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Bebop Spoken There

Orrin Evans: “Now, getting a teaching spot is the new record deal”. (DownBeat, November, 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

17487 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 761 of them this year alone and, so far, 66 this month (Oct. 30).

From This Moment On ...

November

Tue 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval NE25 0AT. 12:30pm. £12.00. ‘Guy Fawkes Steak & Ale Pie & Pea Lunch’. To book tel: 0191 237 3697.
Tue 05: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:00pm. Free.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 06: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 06: The Horne Section’s Hit Show @ Tyne Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Wed 06: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 07: Jazz Appreciation North East/Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. ‘George - named musicians, vocalists & composers (Chisholm, Duke, Lewis, Shearing, Benson, Melly, Gershwin et al)’.
Thu 07: Aki Remally: The Gil Scott-Heron Songbook @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Remally (guitar, vocals); Fraser Urquhart (piano); Tom Wilkinson (bass); Max Popp (drums).
Thu 07: Rat Pack Live @ Whitley Bay Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Thu 07: Mo Scott @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:30pm. Free.
Thu 07: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. Guest band night with the new Pensacola Boulevard: Josh Bentham (trumpet!); Donna Hewitt (clarinet); Ron Smith (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Mark Hawkins (drums); Django ZaZou (trombone); Vicky Jackson (vocals).

Fri 08: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 08: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 08: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm.
Fri 08: TC & the Groove Family + Swannek + Knats @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 09: Moscow Drug Club @ Hamsterley Village Hall, Co. Durham DL13 3QF. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Sat 09: Anth Purdy @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. ‘Swing Jazz Guitar’. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 10: The New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free. A ‘second Sunday in the month’ residency.
Sun 10: Panharmonia @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £6.00.
Sun 10: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Jude Murphy, Steve Chambers & Sid White @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 10: Moscow Drug Club @ Lesbury Village Hall, nr. Alnwick NE66 3PP. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Sun 10: SH#RP Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Tue 12: Matthew Forster Quartet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.
Tue 12: Phil’s Elastic Band @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. Free, but ticketed, book online.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Friday, June 28, 2024

Album Review: Julian Costello & Vertigo (Elsden Music)

Julian Costello (tenor and soprano saxophones); Natalie Rozarios (cello); Stephanos Tsourelis (guitar and oud); Sophie Alloway (drums); Iqbal Pathan (tabla); David Beebee (double bass).

It’s only a couple of months since I reviewed Julian Costello’s quartet album And all the Birds Were Set Free and here he is, back with a new album and a completely different group, featuring completely different instruments and therefore a completely different sound. This new line up brings new voices to bear and that in turn creates a change of mood and atmosphere. The, mainly bowed, cello is supported by Beebee’s bass but the two work closely together. (Beebee and Pathan are listed as guests on the credits but Beebee, especially is more involved than that credit would suggest and Pathan’s tabla is an extra, striking, voice that adds alternative shades to the tracks he plays on, especially during Stonehenge, which opens with a front line duet of soprano and tabla.)

Mellow opener, Sorry But No, allows the various band members to shine from the rolled drums and cymbal splash at the beginning, through a cello/tenor duet, (in which the two instruments are so close in their voicings as to be virtual family members), and into Tsourelis’ solo of sharp lines and back into a sinuous solo from Costello. Inspector Morse takes the tempo down further and features a solo from Costello that swoops and flows and, finally, soars, over delicate vamping from the others; a very elegant 6 ½ minutes.

Stonehenge brings the unusual due of tabla and oud as backing for Costello’s wheeling and circling soprano solo. The Whale exemplifies what this band is about as it builds through all the voices to Tsourelis’ epic Hendrixian explorations. To Be Fair is a summery jaunt, opening slowly and moving up through the gears as the group frame Costello’s relaxed soprano. He hands off to Tsourelis for a jagged guitar solo before Costello brings us back to something more relaxed again and, ultimately, a languid finish as the tune dissolves around him. Why is a piece of pastoral grace and beauty that unfurls as it progresses through its opening section. The dominant voice is Rozario’s cello over spare support from bass, drums and guitar. Costello’s tenor takes over and is followed by Tsourelis. Both solos are free and floating, exploring and unrestrained. A complete change of mood for the dancing, Balkan flavoured and frivolously entitled Ooh I Like Your Shirt follows. The soprano bubbles and chirps over a stark backing of rolling drums and plucked oud, somehow managing to make a full sound from limited ingredients. Look At Yourself With A Smile is a return to the pastoral featuring Tsourelis channelling John Scofield and a piercing soprano solo which mellows a little as it returns to the bosom of the rest of the band.

The King Cobra is an essay in controlled malice; Pathan’s tabla rolls and rumbles over the oud and subdued bass whilst Costello’s soprano stabs and dances.

There’s a lot to take in on this album. Costello arranges a quite a wide spectrum of voices and, whilst this might be a late night listen, that is not to minimise its impact. It is absorbing and draws the listener in demanding attention in its twists and turns. I like it a lot, mainly (!) for the music but there is plenty of ambition and imagination being played out here as well.

This very fine album is available as a CD or Download on Bandcamp or a download on Amazon. A video of Stonehenge is here on YouTube, whilst one for The Whale is HERE. Dave Sayer

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