(Review by Russell).
The Sage’s principal concert hall
(Hall One) seats 1700 patrons. The appearance of guitarists Tommy Emmanuel and
Martin Taylor ensured that a good number of those seats were occupied – no mean
feat in these straightened times on a cold winter’s night (spring has most
definitely not yet sprung). Aussie Emmanuel has toured the world tirelessly for
many years, so too Scotland ’s
Taylor , earning
the right to perform at such a prestigious venue as the Sage Gateshead.
Emmanuel spoke of his many visits
to the north east’s smaller performance spaces (the intimate Buddle Arts Centre
in Wallsend, Sunderland’s equally intimate Ropery down in the docklands of
Deptford and in Newcastle the Tyne Theatre before graduating to the famed City
Hall) and told how he set his sights on securing a booking at what was then a
construction site on the banks of the Tyne from which the Sage Gateshead would
rise to dominate the physical and musical landscape.
Our musical journey in Hall One
took us from Dick McDonagh and Carl Kress (Cole Porter’s’s Heatwave), Goodman’s Jersey
Bounce to a Lennon and McCartney medley. Along the way we stopped off to
hear more from Benny Goodman (A Smooth
One, a la Charlie Christian), Fats Waller (Honeysuckle Rose), a blues, Secret
Love (the imperious Doris Day is alive and kicking!) and others. Emmanuel switched
from one beautiful acoustic guitar to another, sitting then standing as the
mood took him, all the while demonstrating a mastery of dynamics. The Aussie
showed he is no mean tunesmith with two or three crowd pleasers; the
ever-popular Angelina and a brace of new
ones - Blood Brother and My Travelling Clothes. All this before
his show-stopper – Somewhere over the
Rainbow.
Martin Taylor, a bona fide jazz
guitarist (he is an endorsee of Peerless guitars and one lucky person will be
entered into a hat to win the guitar that was in his hands on stage at the Sage
should they purchase a copy of his latest CD at one of the gigs on this tour!),
wasn’t to be outdone. Taylor ’s
first few appearances on Tyneside as a young man were back in the day at the
Corner House Hotel. It was evident then that he was destined for the jazz
stratosphere (Stephane Grappelli came calling) and he has maintained his
pre-eminence to this day. Any doubters were silenced with this selection – They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Lullaby of Birdland and a simply brilliant version of I Got Rhythm (Taylor’s simultaneous improvisation of melody line and
bass line was and is the eighth wonder of the world!). A night for students of
the guitar. A night for lovers of great music. A great night out at the Sage
Gateshead.
Russell.
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