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Bebop Spoken There

Raymond Chandler: “ I was walking the floor and listening to Khatchaturian working in a tractor factory. He called it a violin concerto. I called it a loose fan belt and the hell with it ". The Long Goodbye, Penguin 1959.

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

16350 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 230 of them this year alone and, so far, 27 this month (April 11).

From This Moment On ...

April

Tue 16: The Horne Section’s Hit Show @ Middlesbrough Town Hall. 7:30pm.
Tue 16: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Bradley Johnston, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.

Wed 17: Bailey Rudd (Minor Recital) @ The Music Studios, Haymarket Lane, Newcastle University. 11:40am. Bailey Rudd (drums). Open to the public.
Wed 17: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 17: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 17: The Horne Section’s Hit Show @ The Gala, Durham. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Wed 17: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 18: NONUNONU @ Elder Beer Café, Chillingham Road, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 18: Knats @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:00pm (doors 7:30pm). £8.00. + bf. Support act TBC.
Thu 18: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 18: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guest band night with Just Friends: Ian Bosworth (guitar); Donna Hewitt (sax); Dave Archbold (keys); Ron Smith (bass); Mark Hawkins (drums).

Fri 19: Cia Tomasso @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. ‘Cia Tomasso sings Billie Holiday’. SOLD OUT!
Fri 19: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 19: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 19: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 19: Tweed River Jazz Band @ The Radio Rooms, Berwick. 7:00pm (doors). £5.00.
Fri 19: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Seventeen Nineteen, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Fri 19: Levitation Orchestra + Nauta @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £11.00.
Fri 19: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. ‘Ella & Ellington’.

Sat 20: Record Store Day…at a store near you!
Sat 20: Bright Street Band @ Washington Arts Centre. 6:30pm. Swing dance taster session (6:30pm) followed by Bright Street Big Band (7:30pm). £12.00.
Sat 20: Michael Woods @ Victoria Tunnel, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Acoustic blues.
Sat 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ St Andrew’s Church, Monkseaton. 7:30pm. £10.00. (inc. a drink on arrival).

Sun 21: Jamie Toms Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 21: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Holy Grale, Durham. 5:00pm.
Sun 21: The Jazz Defenders @ Cluny 2. Doors 6:00pm. £15.00.
Sun 21: Edgar Rubenis @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Blues & ragtime guitar.
Sun 21: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Art Themen with the Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00. +bf. JNE. SOLD OUT!

Mon 22: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

CD Review: Tim Garland - Songs to the North Sky

Disc 1: Lighthouse. Tim Garland (tenor/soprano); Jason Rebello or John Turville or Geoffrey Keezer (piano); Asaf Sirkis (percussion);  Ant Law (guitar); Kevin Glasgow (elec. bass).
Disc 2: Songs to the North Sky. Garland (tenor/soprano); Sirkis (percussion); John Patitucci (double bass/Elec. bass); Neil Percy (tuned/classical percussion); Magdalena Filipczak (violin); Royal Northern Sinfonia Strings).
Tim Garland, long-time resident of a Whitley Bay lighthouse, former Composer-in-residence at Newcastle Uni and a collaborator with Sage Gateshead on many projects including Songs to the North Sky, has a strong affinity with the north east despite his Kentish Roots.
On disc 2, the saxophonist, composer, arranger, attempts to create soundscapes of the area 'twixt Tyne and Tweed and, by and large, succeeds. Aided by the Northern Sinfonia strings the 15 tracks take us on The Road Into Night, thru a Storm Over Kielder, to visualise Shapes Over Northumberland as well as allowing us (and Tim) the Freedom to Wander among other evocative settings.
On both tenor and soprano Garland probes and searches straying away from the A1 wondering where this side road, this cart track will lead him to. Perhaps a disused mine or a forgotten village inn serving nectar in a straight glass. Maybe a Lady of the Lake will offer to put him on the right road (or the wrong one). The unpredictable weather, the grandiose beauty of the Northumbrian landscape under a night sky, it's all here.
This is an important work that deserves to be judged, not just as jazz - which it undoubtedly is - but as a compositional triumph that transcends genre.
Disc 1 is more straightforward. This is his Lighthouse Trio with the addition of Law or Glasgow, on some tracks, and Rebello, Turville and Keezer sharing the piano duties throughout. Sirkis is present on both discs providing the required impetus with accuracy and precision.
There won't be many, if any, more compelling albums this year.
Lance.

3 comments :

Hugh said...

I am really looking forward to hearing this. John Fordham has given it 5 stars in the Graun http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/29/tim-garland-songs-to-the-north-sky-review-jazz

Hugh said...

Sorry about the spacing - it didn't look like that in my submission!

Did TG actually live in a lighthouse in Whitley Bay (this certainly seems to have entered popular mythology and may well be the case) or did he just record in the lighthouse?

Lance said...

I confess to taking the mythology route - I could be wrong!

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