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Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise 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

15491 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 512 of them this year alone and, so far, 133 this month (May 31).

From This Moment On ...

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.

Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 04: Jam No. 18 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Saturday, July 31, 2021

Album review: Keith Loftis Quartet - Original State

Keith Loftis (tenor, soprano sax); John Chin (piano); Eric Wheeler (bass); Willie Jones III (drums).

A belter! Those were words that sprung to mind when Willie Jones III kicked off the opening track (Oak Cliff) followed by a 'no prisoners taken' solo by Loftis, with Chin and Wheeler digging in. This was comparable with anything from the Blue Note label back in the day.

Premonition, composed by Michael Stanton, has an effective bass intro, Loftis wails over a compelling piano riff before Chin moves to centre stage driven on by Willie J 3 - a brief quote from Work Song brings Wheeler back and Loftus takes it out.

Fall's Beauty is, like the first number and the next five, a Loftis original. Normally I cringe when I hear/see the word "original" - not so here. A meditative, exploratory piece that shows off Loftis' rich tone with just enough vibrato to enhance the sound. Rather like a woman applying lipstick but not overdoing it. 

Brigitte's Smile is dedicated to neither a former French screen idol nor to a woman who lives in the next street to me but to his wife. Mrs Loftis must have one helluva smile to inspire such a swinger of a tune.

The Intangible, another great blowing tune brings to mind the great Dexter Gordon although Loftis doesn't fall back on quite so many quotes as Dex was prone to do. 

Smoke & Mirrors, another good blower. When you've been listening to jazz for as long as I have, you tend to become a little blasé and adopt an I've heard it all before attitude and then something like this comes along and it's as if you're 15 and hearing it for the first time.

WiFi Addiction, a solid 12 bar. This music recreates a time when the title track would have been a reference to a husband's attraction to his spouse.

For the Love of You, a Joe Tex, Isley Brothers' number, sees Loftis switch to soprano with a killer solo from Chin and an equally homicidal solo from the leader before Wheeler sedates matters with a mega melodic solo.

A Weaver of Dreams. Beautiful. Ballad playing at its best - cooler than cool. A fitting end to a tremendous hard bop plus album.

Of course there's more to it than just the leader. Chin and Wheeler are of like standing whilst Willie Jones the Third is equally as good as when I heard him with Cedar Walton at Ronnie's some ten or so years ago.

This is Loftis' first album in over a decade - oh what I have missed! 

Now, belatedly, I find out that I actually heard Keith with Abdullah Ibrahim at Sage Gateshead in 2010 although, reading my review, I don't think the horns were heavily featured. 

Also, I note that he played in a band with Jean Toussaint at Bishop Auckland in a tribute concert to the late trumpet player Abram Wilson who died so tragically young. Look at the line-up: Jason Marsalis (drums);  Keith Loftis, Peter King,  Jean Toussaint (saxes); Trevor Mires (trombone); Mark Lewandowski (bass) and rising star New York trumpeter, Alphonso Horne. How did I miss that one? Bishop Auckland's a mere 30 miles or so away! I bet Tony Eales was there! Lance

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