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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17421 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 695 of them this year alone and, so far, 100 this month (Sept. 30).

From This Moment On ...

October

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Wed 09: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 09: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 09: Shunya, Dudù Kouate & Seb Rochford @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). £21.00.

Thu 10: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 10: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. ‘Collaborations - it happened all the time’.
Thu 10: Indigo Jazz Voices w. the Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.
Thu 10: Side Cafe Orkestar @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 10: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. With guests Donna Hewitt (sax); Bill Watson (trumpet); Graham Thompson (keys); Ron Smith (bass). Free.

Fri 11: Dulcie May Moreno @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 11: The Jazz Quartet + Stratosphonic @ Tynedale Rugby Club, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £15.00. A Rotary Club of Hexham event. The Jazz Quartet (Jude Murphy & co), Stratosphonic (blues/rock).
Fri 11: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Market Place, Corbridge NE45 5AW. 7:30pm. Free.
Fri 11: Crooners @ Tyne Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Fri 11: Mo Scott Band @ Blues Underground, Nelson St., Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

Sat 12: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 12: Michael Woods @ Victoria Tunnel, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00. (£10.00. adv.). Country blues guitar & vocals.
Sat 12: Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.28, £11.16, £9.04. A two-track recording launch gig.
Sat 12: Stuart Turner @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rockabilly, rhythm & blues etc. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 12: Lapwing Jazz Trio @ The Ship Inn, Low Newton. 8:00pm. Free. New trio: Paula Whitty, Richard Herdman, Jude Murphy.

Sun 13: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Emma Wilson @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sun 13: Catfish Keith @ The Cluny. 7:00pm. Country blues.
Sun 13: Cath Stephens & Paul Grainger @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Stephens & Grainger, one third of a triple bill.
Sun 13: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 14: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman show inspired by Nina Simone, performed by Nicholle Cherrie.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law (piano), Paul Grainger (double bass), Bailey Rudd (drums).

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

Tuesday, August 06, 2024

Album Review: Sweet Megg - Bluer Than Blue (Turtle Bay Records)

Sweet Megg /Meaghan Farrell (vocals); Billy Contreras (fiddle); Mike Davis (trumpet); Ricky Alexander (clarinet, saxophone); Sam Chess (trombone); Justin Poindexter (guitar); Chris Scruggs (lap steel, backing vocals); Dalton Ridenhour (piano); Dennis Crouch (bass); Chris Gelb (drums, backing vocals); Wild Bill (backing vocals); Timbo (vocals track 6); Ashley Campbell (vocals track 10)

This is the most recent album from Sweet Megg which is a lively collection of standards from both jazz and country, which explains the cowboy hat Megg is wearing on the album cover. The hat put me off but I needn't have worried as the album is such fun and suitable for your next party, despite the title. Mostly heartbreaking songs sung with swing and flair, plus an original by Megg herself and Justin Poindexter, Little Bit (a little bit of me just needs a little bit of you).

There was so much song information supplied that I could have cheated and reviewed without listening, but I'm glad I listened as Megg's voice has a bigwide range, delicious low notes on Kris Kristofferson's Once More With Feeling, through to the softer sweet intimacy of Ellington's In a Sentimental Mood. Then the band does a neat link into Leaving on Your Mind, which has the same tune to begin with as the previous song.

And that just about sums up the whole album, well integrated shortish songs with numerous skilled solos, too many to mention, each player gets his turn, even if it's just four bars. For instance, the title track opens with trumpet, our singer sounds as if she's having fun despite the sad lyrics, then comes solos from guitar and violin, with a distinct western swing feel.

An ensemble of the brass instruments gives a very New Orleans sound to Once More With Feeling. I Wonder Where You Are Tonight is sung with a sadder feeling, enhanced by contributions from lap steel, piano and fiddle. Honkytonk piano crops up on Someday Sweetheart and sax and violin play flirtatiously on Please Help Me I'm Falling, which matches the lyrics.

Our singer grew up in New York City and studied to be a singer/songwriter with an emphasis on jazz harmony. She later studied jazz in Paris then returned to the USA to become a professional jazz singer, toured with Postmodern Jukebox, was influenced by such people as Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith and also Patsy Cline, leading to an interest in country music. She moved to Nashville in 2021 where she teamed up with the musicians on this recording.

The album is available at turtlebayrecords.com and on all platforms. See www.sweetmegg.com. Ann Alex

BANDCAMP

Bluer Than Blue; Once More With Feeling; I Wonder Where You Are Tonight; San Antonio Rose; Someday Sweetheart; Please Help Me I'm Falling; Little Bit; In a Sentimental Mood; Leaving On Your Mind; It's All Over Now; Lonesome Hearted Blues; (Remember Me) I'm The One Who Loves You

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