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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: La Malbec Orchestra @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 21: Linsday Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Ray Stubbs R & B All Stars @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:30pm. Free.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 22: Brief Encounter @ Bardon Mill Village Hall, Northumberland. 7:00pm. Tickets: £10.00. adv from 07885 303166; £12.00. on the door. Chris & Veronica Perrin improvising to a screening of the 1929 'Jazz Age' silent film Piccadilly (Dir. Ewald André Dupont).
Fri 22: Paul Edis & Graeme Wilson + Three Tsuru Origami @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 22: Crooners @ Tyne Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Fri 22: Abbie Finn's Finntet @ Traveller's Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.

Sat 23: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tanfield Railway, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. Free. A '1940s Weekend' event.
Sat 23: Jason Isaacs @ Stack, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 23: Andrew Porritt & Keith Barrett @ Cullercoats Watch House, Front St., Cullercoats NE30 4QB. 7:00pm.
Sat 23: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Country blues.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Album review: Luis Russell - At the Swing Cats Ball

Louis Armstrong (trumpet, vocal); Shelton Hemphill, Louis Bacon, Red Allen (trumpet); Wilbur DeParis, George Washington, J.C. Higginbotham (trombones); Pete Clarke, Charlie Holmes (alto sax); Albert Nicholas, Bingie Madison (clarinet, tenor sax); Luis Russell (piano); Lee Blair (guitar); Pops Foster (bass); Paul Barbarin, Sidney Catlett (drums); Sonny Woods, Midge Williams (vocals).

A fascinating collection of undiscovered 1938/40 airchecks by the Luis Russell Orchestra featuring Louis Armstrong and, to a lesser extent, Henry 'Red' Allen.

Both trumpet players are in fine form with Armstrong arguably at his peak soaring above the sometimes dated arrangements. It doesn't matter, when he cuts loose time stands still, maybe even moves forward. It may not be Dizzy or Roy but he is certainly laying the groundwork for them. 

The supporting cast too have their moments in the form of J.C. Higginbotham (trombone), Charlie Holmes (alto sax) and Albert Nicholas (clarinet). 

Another surprise, at least for me were the four piano solos by Luis Russell. He was obviously much more than a baton wielding leader displaying a sense of swing that nestled comfortably between the stride pianists such as Waller and James P. and the sophistication of Teddy Wilson.

The bulk of the recordings were live from the Grand Terrace Ballroom in Chicago and, having gathered dust for several decades, it needed a lot of TLC to bring them up to a semi-acceptable standard for today's market.

Not all of the tracks are complete and the fi is definitely lo but the music makes up for it as do the introductory exchanges between Armstrong and announcer.

This is jazz history that, fortunately, has been preserved, warts* and all. Lance

*The vocals by Sonny Woods!


Jammin'; After You've Gone; Them There Eyes; Blue Rhythm Fantasy; I've Got a Heart Full of Rhythm; Riffs - parts 1 & 2 (Dunkin' a Donut); Mister Ghost Goes to Town - parts 1 & 2; Ol' Man River; Heebie Jeebies; At the Swing Cats Ball; Algiers Stomp; Hot Bricks; Melancholy Lullaby & Lilacs in the Rain; Leanin' on the Old Top Rail & Gotta Get Home; Rippling Waters; Fussin'; Echo of Spring; Moonlight Cocktail.

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