Carol Grimes (vocals); Dorian Ford (piano);Annie Whitehead (trombone); Neville Malcom (bass); Winston Clifford (drums).
(Review by Flore).
'If you want to get ahead get a hat and head for Lauderdale
House'. The temperature doesn't just dive in Newcastle ,
North London also has its share of howling winds, and
below zero temperatures.
Carol rapidly warmed the audience up with red hair flowing topped by a snazzy hat at a jaunty angle, her way of warning off winter's bugs.
Carol rapidly warmed the audience up with red hair flowing topped by a snazzy hat at a jaunty angle, her way of warning off winter's bugs.
1. All Blues, already the packed audience
were anything but blue.
2.Little Sister,
with drummer Winston interjecting 'Call my Name', who wouldn't?
3.’Round Midnight, Carol chose Oscar Brown’s lyric, ably philosophising (is there such a word)?.........'as one day gets spent we gain another'.......through all this a speedy tempo, but was toned down for some poetry.......'the ghost of Thelonious Monk visits me'......and we are enveloped in a cha cha rhythm to conclude on a high. By this point the audience were agog!
3.’Round Midnight, Carol chose Oscar Brown’s lyric, ably philosophising (is there such a word)?.........'as one day gets spent we gain another'.......through all this a speedy tempo, but was toned down for some poetry.......'the ghost of Thelonious Monk visits me'......and we are enveloped in a cha cha rhythm to conclude on a high. By this point the audience were agog!
4.Scars, Fran
Landesman lyric, Simon Wallace score. Again very profound
lyric, but true to Carol’s inimitable style, delivered with a
twist. How does Annie manage to get her trombone to slide to
a whispering finish?
5.Innards, Only
Carol could write a lyric naming parts of the anatomy, and Dorian perform
such an alluring solo, punctuated by Annie 'growling'
( I was privileged to have a seat behind Dorian which allowed me to see
the silent communication between the triangle of piano bass and drums).
6.The Dance, once
again lyric by Carol, music Dorian. Carol said her inspiration came from
paintings by Marc Chagall. This piece was a superb vehicle for solos from
all the group. Hope Chagall was tuned into the multi coloured ending to
the first set. The audience clamouring to buy the current CD featuring
pieces performed.
7.Annie's Little Red
Trombone; Carol was inspired to pen this when Annie arrived as
a party guest bearing a red plastic(made in China )
Trombone. I couldn't stop giggling to listen to the lyrics but a lot of
'red' was mentioned.....'beetroot salad, red beans’........comedy
switched to virtuosity with Winston pairing with Dorian on piano, and also
scatting with Neville on bass.
8.But I was Cool; An open invitation with a blues flavour to let it all hang out, Annie
'growled', possibly to draw a veil across some four letter words, Carol’s voice
soared to falsetto, a signal for musicians mayhem, ending as it began, being
'Cool'
9.Tree and Me; Change
of mood, Carol introduced this as a favourite of her daughters. Again,
for me the lyric was profound, with the musicians offering a sound basis,
for Carol to then present herself in a totally different way, once
more tongue in cheek
10.New Coat of Paint; Tom Waits. I suspect a very different version to the original.Opportunity
for more 'growling' from Annie (she does it like no other). In a nutshell -Honky Tonk.
10.New Coat of Paint; Tom Waits. I suspect a very different version to the original.
11.Ship Building
12.Rags and Old Iron; I am certain that this Nina Simone classic was as
they say in the trade, a 'Big Finish', with all the signs of a mini
Musical. It drew all the threads together, but left the audience hungry
for more.
A stellar choice for the London Jazz Festival. I take
my hat off to Brian Blane for selecting such a galaxy of stars.
Definitely a case for Keeping Jazz Live.
Flore
Flore
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