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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.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

CD Review: Mark Kavuma - Kavuma

Mark Kavuma (trumpet); Mussinghi Brian Edwards, Ruben Fox (saxes); Artie Zaitz (guitar on 3 tks); Reuben James (piano); Conor Chaplin (bass); Kyle Poole (drums) + Michela Martin Lerman (tap dance on 1 track).
(Review by Lance)
"They resemble the finest amalgam of 50's Blue Note and Prestige line-ups" so said guitarist and sound engineer, Zaitz. It was enough for me, I was halfway there before I'd heard a note! I've spent the past couple of months playing Blue Note CDs on the car stereo so I've got plenty to compare with.
In a blindfold test, I'd have been fooled completely, convinced it had been recorded by the late Rudy Van Gelder in his Hackensack, NJ, studio as opposed to on board a ship moored on the Thames in East London!*
Maybe Lee Morgan, Freddy Hubbard or Donald Byrd blowing alongside Benny Golson, Jackie McLean or Stanley Turrentine. I can almost see the Blue Note honchos Wolfe and Lyon nodding their heads approvingly - just as I'm doing as I listen.
This is Kavuma's debut album as a leader and it is impressive. Fiery and explosive he can, like the Blue Note trumpet players, also blow lyrical on ballads. The poignancy of his playing on Barbar G, a reference to an early romance, is an outpouring of emotion set to his own composition. Ugandan born Kavuma composed 5 of the 7 pieces and arranged the other two, somewhat surprising choices, Carolina Moon and Abide With Me! The former came to his attention via a Monk box set and the latter a reflection of his Christian upbringing. Both are given a totally new look.
Edwards and Fox are outstanding blowers - I'm not sure which one is which but one of them has the Golson sound with maybe a touch of Webster or Ike Quebec. There's also a rhythm section to die for with that man Chaplin at the heart of things.
Lerman adds the sound of her terpsichorean skills to Church - a reference to a late night hang, The Haggerston in East London where, 'tis said, that Kavuma perfected his performance skills.
The trumpet player's c.v. includes being featured as guest soloist with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He also plays with Jean Toussaint's Young Lions and was on one track of Toussaint's just-released album Brother Raymond.
How do I rate this album [Kavuma]?
Five stars and counting!
Lance.
The album, Kavuma, is set to be released on June 16 on ubuntu music UBU0007 with a launch concert at Ghost Notes, London on July 19.

*Oli Barton-Wood's Soup Studios which are situated onboard Lightship 95 moored at Trinity Buoy Wharf on The Thames in East London.

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