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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, June 17, 2021

Ten trumpet players who worked with Charlie Parker (well eleven actually)

Dizzy Gillespie was one of the founding fathers of bebop, in at its inception at Minton’s with others such as Kenny Clarke, Monk, Charlie Christian and Bud Powell. He was the doyen of all the ‘modern’ trumpet players at the time. Blessed with great technique, ideas, humour. showmanship, business acumen and ebullience, he was a member of the Parker Quintet in 1945/46 and appeared in many “one-off” gigs with Bird in the years that followed.

Howard McGhee, an accomplished trumpeter and something of a transitional figure from ‘swing’ to ‘bop’. In Bird’s group on the disastrous Lover Man session in the summer of ’46, he resumed his position on Charlie’s release from Camarillo Hospital in the spring of ’47. ‘Maggie’ had a brilliant technique, a bright tone, fast fingering with much use of the upper register notes. His career was interrupted by ‘personal problems’ and he was on and off the scene for many years in the ‘50s, ‘60s and70s.

Miles Davis was a teenager when he joined Bird’s group first in ’46 then later from late ’47 to December ’48 and his playing was much influenced by Gillespie. However he was a young man ‘searching for his own voice’ within the maelstrom of bebop, and in his own words “used to quit every night at Bird’s side”.

Subsequently he became a huge star in his own right - constantly evolving his playing throughout a wonderful career.

Kenny Dorham took Miles’ place in December ’48 leaving at the end of spring ’49 following Bird’s successful appearance at the Paris Jazz Festival and short tour of France. Again influenced earlier by Gillespie, Kenny developed into a fine musician with a warm, burnished tone, who moved first into ’hard bop’ then ‘modal’ styles of playing.

Fats Navarro, the virtuoso of the trumpet, never actually worked regularly for Bird in the quintet although he appeared on various gigs from time to time. Blessed with a fluent, imaginative style, he could ascend and descend effortlessly in and out of the ‘stratosphere’ of the instrument’s top range. My opinion is that Charlie thought Navarro was ‘too good’ to be in his band because he didn’t want to be outplayed on the stand by anybody and Fats was more than capable of that…

Colourful character Red Rodney took over Bird’s trumpet chair from late ’49 to roughly spring ’51. He had a bright, brash tone and a fluent style to match his personality and is featured on some of the ‘live’ recordings of the period. His subsequent career was marked by absences from the scene due to incarceration. However, he always bounced back ready to move on. For a while he played in a Los Angeles casino band and later acted as ‘consultant’ to Clint Eastwood’s film Bird as well as doing some teaching.

Rolf Ericson joined Bird’s combo for the tour of Sweden in 1950. An accomplished player, he knew all the repertoire and could handle himself with assured solos and group work in the bop style. He had a long and successful career in jazz working steadily with many of the great names including Ellington. He ran his own big band for a while as well as playing as a freelance musician in radio, tv and film work

“Little” Benny Harris worked for Charlie on and off from spring ’51 to summer ’53. As a trumpet player, he was capable enough but prone to erratic and slipshod playing at times. Parker liked him though because ha had composed several of the bebop anthems notably Ornithology, Wahoo, Crazyology  and Reets and I.

Chet Baker was a member of Bird’s group on at least two occasions. Firstly in June ’52 at the Trade Winds Club in Inglewood, California then as a participant in “The West Coast in Jazz” package on tour in late ’53. Charlie was impressed by what he heard and foresaw Baker’s later great success. Despite ‘personal problems’ Chet was very popular in the jazz world and worked regularly as a sideman and leader of his own group in the U S and around the world.

Herb Pomeroy joined Bird’s group on two occasions when he worked at the “Hi-Hat” Club in Boston in June and September ’53. A fine musician, he played in and led many big bands of the era as well as teaching at the Lenox School of Jazz and Berklee College of Music. His view was that jazz should be listened to ‘live’ rather than on disc.

Herbie Williams briefly joined the quintet in January ’54 in Boston. Charlie Parker was not in good shape at that time with personal issues in his life and contract disputes arising from his musical work. Nevertheless, Herbie was comfortable in this environment and played with confidence.

Footnote: It is known also that trumpeters Clifford Brown, Joe Gordon and Ira Sullivan played briefly in Charlie’s groups circa 1954. Dave Brownlow.        

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