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Bebop Spoken There

Simon Spillett: “ Bebop and hard bop came naturally to him [Tubby Hayes]". Morning Star, March 28, 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

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.
Fri 29: True Colours @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 9:00pm. Blues, jazz & swing.

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.

Thu 04: FILM: Soul @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 2:00pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Thu 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 04: Funky Drummer @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 04: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 04: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

CD Review: Jamie Shew - Eyes Wide Open

Jamie Shew (vocals, arrangements); Larry Koonse (guitars); Joe Bagg (piano and Hammond B3); Darek Oles (bass); Jason Harnell (drums)
(Review by Ann Alex).
‘This one’s a cracker’ said Lance as he handed over the CD, and it certainly is. Yet I reckon that it’s a miracle that it was ever made, as it’s literally a labour of love. Jamie Shew uses song to tell the story of her 20 year relationship with her husband, bass player Roger Shew, who sadly died of cancer. She traces their lives together in music, with good taste and a lack of sentimentality, and even manages to look to the future.

She met Roger at Washington State University, where she studied jazz piano. After graduation the couple married and went to Michigan, where they gained Master’s degrees in Jazz Studies, eventually moving to LA, where they became part of the jazz scene. Jamie had always sung, and her voice on the CD is warm and inviting, what I’d call honey-toned. She chose songs which she’d always liked, but now they took on new meanings. She also includes two of her own compositions: Get Out Of My Head and Eyes Wide Open.   

The instrumentalists are of course well up to the mark, and Ms Shew wisely allows them lots of soloing. Larry Koonse’s fine guitar work on The Answers Are You reminded me of the intricate melodies of Bach’s music, and the track is actually a Metheny tune, to which Roger Shew wrote the lyrics. Cole Porter’s Easy To Love shows skilled phrasing from our singer and many instrumental repetitions of the last song line. The Flat Foot Floogie is a song about a dance, performed with fun and wordless singing. (This dance was actually featured in a recent television programme about tap dancing – I’m starting to wonder if BSH has a secret contact at the BBC).

 Mountain Greenery is included to remind Ms Shew of the camping trip to the mountains, when Roger proposed. Easy Living is slow and relaxing to suit the tune: You Don’t Know What Love Is begins with a folky Russian sound, and is played faster than you’d expect for a sad song, but it works. The other tracks are: Detour Ahead; Thou Swell; First Song (For Ruth); O Cantador: Reflections.

The CD was available in stores and online from May 15. See www.jamieshewmusic.com
Ann Alex.

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