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Bebop Spoken There

Marcella Puppini (in concert with the Puppini Sisters at Sunderland Fire Station, November 27, 2024): ''We've never played there, but we've looked it up, and it looks amazing.''. (The Northern Echo, November 21, 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

17562 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 836 of them this year alone and, so far, 74 this month (Nov. 22).

From This Moment On ...

November

Sat 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 11:00-1:00pm. £6.00. at the door, £4.00. advance. Tel: 0191 691 7090. A Spanish City ‘Xmas Market’ event in the Champagne Bar.
Sat 23: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Skinnergate, Darlington. 11:00am-12:30pm. Free (donations, fill up the bucket!) CANCELLED!
Sat 23: Washboard Resonators @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. £12.00.
Sat 23: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ Westovian Theatre, South Shields. 7:30pm.

Sun 24: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 11:00-1:00pm. £6.00. at the door, £4.00. advance. Tel: 0191 691 7090. A Spanish City ‘Xmas Market’ event in the Champagne Bar.
Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Skerritt (solo) performing with backing tapes.
Sun 24: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 24: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Washboard Resonators @ Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. £8.00.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Groovetrain @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. £15.00. + bf. 5:15pm (4:00pm doors). SOLD OUT!
Sun 24: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 24: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Globe. 8:00pm.
Sun 24: Lighthouse Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 26: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £12.00.; £10.00. advance.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 27: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-7:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Puppini Sisters @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Paul Skerritt @ Ashington High Street. 5:45pm. Xmas lights switch-on.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Superb blues singer!
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Richie Emmerson (tenor sax); Dan Johnson (alto sax); Graham Thompson (keys); Adrian Beadnell (bass)

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: Jamie Cullum @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 29: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Fri 29: Living in Shadows (Zoë Gilby Quintet) + OUTRI @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £10.00. + bf. Tickets: www.wegottickets.com. Zoe & Andy + Ian Paterson’s OUTRI solo bass project.
Fri 29: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

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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