Jason Isaacs (vcl) w. Dave Connelly Big Band inc. Lewis Watson, Ray Dales, Mick Donnelly (reeds); Neil Harland (bs), Simon Ferry (dms), Stu Collingwood (keys). Photo courtesy of Bish.
JASON Isaacs must have been a happy man after Saturday night’s polished performance at the City Hall - he’s landed a recording contract on the back of it - but no happier than his growing legions of fans for whom he put on a cracking show.
Backed by the Dave Connolly Big Band, Isaacs made the night go with a rollicking swing. I’ve seen him a good half a dozen times at this level of venue, and tonight was the show where, for me, he really came of age, putting on an evening that could give the likes of big-time boy Michael Buble a run for his money, which is saying something.
Jason’s voice has matured to a level where he can handle the smoothest crooning tunes with goose-pimple finesse, but can also belt out classics from the Swing Fever era in a way that makes the stringent no-dance policy at the venue look mean.
He’s become a very confident entertainer, too; funny, visual (check out those high kicks) and very, very charming - what more could his adoring lady and male fans want? An album, perhaps.
Well, it looks like that’s now on the cards, too. Former Metro Radio boss Giles Squire has taken a shine to Jason, having promised him that if he filled the venue, he’d line up a recording.
The night kicked off with a thumping rendition of In The Mood played by a very capable big band that doubles with Jason all over the country these days. Enter Isaacs, bounding onto the stage with Luck Be A Lady, and succession of classics from the American Songbook, all of them very beautifully sung, including the well-loved Mr Bojangles, a polished swing version of Stevie Wonder’s For Once In My Life, and a lovely How Do You Like Your Eggs In The Morning duet.
Special guest Val Boyers was impressive in many ways, certainly not least for her lovely voice, but you had to admire her sheer courage for getting on stage in the first place, never having sung to more than 100 or so people before in her life. Replacing Faye Tozer from the supergroup Steps, Val won auditions that sought to find an unknown talent from the region and offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play the venue.
The energy levels wracked up a notch further during the second set, with Jason and the big band on fire, and the audience in full party mood. What fun, what an entertainer, what a reaction with 1,000 eager voices accompanying his Minnie the Moocher and The Wonder of You.
Two-and-a-half hours of top class entertainment culminated in a pitch perfect My Way. Isaacs has taken the best loved songs of all time, and, as the guys from the TV judging panels would say, he’s made them his own. No easy task: next stop, the Albert Hall, so rumour has it. Tyneside will be behind him every step of the way.
Link to Evening Chronicle feature.
Link to Evening Chronicle feature.
Rosie Waller
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