. under 16).
Sun 11: Jeffrey Hewer Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 11: Jam No. 19 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 13: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 13: Infusion Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 13: Alice Grace & Pawel Jedrzejewski @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv.).

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 14: NUJO Final Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcastle. 6:30pm. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra's final jam session of the academic year. All welcome.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 15: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 15: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 15: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Thu 15: Alexander Ord Trio @ Tynedale Beer & Cider Festival, Tynedale Rugby Club, Corbridge. Evening, time TBC.
Thu 15: Têtes de Pois + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. Time TBC.
Thu 15: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 16: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 16: Stu Collingwood @ Baltic, Gateshead. 7:00pm. £15.75. A Let's Caper event featuring exhibitions, food, music etc.
Fri 16: Steve Beresford-Hannah Marshall-John Butcher @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:30pm. JNE promotion.
Fri 16: James Taylor Quartet @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Fri 16: Customs House Big Band @ Customs House, South Shields. 7:30pm.
Fri 16: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Traveller's Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.
Fri 16: New Orleans Brass Band @ Billy Bootlegger's, Arch 2, Stepney Bank, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. NOBB directed by Jason Holcomb.

Friday, June 04, 2021

Album review: Vinnie Riccitelli - For the Record

You haven't heard of Vinnie Riccitelli? You're not alone, neither had I until this album arrived even though he's now 94 and been playing professionally since he was 15. The blurb refers to him as being one of the best kept secrets in jazz - the last album recorded under his name was released in 1956!

Not that he's been discovered working in a rice field, far from it. He only stopped playing alto professionally in 2018 after a career that had lasted 77 years! Since retiring, he's revisited the past and assembled this outstanding octet to record some of his classic arrangements.

And what arrangements! Imagine some of those West Coast sounds from the 1950s played with warmth and you're getting close but not quite close enough. It's impeccable - it's in the Art Pepper + Eleven league which means Champions League in jazz terms.

For some unknown reason, I've allowed this to fester in my in-tray for the past 3 months for which I'm duly apologetic. Not just to the musicians but to myself for depriving myself of so much pleasurable listening for so long. I'll make up for it by playing it forever and ever or until something better comes along which I think might be more than a little while ...

Lance

Available via usual suspects.

Minor Seventh Heaven*; I'm Old Fashioned; If You Could See me Now; Serenata; Stompin' at the Savoy; Star Eyes; Mr. Lucky; Blues Dominant*; Maids of Cadiz; Along Came Betty; Darn That Dream; Dolphin Dance; Flugelsville*; Flying Down to Rio; Jordu; 'Round Midnight; Little Boy Blew*.      

* Originals by Vinnie Riccitelli.

Vinnie Riccitelli (arranger); Leo Ursini (alto sax - 11 tks); Nathan Childers (alto sax - 6 tks); Joe Stelluti (tenor sax); Chris Stelluti (baritone sax); Glenn Drewes (trumpet/flugel); Bruce Bonvissuto (trombone); Eddie Monteiro (piano/accordion - 1 tk); Lou Stelluti (bass); Tony Tedesco (drums).

1 comment :

Tony Tedesco said...

I just wanted to write to say thank you for your great review of Vinnie’s CD. I happened to come across it today and was so appreciative of your kind words. He is really a terrific arranger who has gone under the radar here in NYC only because he was too busy as a sideman for everyone! It’s funny...I was just listening to that Art Pepper +11 record two days ago and still marveling at the musicianship exemplified during those Marty Paich sessions. To even be compared to such an iconic album is truly the highest of compliments. I feel very fortunate that Vinnie asked me to play drums on this CD, and feel even more of a thrill that his talent as an arranger is getting the recognition that he truly deserves. Thank you for spreading the word!
My regards,
Tony Tedesco

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