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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17346 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 630 of them this year alone and, so far, 35 this month (Sept. 11).

From This Moment On ...

September

Mon 16: Swing Manouche @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: John Hallam with the James Birkett Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. A Blaydon Jazz Club 40th anniversary concert!

Tue 17: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval. 12:30pm. £13.00. Tel: 0191 237 3697. ‘Indian Summer Afternoon Tea’.
Tue 17: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free.
Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums).

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 18: Hot Club of Heaton @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘third Wednesday in the month’ session.

Thu 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 19: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 19: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. THC with guests Kevin Eland, Dan Johnson, Jeremy McMurray, Ron Smith.

Fri 20: Lindsay Hannon’s Tom Waits for No Man @ Gala Theatre, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 20: Rob Hall & Chick Lyall @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free (donations). SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Leeway @ 1719, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. The Old Black Cat Jazz Club. CANCELLED!
Fri 20: Gaz Hughes Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.

Sat 21: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 1:00-2:45pm. Free.
Sat 21: Baghdaddies @ Two by Two, Albion Row, Byker, Newcastle NE6 1RQ. 6:00pm.
Sat 21: Jude Murphy & Alan Law @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free.
Sun 22: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Richard Herdman @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 22: Remy CB Band @ Blues Underground, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:30pm. Free. Remi, 2024 Newcastle Uni graduate, superb soul/blues voice!

Thursday, September 09, 2021

Album review: Strictly Smokin' Big Band - Harlem '58

Here it is, the first of three lockdown crowd funded albums. Harlem '58 is the Strictly Smokin' Big Band's homage to some of the all time greats, taking as its inspiration Art Kane's iconic photograph of fifty seven jazz musicians standing, some sitting, for a group portrait in Harlem, NYC. Organising a big band recording session at the best of times can't be easy, doing so in the middle of a pandemic must be nigh on impossible. Michael Lamb, the SSBB's MD, wasn't to be deterred... 

Eight tracks spanning some forty two minutes feature several soloists from the SSBB's immaculate sections. From Evenin' (Alice Grace singing Jimmy Rushing, Dave Kerridge, tenor, Pete Tanton, trumpet, Chris Kurji-Smith, trombone) through to Blues Machine (Graham Don, piano, Keith Robinson, alto sax, Chris Kurji-Smith, trombone), it is apparent that there isn't a weak link in the ensemble. Those who've heard the band in concert will surely attest to that!

On first hearing, it's the arrangers who come to the fore - Bill Holman, Jim Martin, Tom Kubis, Sammy Nestico to name but four. And then there's M. Lamb arr.. MD Lamb's arrangement of Evenin' loses little, if anything, alongside the charts of his more illustrious fellow arrangers. 'Round MidnightBemsha Swing and Doxy made a good first impression, as did Goodbye Pork Pie Hat with Alice Grace's considered lyrics. On second hearing it's likely that other cuts on the album will become firm favourites. On third hearing, the same thing, fourth time, fifth time and on, a sure sign of a good album. Harlem '58 is full of riches, buy it, play it, love it. 

Harlem '58 by the Strictly Smokin' Big Band (recorded at The Globe, Newcastle, May 2021) is available from today (Thursday September 9) on Jazz Sound Records.      
                
Michael Lamb (MD): Steve Summers, Keith Robinson (alto sax), Jamie Toms, Dave Kerridge (tenor sax), Laurie Rangecroft (baritone sax); Gordon Marshall, Dick Stacey, Pete Tanton, Michael Lamb (trumpets); Kieran Parnaby, Mark Ferris, Chris Kurji-Smith, John Flood (trombones); Graham Don (piano); Pawel Jedrzejewski (guitar); Michael Whent (bass guitar); Guy Swinton (drums); Alice Grace (vocals)

Evenin'Blue Skies'Round MidnightBemsha Swing; Doxy; Song for My FatherGoodbye Pork Pie HatBlues Machine.     

1 comment :

NeilC said...

Absolutely wonderful surprise when I opened my email and to my delight an SSBB mail announcing the release and providing the link to download the album with the CD to follow . After finally figuring out how to get the album from my laptop to a mobile device I was off in the car , as I had a few errands today . For once I was absolutely delighted to find that the routes I was travelling seemed to be plagued with slow traffic and jams because I managed two plays of this fabulous album .

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