Total Pageviews

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.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

CD Review: FRED FRIED and CORE - Core Bacharach

Fred Fried (acoustic guitar), Michael Lavoie (double bass) & Miki Matsuki (drums)
(Review by Russell).
Guitarist Fred Fried resides in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Gigging musician, teacher, Fried is a busy man with a substantial back catalogue documenting his craft. At school he played clarinet. It wasn't until he went to college that he first picked up a guitar and made the journey from playing six strings to seven to his present nylon eight string model made for him by luthier Steve Connor.
Core Bacharach is his tenth release as a leader. Bacharach. Yes, Burt Bacharach. Fried rightly states Bacharach’s tunes ‘are, by any definition, standards and as such hold up to varying interpretations.’ The tunes are so familiar that on first hearing them as instrumentals it proves difficult to free the mind (if indeed one should attempt to do so) of the originals and their sing-a-long lyrics. Fried cites Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery as early influences but it was, perhaps, a six month stint studying with George Van Eps that shaped his ‘conception’.
Van Eps’ pupil got to thinking ‘pianistically’ and with the addition of a low ‘A’ string below the low ‘E’ and a high ‘A’ string above the high ‘E’ expanding the range, he interchanges chords and single line improvisations with masterful sleight of hand. Bacharach’s melodies are made for the improviser. In the company of bassist Michael Lavoie and drummer Miki Matsuki  Fried respects the composer’s work but isn’t afraid to lose himself in his improvisations, secure in the knowledge that bass and drums – the trio is a previously recorded, working unit – will offer sympathetic contributions throughout. I Say a Little Prayer opens the eleven track CD with Fried’s guitar recalling the elegance of Charlie Byrd, bassist Lavoie exhibits a tasteful light touch on the first of several solos and Matsuki’s unobtrusive use of mallets is exemplary.
The Look of Love and Walk on By are given a stately treatment.  An additional chord sequence of Fried’s added to Wives and Lovers showcases the trio’s collective swing feel (tight, fizzing work from Matsuki) and on What’s New Pussycat? Lavoie’s funk vibe launches Fried on a soaring solo flight and the man from Cape Cod disappears into the distance over the Atlantic (the studio engineer’s fade out!).
Lavoie’s warm, resonant sound and Matsuki’s lush brush work on A House is Not a Home complement the leader’s introspective invention but it isn't long before the swing feel returns on Bacharach’s joyful message This Guy’s in Love With You. The set closes with a solo piece from Fried.
On first listening to the CD the thought occurred – is there an unaccompanied track by the leader? Alfie is the track. Excellent guitar playing from Fried. Excellent playing from all three musicians. A fine new CD (Fried’s back catalogue should be worth checking out), Core Bacharach by Fred Fried and CORE is available on Ballet Tree Jazz Productions. Visit www.fredfried.com
Russell.

No comments :

Blog Archive