(Reviews/photo of Sheila Jordan by
JC)
Scanning the internet for possible jazz gigs prior to
a trip to Italy last summer I was impressed by the range and variety of
concerts on offer but unfortunately either the date or location meant they were
not accessible. However, on closer examination, the gig listings of a jazz club
in Bologna mentioned a concert by veteran American singer Sheila Jordan on a
date that could work (if you ignored the 100 km diversion and over-night stay).
At that time I knew very little about
her except that I remembered Zoe Gilby mentioning once or twice during gigs
with her husband Andy Champion that Jordan had been an important inspiration in
encouraging them to perform as a vocal/bass duo and that she was a pioneer of
this format. As a fan of the Gilby/Champion performances, I felt this gig was
worth making an effort to get to.
Fortunately, the Cantina Bentivoglio in Bologna turned
out to be the business. It had the look of an Italian, pre-makeover Ronnie's -
low ceilings, crowded and atmospheric with tables right up to the stage - with
the same delightfully chaotic meal service. However, unlike Ronnie's in those
days, the food was delicious.
The loquacious MC/owner was certainly passionate, as
he spoke with great enthusiasm during his 20-minute introduction to the main
act. Not understanding Italian, I presumed it was mainly about jazz but I
thought I heard mention of Marx and Gramsci as well as Charlie Parker and
Jordan.
Anyway, Sheila Jordan was a revelation. She had a band
made up of her own American drummer and two excellent Italian musicians on
trumpet and bass. Her opening piece was a five-minute introduction of the band
members in vocalese, outlining their singular abilities in great detail, as
well as including an announcement that she was 86 and a half - wow!
She had great stamina for a youngster and for the next
two hours she sang and swang, scatted and vocalised songs and stories in a
brilliant fashion. Many of the stories were about Charlie Parker, whose music
entranced her as a teenager, and she described as a 14-year old trying to sneak
into the club he was playing in wearing her mother's hat as a disguise, only to
be quickly thrown out. But then Bird would come to the door and play a solo for
her.
All the musicians were great but she did do a couple
of duets with the bass player and the highlight of the night was a ten-minute
duo version of 'Chasing the Bird' (which Parker is rumoured to have written for
her) where she used all her vocal abilities and scatted and vocalised a
succession of rip roaring solos. Amazing.
----------------
This experience made me appreciate even more the great
jazz there is on offer locally and the fact that there is a top quality vocal
and double bass combination on the doorstep. A brief look through BSH's
archives revealed that Zoe Gilby and Andy Champion have been performing in this
format since 2009 so that now it is (one example) of their finely honed and
highly creative musical talents. I arrived at the Jazz Cafe as Gilby was in
full scat attack on Monk's Well, You
Needn't . Next was one of my favourite songs, Joni Mitchell's beautiful
lyrics combined with Mingus's tune and improvisations on Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. The clarity of Gilby's singing of the lyrics
with the complex musical line was outstanding and even though I've listened to
this track many times there were a couple of lines I didn't recognise, 'Were
these in the original lyrics?' I thought to myself and a quick iPhone check
revealed that (of course) they were. I just hadn't been listening properly
before. The set continued with the spooky Red
Right Hand by Nick Cave, their classic take on Pink Floyd's Money and Kate Bush's Kashka From Baghdad where Gilby did an
interesting kind of sound box thing with the mike behind her hands. All through Andy Champion was in sublime form
demonstrating his imperious mastery of the double bass.
At the interval a lively crowd arrived in the Cafe,
happily not the usual Friday night 'rowdies', but a group of mainly Parisien
jazzers who were playing in the Paris-sur-Tyne festival the following day. This
inspired the duo to even greater heights (not surprising given that now at
least three of the Miles Davis Quintet were present and also possibly
Garibaldi). They ripped into another Mitchell piece from her Mingus album The Dry Cleaner From Des
Moines at breakneck speed but again with crystal clear lyrics. Then a trip
to Graceland, Monk's Rhythm a Ning, followed by a subtly
suggestive song found on a social media site called Halfway to Heaven which Gilby said could be about many different things
- but isn't. (A bit like saying Kate Bush's Warm
Room could be about DIY central heating).
Also a beautiful ballad, which might have been A Weaver of Dreams, and if so, it would
have been a nice link to the set list of the 2009 performance. So seven years
as a vocal/bass duo - just a few more to match Jordan's longevity. In the mean
time, it's a duo combination not to be missed.
The large and attentive audience were highly
appreciative of the duo's terrific performance and the international visitors
demonstrated their enthusiasm with much applause and (metaphorically speaking)
ringing bells, setting off kitchen timers and banging saucepan lids on tables.
It was another great night at the Jazz Cafe.
JC.
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