Lyndsay Hannon Plus at Hoochie Coochie Thursday May 10

Lindsay Hannon (vcl); Alan Law (pno); John Pope (bs); Mark Robertson (dms).
(Review by Ann Alex).

How do I write a review of a gig performed by my jazz-singing class teacher?  Such a task could be embarrassing, but there’s no problem with this band because I knew they’d be good and they were, (and then some, as Lance would say)!

Some of the band had come straight from other commitments, such as work, but they zoomed into jazz mode with no messing about, beginning with an inventive chorus of There’ll Never Be Another You’, complete with keys and bass solos and introductions of the band members from Lyndsay.  How she manages to sing miles away from the original tune and yet still connect with it is an enviable skill, intriguing to listen to.  

The mood of the set was then indicated by the Joni Mitchell song which followed, showing that there would be far more than gasbook material tonight.  This song included a delicious bass solo and some lovely bowing to finish with.  An unusual, yet confident, zippy, fast version of The Very Thought of You preceded  a heartfelt The End of  a Love Affair.  By now we were in a bluesy mood, and so came The St. Louis Blues - I Hate to See The Evening Sun Go Down etc., with Alan on keys giving us rich groaning bluesy riffs.

Other numbers included a gentle-voiced Old Fashioned Hat; and So Long Bigtime; (all about gambling); a creepy slinky version of The Doors song Spy; In Walked Bud; Nature Boy; Burgundy Sky; and the final number What a Little Moonlight Can Do; with a neat tempo change, which was much admired by the musician sitting next to me, and with lots of fast and furious word play, which was much admired by myself, me being a wordy sort of person.  So there was something for everyone and a good selection of songs.  I haven’t mentioned the drummer, but he was noticeably clever, with more solo work in the second half, which seems to be how drummers like it.  There was a fair sized audience who appeared to be mostly non-jazzers, but they clapped enthusiastically..

Ann Alex.