Sean Noonan (drums & vocals) v. Matthew Bourne (keyboards).
Laydeeeeze and gentlemen. Tonight's main event, brought to you by Jazz North East in association with Jazz Action here at the upstairs gym of the Bridge Hotel features the contender from Birmingham, England... introducing keyboards wizard Maaaat Bournnnnne! And the undisputed heavyweight champion (probably middleweight - Ed) from Brooklyn, New York City... drum sensation Sean Nooooonan! NYC's Sean Noonan matched up with the bearded Matt Bourne for a night of...well, we were about to find out.
Noonan entered the ring clad in a hooded gold coloured boxing gown looking mean, focussed on the job ahead. If Bourne was intimidated he didn't show it.
Seconds out! Round 1! Noonan was to tell us a story; a fairytale, a Grimm tale, a nightmare tale. The New Yorker's vocal style was akin to that of a performance poet delivering crazy lyrics with a wide-eyed stare into the abyss and then a wide-eyed stare into the soul of each and everyone present. This was Zappa, this was Beefheart, this was Dr.Chad, this was Zorn, this was Norman Bates and by the way...Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
He assured us that he was abandoned at birth and brought up by a coyote - I was tempted to believe him! Pecos Bill and Silke from the Sea were weird tales from Noonan's vertile but weird imagination which can be heard on the CD Set the Hammer Free. A journey across a Bavarian landscape featured an appropriate comic touch from Bourne. There was a pause in Noonan's storytelling to showcase some serious heavyweight improv from the duo in Improv Bouts and it produced some breathtaking playing from both musicians and it all but drew the breath of the audience. Noonan is a superb technician, so much so that he can juggle sight reading and invention with the humourous strand running through the material (instrumental and vocal). Drunken Landlady, supposedly inspired by Noonan's Brooklyn landlady seeking ''favours''' had the audience rolling in the aisles - funny that he now lives a travelling life away from the Big Apple. A heart felt finale was John Henry. This was another tale, a true tale, about the eponymous hero and his heroic efforts in challenging the introduction of the steamhammer and it produced yet more brilliance at the drum kit and keyboards. This was a memorable night for those with a sense of humour.
Russell.
PS: Photo from Adrian Tilbrook.
6 comments :
I'll beg to differ - Bah! Humbug!
Music = melody+harmony+rhythm. Preferably all at the same time.
Tell that to John Cage Mr Plod - we know who you are! Hey Russell, what about the wonderful "No Irish Need Apply" encore!
A f.....' encore!
I've just finished reading a book and a couple of things were stated in it which I feel are appropriate to mention here. Although I doubt this will be published.
"So what is music? Anything can be music, but it doesn't become music until someone wills it to be music, and the audience listening to it decides to perceive it as music.
Most people can't deal with that abstraction - or don't want to. They say: "Gimme the tune. Do I like this tune? Does it sound like another tune that I like? The more familiar it is, the better I like it...because I'm really into music.""
And later in the same book, this little chestnut.
"One becomes a critic when one cannot be an artist, just as a man becomes a stool pigeon when he cannot be a soldier".
I thought it was a great gig. But then again what do I know.
Socrates told those who heaped accolade upon him that if they really believed he was the wisest man in the world, then that wisdom was based on his realisation that he knew very little.
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