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Bebop Spoken There

Dee Dee Bridgewater: “ Our world is becoming a very ugly place with guns running rampant in this country... and New Orleans is called the murder capital of the world right now ". Jazzwise, May 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

16382 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 262 of them this year alone and, so far, 59 this month (April 20).

From This Moment On ...

April

Thu 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 25: Jim Jams @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Jim Jams’ funk collective.
Thu 25: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 25: Death Trap @ Theatre Royal, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Rambert Dance Co. Two pieces inc. Goat (inspired by the music of Nina Simone) with on-stage musicians.
Thu 25: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm.
Thu 25: Kate O’Neill, Alan Law & Paul Grainger @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 25: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Richie Emmerson (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Garry Hadfield (keys).

Fri 26: Graham Hardy Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 26: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 26: East Coast Swing Band @ Morpeth Rugby Club. 7:30pm. £9.00. (£8.00 concs).
Fri 26: Paul Skerritt with the Danny Miller Big Band @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Fri 26: Abbie Finn’s Finntet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.

Sat 27: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 27: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 28: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: More Jam Festival Special @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. A ’10 Years a Co-op’ festival event.
Sun 28: Swing Dance workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-4:00pm. Free (registration required). A ’10 Years a Co-op’ festival event.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox: The '10' Tour @ Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £41.30 t0 £76.50.
Sun 28: Alligator Gumbo @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ’10 Years a Co-op’ festival event.
Sun 28: Jerron Paxton @ The Cluny, Newcastle. Blues, jazz etc.

Mon 29: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 29: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30-8:30pm. Free. ‘Opus de Funk’ (a tribute to Horace Silver).

Tue 30: Celebrate with Newcastle Jazz Co-op. 5:30-7:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Swing Manouche @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. A Coquetdale Jazz event.
Tue 30: Clark Tracey Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ’10 Years a Co-op’ festival event.

May

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thursday, December 01, 2022

Album review: Jim Self - My America 2: Destinations

Jim Self (various tubas); Ron Stout (trumpet, flugel); Bill Booth (trombone, euphonium); Scott Whitfield (trombone); Phil Feather (alto sax, cor anglais); Tom Peterson (soprano, tenor sax); John Chiodini, Steve Fister (guitars); Bill Cunliffe (piano, melodica); Ken Wild (double, electric basses); Kendall Kay (drums); Brian Kilgore (perc.); Kim Scharnberg (MD/arranger).

A tuba led ensemble may not, at first glance, be a mouthwatering prospect even when it's played by someone who was the "Voice of the Mothership" in Close Encounters of the Third Kind i.e Jim Self. 

Nevertheless, despite my misgivings, it is cleverly  arranged by Kim Scharnberg and Self, himself, displays a dexterity rarely found in these monsters of the deep.

Described as Self's musical odyssey, My America 2: Destinations is an acknowledgement of some of the American towns, cities and landmarks that are dear to his heart and all performed uniquely and often in a quirky way.

Chicago  brings to mind Billy May's Sorta-Dixie from way back in the day when vinyl was  10" diameter. 

By the Time I Get to Phoenix is played fairly straight with tuba, trumpet and piano to the fore.

Kansas City merges a song from Oklahoma (Every Thing's up to Date in Kansas City) with the r and b classic - Kansas City.

New York State of Mind has Cunliffe playing melodica with Self blowing fluba, an instrument he invented that combines flugehorn and tuba and has quite a mellow sound. More info here.

King of Route 66. No need to reveal which two songs go into this one - you can probably guess!

Blue Bayou Bossa. Here's a clue: Roy Orbison meets Kenny Dorham. Nice solo from Stout but it's all a bit bland albeit very cleverly done.

I Love L A features another obscure instrument the cymbasso.

Back Home Again in Indiana is an orchestrated version of Dave Brubeck's recording and is a fairly straight ahead swinger.

Chattanooga Choo Choo is given the boogie woogie eight to the bar treatment. Tuba, alto and piano capture the mood to perfection.

I Left my Heart in San Francisco features trumpet, cor anglais, tuba and piano and, although performed beautifully, won't have Tony Bennett fans looking for a trade-in.

Washington Post Modern is a hoot!  Taking  John Phillip Sousa's march and putting it through its paces in a variety of tempos - not for the parade ground!

Georgia on my Mind: A duet for tuba and piano that is as mellifluous as you'll ever get from which ever tuba Self used. Cunliffe's accompaniment adds more sensitivity.

S.L.O Blues relates to the California  city of San Luis Obispo (pop. 47,063) where Self has a holiday home. It's an original composition of his which is quite rocky in places - perhaps relating to the coastline. Some wailing guitar as well as the inevitable tuba. The recording ends, as do all of his albums with the 'world-famous' howls of Stanley, his dearly departed basset hound.

I rarely do track by track album reviews but each one of these thirteen are so unique it would be impossible to bypass any one of them.

The release date is confusing. One page of the blurb says Oct. 28, 2022 whilst on another page it's Jan. 6, 2023! Whatever, it's worth checking out. Lance

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