Ruth Lambert (vocals), Giles Strong (guitar) & Mick Shoulder
(double bass) + Graeme Wilson (tenor saxophone) + Ray Burns (harmonica)
(Review by Russell).
Saturday night at the Jazz Café,
the listeners’ seats taken, an obscured-view seat the next best option. A
bottle of Prince Bishop at hand, hello to Ruth, note pad at the ready in the
absence of Bebop Spoken Here’s Main Man (‘Man Flu’, apparently). Ms Lambert’s
trio, a perfect fit for the venue, kicked off with You and the Night and the Music. Remarkably, those in attendance
ceased conversation, opting to listen. Hoagy’s masterpiece – Skylark – followed.
How to follow that?
More Songbook classics, that’s how. You’d
Be So Nice to Come Home To featured guitarist Giles Strong. Space at a
premium, Lambert squeezed up against the upright piano: Not quite the Fabulous Baker Boys! quipped our vocalist. A first
class selection of tunes comprised the remainder of the first set – Bonnie
Raitt’s Love Me Like a Man (Graeme Wilson sat in), all excelled, Angel Eyes (
Second set…’the ABC of it’…Lambert fronting the Customs House Big Band! No,
this was the trio format – Teach Me
Tonight. A switch to up tempo material – How High the Moon was all but eclipsed by No Moon At All (superb, effortless vocals). How Insensitive took it down, coinciding with an alcohol-fuelled
increase in the volume of audience chit-chat. How insensitive, indeed. Alright,
okay, the audience wins. Crank it up with West
Coast Blues, that’ll show ‘em! For an encore, Ms Doris Day! A Secret Love. I don’t’ know about those
Baker Boys but one thing is for certain – we were listening to the Fabulous Ms
Ruth Lambert.
Russell
1 comment :
a good revue Russell, I was humming along as I read, bringing those lovely numbers to life. Thank you
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