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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.

Thursday, October 06, 2022

A dozen baritone bosses

1) Harry Carney. It couldn't be anyone else. He practically invented the instrument and no one had his sound or his breath control. He wasn't a bopper and maybe not a great improviser but what he brought to the Ellington orchestra with the depth he added to the sax section established his credentials without doubt.

2) Pepper Adams. It was only this year when my eyes/ears were opened to Adams. The recently discovered album with the Tommy Banks Trio made me aware that this was a guy who should have won every poll imaginable - a Grandmaster.

3) Cecil Payne. I'd heard Payne with both Basie and Herman - good, but no cigar. However, when I heard him on a recording of Freddie Redd's The Connection I was completely blown away. At that moment in time ('60s) I'd never heard bari playing like it. I loaned the album to a friend who subsequently died and, presumably, the album went with him.

4) Serge Chaloff. The fifth of Woody's Four Brothers, he anchored that famous sax section but came into his own on Blue Serge. An album that demonstrated that the instrument didn't have to have the bombast and bluster of the other heroes but could also be as subtle and as smooth as Getz's tenor.

5) Gerry Mulligan. After the success of his pianoless quartet with Chet Baker, Mulligan dominated the baritone section of the various polls. His dry sound and laid back solos personified jazz on the west coast.

6) Gary Smulyan. Of course all of the above are gone leaving the door open for the new breed and none more so than Smulyan who incorporates all of the attributes of the above with his own individuality.

Meanwhile, back here in the UK ...

1) John Surman. Surman may have now moved in different directions and not always have taken me with him but, when he emerged on the scene with the various Mike Westbrook outfits he blew all the other low reeds out of sight!

2) Alan Barnes. Baritone may not be his first call instrument but when the call comes he does the business. He plays hot, he plays cool and, on whatever instrument, he plays for keeps!

3) Joe Temperley. Not sure if Joe should be in the US or UK listings as he spent most of his playing career in the States, where he took over Carney's chair in the Ellington band and, latterly in Wynton Marsalis' Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. However, my most precious memory is of hearing him alongside Tony Coe and Jimmy Skidmore in Humph's first truly mainstream band.

4) Ronnie Ross. For many years the UK's number one. In the frontline of the post-war British modern jazz scene, his smooth delivery kept him up there in the MM polls.

5) Harry Klein. Another fine player operating in the mainstream to modern area. His broadcasts with Kenny Baker's Dozen were always good to hear on those Friday nights long, long ago.

6) Sue Ferris. I'll probably be accused of parochialism for including Sue but, in my (and her) defence, that memorable night at Ushaw College when she traded baritone choruses with Alan Barnes was the musical equivalent of 'The Thriller in Manila' and is already a part of north east jazz folklore. Lance

2 comments :

Gordon Solomon said...

Hi Lance, I’m surprised you omitted UK player John Barnes.
John was many times winner of the Baritone Sax category in the British Jazz Awards, and also appeared in the American Downbeat Poll.
Cheers,
Gordon Solomon.

Lance said...

You're spot on Gordon - how remiss of me! Let's put him at joint second with Alan Barnes and call it a baker's dozen. What I liked about Johnny, apart from his playing, was that, like Roy Williams and Digby Fairweather, you may have only met him/them once and they'd greet you as if they'd known you all your life!

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