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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 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

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Jazz Workshop @ the Globe - Sometime Ago (August 6/7)

This enjoyable event took place last weekend, August 6 and 7, with about a dozen students working in two groups with our very friendly tutors - Paul Edis and James Brady (of Leeds.)

Grateful thanks to all those at the Globe who were involved in the organising of this event.

I don't need to outline the proceedings blow by blow or rather chord by chord, as most readers have probably been part of such events more times than they can shake a sax at. Enough to say that the music played included:

Songs: Perdido (Juan Tizol); Sometime Ago (Serge Milhanovic)

Instrumentals: Ad Infinitum (Carla Bley); Struttin' With Some Barbecue (Lil Hardin Armstrong & Don Raye); Jelly Rolls (Charles Mingus); Westerly (Nikki Iles).

However, I have another purpose which is to rave about the wonderful song Sometime Ago, which is a masterpiece, at least to my ears, and it was worth doing the weekend for just this one song. Lyrics and music are a perfect fit, especially as sung by American singer Irene Kral (1932-1978).

Life began when you came sometime ago

There was love in the game sometime ago

So unconventional you and me

And so essentially young and free

 

We were both very smart until the end

Little girl with no heart I would pretend

Now I'm discovering as I'm recovering

Love wasn't really just a game

But we're the only ones to blame

We find out about the love affair indirectly without details of where they met etcetera, which is clever songwriting as the listener can make up the details for themselves, and thus feels more involved in the story. The listener may perhaps think about a similar experience that they have had.

We don't actually know how long ago all this happened, was it a month, a year, or when? The last line of the song can be sung differently by various singers. Obviously it's sad which could be shown by singing quietly with pauses between words, but a clever singer could probably bring off an angry interpretation to that line.

The tune is a perfect fit for the words. Repetition of 'sometime ago' works well and 'unconventional' trips lightly off the tongue after the low note on 'so'. 'Young and Free' actually sounds light and free because of the higher note on the 'and'. I could elaborate more but I'm sure that readers of this blog can do that just as well for themselves. But I must mention how enjoyable it was to sing the line 'Now I'm discovering as I'm recovering' which, again, slips nicely off the tongue because 'recovering' has higher notes than the rest of the line, so sounds like a recovery.

Irene Kral sings a coda to the words above, which we didn't include in our version:

We were both very smart sometime ago

Little girl lost her heart sometime ago


Which suggests that she hadn't really recovered after all. And as for the chords …..

I'll leave that to the instrumentalists! Ann Alex

2 comments :

Chris Kilsby said...

Sometime Ago is indeed a sweet tune. I heard it played at the NYJC Summer School concert last year - sans vocalist sadly. The recording is at https://youtu.be/F_MlxPDhfvE?t=1117. Paul Edis was in the audience as one of the tutors - I wonder if that was where he spotted the potential for the tune? Though, then again, I bet it was already in his encyclopaedic pad!

Ann Alex said...

Thanks for the feedback Chris. I felt very privileged to get the chance to sing the song in the final session of the course on Sunday. The tune itself without the vocals would still sound good.

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