Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 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

17586 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 860 of them this year alone and, so far, 5 this month (Dec. 2).

From This Moment On ...

December

Tue 10: Customs House Big Band @ All Saints Church Hall, Cleadon. 7:30pm. £6.00. The CHBB’s annual Xmas concert featuring Ruth Lambert. A BYOB gig!

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Cath Stephens’ improvisation workshop @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 4:30-6:00pm. Collaborative group focusing on vocal improvisations.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Second Wednesday in the month.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon. £27.00. (inc. three -course meal).
Thu 12: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-6:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 12: Stuart Turner @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Jeremy McMurray (keys); Mark Toomey (alto sax); Donna Hewitt (tenor sax); Kevin Eland (trumpet); Ron Smith (bass).

Fri 13: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Bellavana @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Customs House Big Band @ Stocksfield Community Association. 7:00pm. Featuring Ruth Lambert.
Fri 13: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 13: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £19.00. + bf. First night of two.
Fri 13: Ransom Van @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 13: Boys of Brass @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 9:00pm. £10.00.

Sat 14: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:15pm. Free but ticketed.
Sat 14: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm.
Sat 14: Red Kites Jazz @ Staiths Café, Autumn Dr., Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14 Lapwing Jazz Trio @ Three Sheets to the Wind, Alnwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £19.00. + bf. Second night of two.
Sat 14: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 15: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 12 noon. £8.50. Xmas party feat. Musicians Unlimited + Customs House Big Band. SOLD OUT!
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 2:00pm.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Mitch Laddie Band @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Superb blues power trio.
Sun 15: Leeway @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 15: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Sun 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 12 noon. £9.95. ‘Festive Turkey Dinner’. Book now: 0191 266 8137.
Mon 16: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Wednesday, June 09, 2021

Another Side of John Coltrane examines the trailblazing saxophonist’s work as a sideman

(Press release)

New collection includes Coltrane’s work with such jazz greats as Miles Davis,

Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Red Garland, Tadd Dameron, and Art Taylor

Set for release August 20th on 2-LP, CD and digital formats via Craft Recordings

Instant grat. single “Oleo” (with The Miles Davis Quintet) available today

Click here to pre-order/pre-save the album


Los Angeles, CA (June 9th, 2021) —While John Coltrane’s legacy largely focuses on his innovative and influential work as a leader, the saxophonist and composer began his career as a highly respected sideman, who rose to fame playing alongside some of the greatest names in jazz. Craft Recordings’ forthcoming release, Another Side of John Coltrane, explores this aspect of the trailblazing artist’s career and spotlights some of his best work in sessions led by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Red Garland, Tadd Dameron, and Art Taylor.

 

Set for release on August 20th and available for pre-order todayAnother Side of John Coltrane will be offered on vinyl as a 2-LP set, on CD, and across digital platforms. A collectible, yellow-colored pressing (limited to 500 copies) can be found exclusively at craftrecordings.com, while Barnes and Noble will offer an opaque gray exclusive (also limited to 500).  The vinyl editions include two bonus tracks, not featured on the CD or digital: “Nutty” (from Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane) and “Birks’ Works” (from Soul Junction by the Red Garland Quintet ft. John Coltrane and Donald Byrd). The first instant grat. single “Oleo” (with The Miles Davis Quintet) is available to stream/download today.

 

The collection is produced by Nick Phillips, mastered by the GRAMMY®-winning engineer Paul Blakemore, with lacquers cut by Clint Holley at Well Made Music. Another Side of John Coltrane also includes new liner notes by the award-winning journalist, author, and Jazz Journalists Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Doug Ramsey.

 

Ahead of the release, fans can stream or download the instant grat. single, “Oleo.” Written in 1954 by Sonny Rollins, who—like many jazz artists—based the composition on the chord structure of George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm,” the high-energy tune has since become a standard. This particular version, which appeared on Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet, was recorded in October 1956 at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in Hackensack, NJ, and features Davis on trumpet, Coltrane on tenor sax, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The take opens with a false start, followed by brief chatter between the musicians before they launch into the hard-bop staple. In his liner notes, Ramsey observes, “Following Davis’ crisp initial chorus of improvisation, Coltrane begins a conversational solo, at first with only Paul Chambers’ bass as accompaniment. He rides on the inspiration of a rhythm section that became a model for bands around the world.”

