Nicola Farnon - Vocal, Double Bass,
Piero Tucci - Piano, Tenor Sax, Phil Johnson - Drums, Perc
(Review by Ray Robson).
Being lovers of the acoustics a church
provides, we were delighted to see that our local "Highlights" group
had continued their great support in taking Jazz to local Northumberland
communities & had arranged a mini tour for the Nicola Farnon Trio.....we
caught up with them in the lovely surroundings of Holy Trinity Church in Matfen.
Music amplified in a church can produce sound problems at times, but tonight
the settings were excellent, & the full Church was treated to the
scintillating sound of Nicola's vocals ....she has a voice that captures your
attention from the off ....combining her lead vocals with swinging bass playing
& with a personality that warms the audience & draws them in close.
Peiro Tucci on keyboards gave unpretentiously classy support, swapping to tenor
sax with ease, & at one point playing both at once ! Drummer Phil Johnson
pushed the beat along, a very sensitive touch providing a foil to the others.
We opened with Let There be
Love then, keeping us in a romantic mood, This Can't be Love then
a fabulous Summertime. One of Nicola's own compositions next, again
beautiful vocals on Perfect Lovely Day. We were On the
Sunny Side of the Street then there was No Moon at All before
an upbeat samba number Just You, Just Me took us to the break.
A Cha Cha quick tempo The More
I See You then Gershwin's Our Love is Here to Stay was
followed by the instrumental Take Five, with Piero excelling
on TenorSax. A new one for us next, a haunting Abbey Lincoln number Keep
Your Hand Open before Ms Farnon wowed us with the old Peggy Lee hit Fever. Next A
Beautiful Friendship then we went all Fred Astaire with Cheek
to Cheek. All to soon we'd reached the final number, but the trio left
us wishing for more with the excellent Billy Taylor classic "BBC Film
Show" theme track of I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free.
We were free to go, but we did not want
to leave ....everyone had enjoyed an excellent set from three great musicians
& there were smiles all round to keep us warm as we ventured out into the
cold. The evenings music was nicely complimented by the night sky & the
twinkling stars, a sight we city dwellers sadly see so little of !
Struan at Matfen advises us that Jazz
will return there in the Summer months, so its well worth the 20 minutes drive
from Newcastle to experience the hospitality & good Jazz that we so
enjoyed.
Highlights North take
entertainment to rural areas across Northumberland, Durham & Cumbria
....life's not all Jazz ....including the marvelous Bedlington Community
Centre ...keep tabs on Whats on at http://www.highlightsnorth.co.uk/whats-on-listings.aspx....& for
Bedlington
Ray
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