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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio + Abbie Finn @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Saturday, November 27, 2021

Album Review: Sara Colman – Ink On A Pin – A Celebration Of Joni Mitchell

Sara Colman (vocals); Rebecca Nash (piano); Steve Banks (guitars); Ben Markland (bass); Jonathan Silk (drums); Percy Pursglove (flugelhorn); Beth Bellis (violin 1, vocals); Ning-Ning Li (violin 2, vocals); Natalie Mason (viola, vocals); Katy Nagle (cello, vocals)

This CD is so delightful that I played it twice straight off! Joni Mitchell songs lend themselves easily to jazz but Ms Colman's versions are very much her own, with added influences of folk and Americana. The voice is a strong alto with a pleasing nasal quality, very unlike Mitchell's rather sweeter tones, which helps towards the different interpretations.

All the tracks stood out but I must mention Amelia, concerning Amelia Earhart the pioneering aviator who disappeared over the Pacific in 1937. The string quartet and also the flugelhorn play superbly to give 'flying' effects. On the classic song Woodstock the piano somehow manages to create a 'hippy' feel, then plays along with massed cymbals, and the track is beautifully rounded off with a vocal chorus from the singers, who sound as if they are indeed at Woodstock.

My Old Man is a tribute to a partner sung to piano accompaniment, with the classic line 'We don't need no piece of paper from the City Hall’. Chelsea Morning gives us a lively, perky flugelhorn solo; This Flight Tonight has skilled flowing guitar accompaniment. Court and Spark is played with the standard piano, bass and drums and Down to You is sung to flowing strings and comments from the flugelhorn. The singing on all the tracks gets the meaning of the lyrics across well. And so I've actually mentioned all the tracks in my enthusiasm.

Ms Colman hails from Bristol and this is her second CD.  She is a singer, songwriter and composer. The album was recorded as part of her work as a recording-artist-in residence at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2019. She has worked with many other artists such as Liane Carroll, and has performed at the BBC Proms.

The album was released yesterday, November 26, and is available digitally and everywhere. See www.saracolman.com

Court and Spark; Chelsea Morning; Amelia; This Flight Tonight; Down to You; Woodstock; My Old Man - Ann Alex

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