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Bebop Spoken There

David Hadju: "It was kind of a lightning bolt [seeing a photo of a hi-fi store that's now occupied by a phone store]. Everyone had hi-fi systems, now everyone has a phone" - (DownBeat May 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

15478 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 499 of them this year alone and, so far, 120 this month (May 27).

From This Moment On ...

May 2023

Sun 28: Bradley Creswick's Western Swingfonia @ Whitley Bay Carnival. Free. Plaza Arena stage. 12 noon.
Sun 28: MSK @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 12:15pm. Free. Marquee stage. MSK - Steve Glendinning, Katy Trigger, Martin Douglas.
Sun 28: Musicians Unlimited @ The Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Back Chat Brass @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 1:30pm. Free. Marquee stage.
Sun 28: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Tim Kliphuis Trio @ St Mary's Church, Wooler NE71 6BZ. 3:00pm. £15.00 standard; £5.00 student/unwaged; free under 18. Afternoon Cocktail, a Wooler Summer Arts' concert promotion. Kliphuis (violin); Nigel Clark (guitar); Roy Percy (double bass).
Sun 28: Back Chat Brass @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 3:00pm. Free. Plaza Arena stage.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 28: King Bees @ The Delaval Arms, Old Hartley NE26 4RL. 5:00pm. Free. Chicago blues at its best!
Sun 28: Matt Anderson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Anderson (saxophones); Jamil Sheriff (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Dave Walsh (drums).

Mon 29: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 30: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 30: Big Chris Barber Band @ Whitley Bay Playhouse. 7:30pm.

Wed 31: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 31: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 31: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 31: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

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.

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Review: Wardell Gray - Four Classic Albums Plus

Wardell Gray died at the age of 34. To this day there is speculation as to how, exactly, he met his end. What we have here is the legacy of an undoubtedly great tenor saxophonist. From Pasadena in 1947 (Way Out Wardell) to Los Angeles 1950 and 1953 (Memorial Album Volume 1) we hear the ill-fated Gray working with some of the great names of the period.

The '47 Pasadena session included fellow tenor man Vido Musso, Benny Carter on alto sax and the trumpeters Howard McGhee and Ernie Royal. Some five years on Frank Morgan was playing alto sax, Al Haig, Phil Hill and Sonny Clark shared piano duties, Tommy Potter was on bass, and the sole surviving participant from these recordings, Roy Haynes (now 96) occupying the drum chair. 

In his sleeve notes to The Chase and The Steeplechase, Gene Norman wrote: One of the most exciting situations in jazz is an all-out 'to-the-death' duel between two tenor saxophones...This pertinent comment referred to Gray and fellow tenor man Dexter Gordon. The pair slug it out, Gordon throwing the bigger bombs, Gray taking the hit, then coming inside to do similar damage to his adversary. Just the two numbers on the album - The Chase (11 mins 32 secs) and The Steeplechase (weighing-in at 13 mins 51 secs) - with Conte Candoli on trumpet, Bobby Tucker, piano, Don Bagley, bass, with Chico Hamilton driving it along on the ride cymbal, despite the less-than-perfect audio quality, this February 2nd 1952 album is essential listening.

More than two and a half hours later this two-CD, four album package goes out all guns blazing on Denzil Best's More (Gray, Gordon, Sonny Criss toting his alto sax, Hampton Hawes or Jimmy Bunn on piano). If not for Christmas, Four Classic Albums Plus makes the ideal birthday present.   Russell  

Four Classic Albums Plus (AMSC1403) is available from Avid Jazz: www.avidgroup.co.uk.  

The Chase & The Steeplechase: Wardell Gray (tenor sax); Dexter Gordon (tenor sax); Conte Candoli (trumpet); Bobby Tucker (piano); Don Bagley (bass); Chico Hamilton (drums)

Way Out Wardell: Wardell Gray (tenor sax); Vido Musso (tenor sax); Benny Carter (alto sax); Howard McGhee (trumpet); Ernie Royal 9trumpet); Vic Dickenson (trombone); Erroll Garner (piano); Arnold Ross (piano); Barney Kessel (guitar); Irving Ashby (guitar); Red Callender (bass); Harry Babison (bass); Jackie Mills (drums); Don Lamond (drums)

Memorial Album Volume 1: Wardell Gray (tenor sax); Frank Morgan (alto sax); Al Haig (piano); Phil Hill (piano); Sonny Clark (piano); Teddy Charles (vibes); Dick Nivison (bass); Johnny Richardson (bass); Tommy Potter (bass); Art Mardigan (drums); Larry Marable (drums); Roy Haynes (drums)

Memorial Album Volume 2: Wardell Gray (tenor sax); Dexter Gordon (tenor sax); Sonny Criss (alto sax); Art Framer (trumpet); Clark Terry (trumpet); Hampton Hawes (piano); Jimmy Bunn (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass); Harper Cosby (bass); Robert Collier (congas); Chuck Thompson (drums); Larry Marable (drums)    

1 comment :

Lance said...

OMG a CD from Avid featuring Wardell Gray! A delightful tip of the iceberg to a man who was my all time favourite tenor player. Maybe they'll get around to documenting Wardell's work with Goodman, Basie, Parker, Hines. Wardell was the man! Dexter was Joe Frazier, Wardell was Ali.

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