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Bebop Spoken There

Simon Spillett: “ Bebop and hard bop came naturally to him [Tubby Hayes]". Morning Star, March 28, 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

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 29: True Colours @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 9:00pm. Blues, jazz & swing.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 04: FILM: Soul @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 2:00pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Thu 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 04: Funky Drummer @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 04: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 04: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Friday, July 30, 2021

Album review Barry Altschul’s 3DOM Factor - Long Tall Sunshine

Barry Altschul (drums and cymbals); Jon Irabagon (tenor, soprillo sax, alto clarinet); Joe Fonda (bass).

Well, it’s been a while since I listened to any free jazz so when this one arrived in the post I took my teeth out, sat up straight and prepared to hang on for the ride. And it is a ride, the music is, at times plaintiff and exploratory, at others declamatory and celebratory. The trio is an open, stripped down format that allows every note from all three protagonists to land clearly, especially the drums which cover the spectrum from delicate to explosive.

The opener, Long Tall Sunshine opens with Fonda’s rolling bass for a few bars before Altschul comes out of the traps like a thoroughbred, his work rate making Art Blakey sound like a part-timer. This is ‘free-bop’ a hybrid of free jazz and bebop and works as a teaser/taster for what follows, in that it conditions the palette for the something less rooted in the familiar that follows.

The 3Dom Factor includes a solo from Irabagon tonguing and wrestling with the alto clarinet like he’s trying to bend it round a corner, breathing life into it and sucking the breath back out, making it cry like a baby, all in the space of the closing three minutes.

The shorter Irina is a soulful melancholic lament for the sax over sonorous bass and gently rolling drums, Irabagon responding to his own plaintiff calls.

Be Out S’Cool opens like a fractured waltz with a heavyweight bass solo, Altschul lighter but persistent behind him, before it opens out with Irabagon working the higher register with heavier punctuation from the drummer’s fills and rolls.

The closer, Martin’s Stew, is a furious charge, anchored on the bass, with wailing saxes and overwhelming drumming, Altschul provides so much power, he’s like a jet engine in a VW Beetle. There’s a joyous release at the end of his second drum solo, enough to make you smile. I suspect that this music will make even more sense live.

3dom was formed in 2012, releasing a self-titled album which was followed up by Tales of the Unforeseen in 2015 and Live in Krakow in 2017. Long Tall Sunshine is another live album recorded during a European tour in 2019, though, it seems, nobody wrote down the details of where and when it was recorded, which is, I suppose in keeping with the spirit of the music.

And for those of you who were wondering, the soprillo saxophone is also known as the sopranissimo saxophone. It’s the smallest in the sax family, coming in at about 33cm, including the mouthpiece. You don’t see many of them around.

Long Tall Sunshine is released today (July 30) through most of the usual channels and outlets, though Jeff Bezos is selling it for £28+ when it is available direct from Not Two records HERE for €12. There doesn’t appear to be a group or Barry Altschul personal website but there is a good Facebook page and Wikipedia has a good page showing the extent and breadth of Altschul’s career.

Now, where did I leave my teeth? Dave Sayer

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