(Review
by Ann Alex).
The three of them sat
together, Belinda between the guitarists, giving a relaxed and intimate feel to
a very enjoyable set, mostly of standards, sung in Belinda’s strong, rich
voice, with adventurous, skilled instrumentation, and solos, mostly from Ian, James' powerful bass made up for the absence of drums.
I suppose they just had to start with their
namesake song, Frim Fram Sauce, which
mentions the ‘shafafa’ on the side. What
is it, you ask? Apparently no-one is
sure, answers on a postcard please. Tesco didn’t even have Frim Fram Sauce
on the shelf which meant I had to make do with ketchup.
We were treated to Lullaby Of Birdland; Comes Love; Agua De Beber (sung in Portuguese,
very impressive, with lovely vocal harmonies from the guitarists; Dancing In The Moonlight (tricky guitar
work); Choo Choo Ch’boogie (done well
as a slow blues); a heartfelt version of Eric Clapton’s Leila. The set was effectively
rounded off with a song about going round in circles, (original perhaps?),
again with the delightful vocal harmonies.
Sorry, I've missed
mentioning 1 or 2 numbers, including a Miles Davis instrumental, through having
to go to the bar, I wish I was a camel, they can store drinks for days, I'm
told.
The
Jam
The trio continued a bit
longer with Belinda and the lads doing more singing, including a vocal by Ian,
Sunny, with tricky guitar chops, then
horns and a flute appeared on stage, in the shape of Al Saxon (alto sax, flute) and Arthur
Higgins (tenor sax). The Thrill Is Gone sang Belinda, but it
certainly hadn’t with these two musicians doing their stuff, great playing, (I
hope Al takes the flute to folk clubs as well, to knock off Irish jigs and
reels, should be no problem). Then came
Belinda with Moondance, to be
followed by requests for Lindsay Hannon to
complete the Jam, which she did admirably with Willow Weep For Me and her fast
version of Secret Love. And no, I haven’t forgotten the welcome
addition to the stage of Mark Williams
on guitar, who plays as if he had more than the normal allowance of fingers.
The audience was calling
out for more – need I say more than that?
Ann
Alex
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