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, January 20, 2015

CD Review: Chris Potter Underground Orchestra – Imaginary Cities

Chris Potter (tenor & soprano saxophones, bass clarinet), Adam Rogers (guitar), Craig Taborn (piano), Steve Nelson (vibraphone & marimba), Fima Ephron (bass guitar), Scott Colley (double bass), Nate Smith (drums), Mark Feldman (violin), Joyce Hammann (violin), Lois Martin (viola) & David Eggar (cello)
(Review by Russell).
Chris Potter has augmented his regular quartet – Adam Rogers, Craig Taborn and Nate Smith – with two bassists, a string quartet and former sparring partner Steve Nelson on vibes and marimba to record Imaginary Cities. The CD comprises a four part suite (the title composition) and four other pieces.
Lincoln Center, New York, invited Potter to write new music with a view to performing it at the prestigious venue. Initially, Potter had his working band in mind but in time the project grew to incorporate parts for the other musicians featured on this ECM recording.
Potter’s writing evolved from ‘a non-specific utopian idea of how the modern city could be better.’ The first of eight tracks (Lament) opens with strings, bass guitar and Smith’s languid drum patterns laying the groundwork for Potter’s searching tenor saxophone.
Imaginary Cities is divided into four parts – Compassion, Dualities, Disintegration then Rebuilding. The first part hears more of Potter’s accomplished tenor playing followed by Adam Rogers’ ever-excellent guitar playing. Smith drives Dualities, lifting Potter to ever greater heights, Nelson’s vibes break away from the strings’ secure foundation seeking to emulate the bandleader’s sense of adventure. Craig Taborn plays acoustic piano on the album and sketches a delicate opening to the impressionistic Disintegration ahead of Potter’s floating soprano above a field of decaying strings. Smith’s sparkling drum part revitalises the ensemble’s optimism on the suite’s end piece, Rebuilding.
Firefly burns brightly; Fima Ephron’s lithe bass pattern, urgent tenor, guitar and strings chase the melody, then vibes, Smith again pivotal. Shadow Self  suggests an ‘out’ string quartet piece, politely discordant. The final track, Sky, dazzles briefly (Taborn and once more Smith) and it is down to Potter to conclude matters. Imaginary Cities is released on January 19 on ECM (catalogue no. 470 4075). Chris Potter’s Underground Quartet (on this occasion Potter, Adam Rogers, Fima Ephron and Nate Smith) can be heard at Ronnie Scott’s, London, February 16 and 17.  
Russell.

No comments :

Blog Archive