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Bebop Spoken There

Delfeayo Marsalis: "Slide Hampton once told me that it's not always the person that is playing the highest or playing the fastest that's making the greatest impact." - (DownBeat March 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

15217 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 236 of them this year alone and, so far, 49 this month (March 16).

From This Moment On ...

March

Mon 20: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 20: Central Bar Quintet plays Wes Montgomery @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm. Feat. Joe Steels.

Tue 21: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 21: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Jacob Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass guitar); Bailey Rudd (drums).

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller's Rest, Cockerton. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public). Note change of venue - this week only.
Wed 22: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Thu 23: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcasatle. From 6:30pm 'til late. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Thu 23: Kerrin Tatman + John Garner & John Pope @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 23: Sunna Gunnlaugs & Julia Hülsmann @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm. A two-piano gig. A Sage Gateshead-JNE promotion.
Thu 23: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano.
Thu 23: Sleep Suppressor @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv. Upstairs.
Thu 23: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Album review: Ron Magril - Until Now

Ron Magril (guitar) Avshalom Meidan (piano), Oren Hardy (double bass), Ofri Nehemya (drums)

The second of two new albums from emerging Israeli artists on Ubuntu following the excellent Walk of the Ducks from sax player Asaf Harris. This time it’s a young guitarist, Ron Magril,  with another band of top Israeli players, notably the spectacular Ofri Nehemya on drums, familiar to fans of Avishai Cohen (bass) and Ben Wendel. Magril is currently studying at the New School in NYC, so this is early days.  

Looking at the line up, especially with Nehemya on board, I perhaps hoped to find some commonality with leading Israeli guitarist Gilad Hekselman. Not so - the genre here is very much a contemporary take on hard bop, conventional jazz guitar rather than any progressive and radical collaborations outside the mainstream.

While the viewpoint here is rather retrospective, there is much to be enjoyed and admired in the sophisticated and precise playing. Nehemya does a great job of injecting pzazz and energy, albeit in a measured version of his usual asymmetric swirling stream.

The opening  It’s the Cops  is  urgent but tuneful, with walking bass and  swinging kit. For You slowly smoulders, showcasing Meidan’s lounge piano. Pete picks up the pace joyfully, with a bass solo interlude, and a bass intro to the next piece I’m Starting to Smile Again before a jaunty guitar melody takes off. Meaningful Moments is spacious and unhurried, reflecting the title – though even Nehemya’s artistry on brushes can’t save me from a verdict of cheese deluxe here. The remaining numbers are lovingly played but unremarkable to my ear – I’m sure others more attuned to the pre-70s guitar era would find much to enjoy. The album does close with a stand out tune -  Africa, a tribute to McCoy Tyner. Fittingly, it features rollocking bass lines, jagged piano chords, harder hitting guitar and Nehemya, finally let off the tight leash.

With my expectations of new Israeli bands raised by Asaf Harris’ recent effort on the same label I have to confess to some disappointment with the conventional outlook here.  The dominant voice here is from the US tradition and I’m left asking why these guys have left behind the rich influences from their own culture so evident in other Israeli jazz. Chris K

Release Date:
May 27,  CD & Digital Formats Ubuntu UBU0106

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