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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.

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.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

CD Review: Nigel Price Organ Trio - Heads and Tales Vol 2

Nigel Price (gtr); Ross Stanley (Hammond); Matt Home (dms) + Alex Garnett (alt/ten); Vasilis Xenopoulos (ten).
(Review by Lance).
Heads & Tales, an appropriately named double CD. Heads you win, Tales you still win! The trio is two-thirds of the trio that rocked the Jazz Café last month (Steve Brown stood in for Matt Home). To make it even more attractive we have the added presence of Vasilis Xenopoulos and Alex Garnett, either together or individually, on 7 of the 9 tracks on disc one.  Xenopoulos is a regular visitor to the area (as recently as last weekend) and Garnett played the Gala in Durham in May.
The Tales half is predominantly Price soloing or duetting with himself on familiar themes: Cherokee; Have You Met Miss Jones; Jeannine; Peace; Come Rain or Come Shine; Minority; Fragments of Blues; Slow Boat to China; Midnight Blue and, as a bonus, Joe Pass' composition Fragments of Blues was videoed during the recording although I have yet to view it.
Guitar playing at the ultimate level!
The Heads disc is an interesting concept. They are all "originals" by Price based on the themes he plays on the other disc. The titles are almost as clever as the tunes!
Blue Genes works around the changes of Jeannine (Genes, Jeans - get it?) Vasy is in on this one and he doesn't disappoint - does he ever? Nor does Nigel before Ross and Matt gangbang Jeannine.
Wet and Dry (Come Rain or Come Shine - don't worry the titles get worse/better!) brings Alex into the fray on alto whilst Vasy doesn't need an umbrella and nor does Nigel who picked up the melody line from a 1976 Ed Birkert solo!
Up and Out, a 3/4 blues with a bridge is related to some dialogue from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Matt Holm is given space.
Jimmy Raney's Parker 51 is based on Cherokee and giving Cherokee to Vasy is like giving him the freedom of Athens (if he doesn't already have it!)
War is rooted in Horace Silver's Peace and, whilst the tranquility of peace is depicted, so is the sombreness of war. Price, Stanley and Home convey the emotions the titles evoke with Garnett's tenor sax blending in perfectly (we want to hear you up north again man).
R & R has nothing to do with Rock & Roll but relates to Rita and Rigsby - Remember Rising Damp? Not surprisingly, it's based on Have You Met Miss Jones? Alex stays on board and Ross and Nigel suggest that they are well acquainted with Miss Jones!
Majority, based on Gigi Gryce's Minority brings the two horns back and it's up to the listener to say who got the majority!
Junk = Slow Boat to China. Garnett blows tenor on this one.
Smokescape is a take on Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue and has Ross stretching out in after hours mode.
This is just about as good as it gets whether you're into guitar, organ, sax, drums or simply great jazz.
Must get out my Roget's Thesaurus and turn to the superlatives section - I'm running out of them!
Available on Whirlwind Recordings - WR4695 (November 11).
Lance,
NB: I reviewed this somewhat prematurely in September after the session at the Jazz Café. I've updated it so it appears nearer the official release date.

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