 

Coltrane launched his musical career a decade earlier, sharing the stage with leaders like King Kolax and Jimmy Heath, followed by Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Hodges, and even his idol, Charlie Parker. But a call from Miles Davis in 1955 changed the course of his life. Davis was forming a new band and invited the promising young saxophonist to join him, along with Garland, Chambers, and Jones. Known as the “First Great Quintet,” the legendary group recorded a string of highly regarded titles over the next two years, including the Relaxin’, Workin’, Steamin’, and Cookin’ series for Prestige.

 

This was also a period of significant artistic growth for Coltrane. In a 2001 New York Times feature, critic Ben Ratliff argued that during Coltrane’s early years as a sideman, he “didn't particularly distinguish himself; for the most part, he can barely be heard. But…recording with Davis…he had a sound.”

 

In addition to “Oleo,” Another Side of John Coltrane includes several highlights from these Davis-led sessions, including a 1956 recording of the Rollins-penned “Airegin,” and Thelonious Monk’s classic “‘Round Midnight.” The latter recording, captured in 1956, originally appeared on Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants. Ramsey writes that Coltrane’s solo in this take “has the keening quality that was integral to his work in the mid-fifties, and the churning examination of the possibilities in chords that would take on greater intensity as the decade unfolded.”

 

This era also found Coltrane collaborating with another jazz virtuoso, Thelonious Monk. In 1957, he joined the pianist nightly for a six-month residency at New York’s Five Spot Café. “Working with Monk brought me close to a musical architect of the highest order. I learned from him in every way,” Coltrane later told Downbeat. While the two titans only recorded a handful of sessions together—all of which occurred in ’57—those subsequent albums stand as revered works in the genre. Another Side of John Coltrane includes choice cuts from this pairing, including the ballad “Monk’s Mood” (off Thelonious Himself), in which the two are accompanied by bassist Wilbur Ware, as well as the Monk standard “Epistrophy” (off Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane), featuring Ware on bass, Ray Copeland on trumpet, Gigi Gryce on alto sax, Art Blakey on drums, as well as Coltrane and Coleman Hawkins on tenor sax.

 

Coltrane also shines with fellow saxophonist Sonny Rollins on the iconic “Tenor Madness”—the only known recording of the two saxophone giants together—which appeared on Rollins’ synonymous 1956 album. Ramsey notes that the recording “provides a prime opportunity to compare Rollins’ and Coltrane’s styles, particularly toward the end when they trade a series of four-bar phrases.” In his New York Times piece, Ratliff elaborates “Coltrane is just beginning, constructing an onrushing solo in distinction to Mr. Rollins’ series of pointed, clean melodic improvisations.”

 

Other highlights in this collection include “Soultrane,” with pianist and composer Tadd Dameron. Named in honor of the saxophonist, the track appears on 1957’s Mating Call, which Ramsey, declares, boasts “some of [Coltrane’s] most bewitching work.” Listeners will also enjoy the interplay between Coltrane and drummer Art Taylor on “C.T.A.,” off 1957’s Taylor’s Wailers, while the saxophonist joins his Miles Davis Quintet bandmate, Red Garland, on “Billie’s Bounce,” off 1957’s Dig It!

 

Although Another Side of John Coltrane primarily focuses on sessions captured between 1956–1957, the album also features one additional standout performance, recorded well into Coltrane’s career as a respected leader. The song—a rendition of “Someday My Prince Will Come” from the 1937 Disney animated film Snow White—is a classic in Davis’ cannon, thanks in part to an otherworldly solo by Coltrane, who joined his former boss in the studio for two tracks on the subsequent 1961 LP, Someday My Prince Will Come.

 

In May 1957, the artist recorded Coltrane—his first album as a leader—soon followed by such early landmarks as Lush Life, Soultrane (both 1958), and Giant Steps (1960). While Coltrane would profoundly change the landscape of modern jazz, these foundational sessions capture the development of his sound. As Ramsey eloquently puts it, these recordings offer listeners an opportunity to experience “his ceaseless inventiveness as he expands his harmonic palette and takes increasingly greater chances in developing his solos.”

 

Click here to pre-order on vinyl today, or to stream “Oleo” and pre-save the digital album.


About Craft Recordings:

Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Celia Cruz, Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, R.E.M., Joan Sebastian, and Traveling Wilburys. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Evanescence, Alison Krauss, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation—ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers. 

 

Craft Recordings is the catalog label team for Concord Recorded Music. For more info, visit CraftRecordings.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTubeApple Music, and Spotify.


No comments :

Blog Archive