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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.

Tuesday, November 08, 2022

Book review: Peter Dawn - Phil Seamen 'Percussion Genius' Outrageous Rebel and Born Raver

Spread over 751 pages (inc. index, selective discography, and bibliography) this is possibly the longest and most detailed biography of any British jazz musician ever. This is not to take anything away from Simon Spillett's magnificent Tubby Hayes biography or the late Peter King's autobiography. They are all relevant to each other and author Dawn draws extensively from them and many others in painting this picture of Britain's greatest drummer.

Seamen was born and spent his early life in Burton on Trent - the then home of the British beer industry and Phil's first job was working in the town's Marston's Brewery. 

After playing in local bands he eventually moved south and worked his way to the top via bands such as the Jack Parnell Orchestra and the vibrant jazz scene in London's West End.

Bands such as the quartets of Tubby Hayes and Joe Harriott were enhanced by Phil's drumming although he and Harriott weren't always close as I recall from a session at Newcastle's Down Beat Club back in the 1960s when they were most certainly at odds with each other.

Much of the material is drawn from Melody Makers, NMEs, Crescendos, Jazz News and other magazines of the period as well as the classic Decibel album The Phil Seamen Story. They are all excellently collated and give the reader an almost day to day chronicle of the life of a jazz musician - warts and all.

We get insights into Phil's occasional returns to Burton, commented on by local musicians and fans who knew him. His drug addiction isn't glossed over but, for all his unpredictability, everyone speaks of him with admiration and much love including ex wife Léonie and former girl friend Jo who were both interviewed. Neither bore malice despite the difficulties they must have faced in trying to come to terms with his lifestyle. 

The book is peppered with historic, often rare, photos and there are few British jazzmen of note who aren't mentioned.

I didn't know that he'd played drums on Acker's Stranger on the Shore or Cilla's Anyone Who Had a Heart as well as many other hits.

For drummers, perhaps the most interesting chapter is the one where he and other drummers discuss the matched grip as opposed to the orthodox grip. Phil is generally acknowledged as the first to pioneer this method of holding the sticks which later became the norm. The same chapter includes several notated examples of his playing. I know I will be checking out other drummers' techniques. 

This is not just the story of Phil Seamen - well it is - but  it's also the story of British modern jazz of which he was very much a part of. A flawed genius? Yes, but a genius who heard a different drummer - himself! 

To purchase Peter Dawn: Phil Seamen 'Percussion Genius' Outrageous Rebel and Born Raver (ISBN 978-1-83952-391-5) or to find out more click on HERE. Lance

1 comment :

Lance said...

Further to my review, I overlooked one mild criticism and that was the use of asterisks for what were once thought of as 'naughty words'. Ok, so f*****g may be just about acceptable - even when quoting the man himself who wasn't unknown to have used such expletives in most of his sentences - but p***s, b******s, s**t, and other words in everyday usage somehow seem far removed from the everyday world in which Phil lived in then and what we do now. Just a thought. It's still a great book.

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