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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.

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Album review: The Jazz Defenders - King Phoenix

George Cooper (piano, organ, Wurlitzer, perc.); Will Harris (double bass, bass); Ian Matthews (drums); Nick Malcolm (trumpet, flugelhorn); Nicholas Dover (tenor sax) + Doc Brown (vocal tk. 6); Herbal T (vocal tk. 10); John Pearce (violin tks. 3 & 9); Atholl Ransome (flute tk. 9); Leigh Coleman (vocal tk. 6)

King Phoenix is George Cooper's Bristol-based Jazz Defenders' new album. Recorded in June and July last year and released on Haggis Records, the ten tracks (all written by Cooper with the exception of a couple of co-written numbers) occupy soul-jazz territory with a touch of Latin and a silver screen filmic quality (think 60s Cote d'Azur crime caper colliding with a spaghetti western). The core quintet (piano, bass, drums) plus guests embrace the classic (Hammond) organ sound, Crusaders' groove, Brubeckian flourishes, a hint of Latin and a touch of Ramsey Lewis. 

Ten tracks spanning little more than thirty seven minutes could be thought of as tasters, their purpose being to tempt the audiophile to get up out of that chair and boogie on down to her/his local soul-jazz joint to hear - and dance to - the band up close. Dance? Yes, the 'Acid Jazz' scene, all of forty years ago, attracted a dance crowd and evidently Cooper's outfit holds the same appeal. The contributions of vocalists/rappers Doc Brown, Herbal T and Leigh Coleman add variation, whereas John Pearce's violin and Atholl Ransome's flute are somewhat at odds with the promise of twenty first century bop.      

The Jazz Defenders on record (CD, vinyl, vinyl 45) are a very different proposition to the band recently heard in concert. Live, it was hard-hitting, pulsating bop, on record, less so, although no less listenable. Buy the album, catch them live.  Russell

The Jazz Defenders' new album King Phoenix is available from Haggis Records (HRCD006).         

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