Sandi Russell (vocals) with Paul Edis (piano) & Mick Shoulder
(double bass)
The Lit & Phil’s commitment
to presenting jazz gigs shows no signs of abating. Twenty four hours after
Swiss pianist Christoph Stiefel wowed the audience in the Loftus Room it was
the turn of Durham resident Paul Edis to occupy
the piano stool as accompanist to Durham
resident jazz singer Sandi Russell. Edis opened the show in the company of
regular bassist Mick Shoulder with a rich interpretation of A Foggy Day in London Town.
New Yorker Ms Russell, long-time
resident in the Land of the Prince Bishops, works regularly with Edis in the north
east and beyond. This Newcastle
performance illustrated the confidence Ms Russell has in Edis, freeing the
vocalist to exercise her improvising skills on timeless tunes written by Juan
Tizol, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Thelonious Monk among others. Caravan and No More Blues held no fears for the American and the duo of Edis
and bassist Mick Shoulder willingly went along for the ride. Ms Russell spoke
engagingly of the time she visited the Five Spot in New York to hear Monk. Imagine…hearing the
man in person at the Five Spot!
(Review by Russell).
Pork Pie Edis offered sensitive support on Ruby My
Dear then dazzled on In Walked Bud.
Imagine the time, the era…the chance that Bud Powell might well walk in! Ms
Russell aimed for the stars on How High
the Moon? and the trio hit the celestial heights on All Blues.
Sandi Russell’s next engagement in the region -
Wednesday 21st November – is in the
palatial surroundings of the Mansion House in Newcastle . Edis and Shoulder will once more
accompany the vocalist and there is the added attraction of the immaculate (musically
and sartorially) Adam Sinclair on drums.
Russell
10 comments :
What an outstanding voice - Sandi Russell's performance was stunning!
Having heard of Ms. Russell's upcoming performance at the Lit and Phil I was very keen to attend and I was not disappointed. Whilst piano and bass provided sensitive accompaniment it was the richly controlled voice and the enlivening presence of Ms. Russell which dominated the evening.
I can't wait to hear her again - soon! It would be fantastic to hear her with a broader more flexible sound in support - then we might really get to hear her cut loose and display the full range of her prodigious vocal talents!
I agree with Sue's comments and am more than a little surprised (and disappointed)that the Lance Liddle review focused more on the efforts of the ACCOMPANIST, Paul Edis, rather than on the MAIN ATTRACTION, which was Sandi Russell. I have had the good fortunate to attend many of Sandi's concerts over the years. During that time, she has been accompanied by various artists BUT it is and always has been Sandi's voice that stands out, over and above whomever tinkles away in the background.
Actually the review was by Russell, one of our regular reviewers, not myself. However, although I wasn't there it sounded a fair review and to dismiss Paul Edis - one of our finest pianists and accompanists - as someone tinkling in the background does an injustice both to the pianist and to Sandi for whom he is currently her first call accompanist.
SANDI RUSSELL’s performance at the Lit & Phil on 12 October was astounding! No-one would have guessed it from the completely unbalanced review that appeared on this blog site the next day. It seems that, throughout a dramatic two-hour display of virtuoso vocal range and inventiveness, your reviewer only had ears for the piano accompanist and his bassist.
Perhaps the writer is ignorant of the great tradition of jazz divas which Sandi Russell represents? No less a musician than Humphrey Lyttelton placed her with Billie Holiday; she reminds Time Out of Carmen MacRae, and has been compared by Lance Liddell on this very blog site with Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.
Or maybe this reviewer is unfamiliar with the repertoire of jazz vocals so generously presented by Ms Russell on that exciting evening? Mention is made of her anecdote about Thelonius Monk, but not her superb rendering of ‘Ruby, My Dear’, or her brilliantly funky ‘In Walked Bud’, in which Sandi Russell’s pyrotechnic scatting makes up for the horns and other instruments not present.
Strange that, on a blog site called ‘Be Bop Spoken Here’, the reviewer had nothing to say about Sandi Russell’s wonderfully entertaining version of the Betty Carter song ‘Please Do Something’. Nothing either about the beautifully melodic standards she has made her own, such as ‘Forget Me’ and ‘The Nearness of You’, confirming John Fordham’s comment in the Guardian that ‘expat American Russell breathes new life into the most familiar materials’.
The capacity audience in the warm ambience of Newcastle’s historic venue certainly recognised that they were in the enchanting presence of a ‘unique vocalist’ (Jazz Improv, New York), offering ‘top notch jazz’ (The Musician, London). Their enthusiasm and prolonged applause – not least for Ms Russell’s stunning rendition of Abby Lincoln’s ‘Throw it Away’ – made up for the shortcomings of your reviewer.
If you missed this outstanding event and want to judge for yourself, go to SANDI RUSSELL’s website (www.sandirussell.co.uk) and come to her next Newcastle performance on Wednesday 21 November at the Mansion House, Fenwood Road, Jesmond, NE2 1TS (www.newcastlemansionhouse.co.uk).
Sir/Madam, live reviews can never be objective. Jazz in particular always has been and always will be a subjective area. That our reviewer chose to record his appreciation of the accompanists - as I'm sure Sandi herself did during the concert - in no way implies he didn't appreciate her efforts.
Both our reviewer and yourself refer to Sandi's up and coming gig at the Mansion House on November 21. Perhaps you would care to submit a review on that one?
Dear Lance,
Good to hear from you, but why doesn't Bill Russell speak for himself (and use his full name to avoid confusion)? He can of course say what he likes, but that won't make his reviews either fair, balanced, informed or even appropriate.
Bill's decision to ERASE the singer (i.e. the principal musician)from his account of this exceptional performance was outrageous, as other comments testify.
Think, for a moment, what such erasure means to an African American immersed in the culture and history of jazz, who is also an outstanding interpreter of it!
We like Paul Edis too, but he can be heard regularly in the North. Sandi Russell more often performs in London or New York with international musicians, so it's a rare delight to hear her in Newcastle.
It's kind of you to suggest that I review Sandi's upcoming performance on 21 November, but it would be much more appropriate for you to do so yourself!
Russell is our reviewer's first name and to the best of my knowledge has never been known as Bill. Come to that, why are you "anonymous" you sound as if you know me?
As regards reviewing, our reviewers have carte blanche to express their opinion as indeed do those who comment.
The injustice, sir, was to Sandi Russell with that 'non-review'. Obviously, after seeing the other comments below, I can assume that I am not the only one who felt that way. Oh and by the way, I, for one, only used anon because your blog rejected my name & email address. Sincerely, Antoinette Freeman
Having not been able to get to the Sandi Russell I was pleased to to read the brief review on BSH which seemed to give a positive sense of a very good gig and of the singer and the musicians. I look forward to seeing her next gig at the Mansion House. In the meantime, I have to say that the comments are providing some interesting, if slightly surreal, entertainment. Populated by as diverse a selection of characters to be found this side of Desolation Row, with an assortment of Russells, including Sandi, Russell and the mysterious 'Bill', Lance Liddle and his alter ego, Lance Liddell and the Machiavellian reviewer with his tendency towards post-structuralist Derridean reviews written 'under erasure'. Then there is the alternative Long John
Silver inspired jazz website 'Be Bop Spoken Here? Arrh, to be sure, Matey'. It's going to be a fascinating crowd at the Mansion House gig....
JC (nee Russell)
J.C - you are in the frame to review that gig!
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