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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
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: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

CD Review:Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra - Efferevescence

Youth Jazz Orchestra no longer conjures up images of well-intentioned youngsters vainly attempting to emulate their peers. Quite the contrary. Like NYJO and many of the bands who will compete in this year's Sunderland Big Band Festival (March 3-5 at Chester le Street) the YJOs are of a standard where they can hold their own with just about any of the more seasoned performers. This is due, of course, to the ability of some of those seasoned performers to pass on their wisdom to the emerging talents. In the case of the TSYJO there can be few better equipped to bring out the best in a band than Tommy Smith. Equally at home with the internationally acclaimed Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, or a small band, or a symphony orchestra, Smith can do the business. On this third album by the TSYJO tribute is paid to some vintage numbers and some fresh interpretations of more contemporary jazz classics.

Apple Honey: The old potboiler from Woody's First Herd. It's near enough the original arrangement with the young soloists capturing the spirit of the original. Michael Butcher is Flip, Liam Shortall close enough to Bill Harris to almost fool you, Helena Kay plays some smooth clarinet that is perhaps nearer to Benny than Woody, Fergus McReady holds Ralph Burns to a score draw and Tom Walsh takes it out on a [literal] high.
The Way You Look Tonight: Florian Ross' imaginative arrangement features Jackson on alto and Garrity on trombone. Two assured soloists who do credit to Tommy Smith, Ross and - Jerome Kern. I doubt if the latter's estate will be going to litigation over this as they once did over a version of a Kern tune by Dizzy!
Blues March: It may not have the earthy rawness of the original version by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, indeed, I doubt if any of the umpteen versions recorded since then have matched it but, nevertheless, the TSYJO make a decent fist of it with solos by Bates, Stylianides and Bowden.
Humpty Dumpty: The first of two Chick Corea numbers showcases Williamson, Johnstone and Henderson in another Ross arrangement. None of whom took a great fall but did take great solos and nobody laid an egg
Tam O' Shanter: An original by Sean Bates that, as the title implies, takes us through the heather to Bannockburn to the skirl of Joe Williamson's guitar with maybe a wee dram on the way and a Michael Butcher chaser on the way back.
Nefertiti: Ross arranged the Miles Davis classic as a tenor feature for Butcher who does his growing reputation no harm.
Things to Come: Needless to say, the trumpets needed their lip in for this one taking Dizzy's look to the future even further forward. Gibbs and Kay the soloists with Henderson propelling the spaceship.
Bud Powell: A second helping of Chick Corea, this time arranged by Christian Jacob, has Gibbs once again in the spotlight and the first glimpse of Tessier on tenor. It rounds off an album that restores my faith in the future - at least jazzwise!
Lance.
Tom Walsh, Sean Gibbs, Joshua Elcock, Christos Stylianides, Cameron T Duncan, Tom Clay Harris (trumpets); Michael Owers, Liam Shortall, Kevin Garrity, Richard Foote (trombones); Helen Clay (alto/clarinet), Adam Jackson (alto), Samuel Tessier, Michael Butcher (tenors), Heather Mackintosh (baritone); Joe Williamson (guitar), Fergus McCreadie/ Pete Johnstone (piano), David Bowden (bass), Stephen Henderson (drums); Tommy Smith (MD/producer).
Available on Spartacus Records. Contact ts@spartacusrecords.com.

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