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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.
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.

Friday, May 13, 2016

CD Review: Per Oddvar Johansen – Let's Dance

Per Oddvar Johansen (drums, violins, vibraphone, guitars, wood percussion and electronics); Helge Lien (piano); Torben Snekkestad (saxophones, reed trumpet).
(Review by Hugh C.)
Per Oddvar Johansen has played a prominent role in Norwegian music over many years but   Let's Dance is the first album under his own name.  He is joined in the trio by long-standing collaborators Helge Lien on piano and saxophonist Torben Stekkestad on this album of his own compositions.  
There are nine tracks on the album.  The atmosphere throughout is one of contemplation and meditation.  Let's Dance features Snekkestad's haunting soprano saxophone over slowly progressive piano and drums.  As might be expected, the whole has the air of a slow dance.  No. 7 a slightly more jaunty number (pun intended!)  Forest Flower begins with breathy saxophonics from Snekkestad.  Sounds created by Lien inside the piano begin to emerge, creating a feeling of expectancy – perhaps by the end the flower is open.  Flying has a similar abstract start, now incorporating violin and piano, the sound enhanced by electronics.  This, at 8:24, is the longest track on the album.  There is a very slow sonic build up, somewhat reminiscent of the Pink Floyd albums I used to listen to in my youth - the expected guitar, however, does not appear.  Panorama features the Lien's delicate piano and subtle brushwork from Johansen, over which Snekkestad lays a haunting melody.  The guitar does appear in Uluru (for Annette), along with birdsong and a fast flowing stream.  Impromptro features again Snekkestad's avant-garde saxophonic wizardry.  This segues straight into Families
where we are back in more familiar melodic territory (on the whole).  The final track, Song M, rounds off the disc with melodic saxophone and piano over Johansen's expressive drumwork.
Lovers of the “nordic sound” will warm to this album, though of course this may put others off.  The album as a whole is well crafted and packaged in suitably minimalist style to suit the music, with a black and white picture of mist clad pine trees.  Released by Edition Records (Cat No. EDN1068), Let's Dance is available now.
Samples.
Hugh.

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