(Review by Russell)
The band – Alice and Pete – played just great, not that the Jazz Café’s audience noticed. Can you hear alright? Pardon? It was one of those nights. A busy public bar, the crowd engaged in incessant loud conversation, the bar takings good, thank you very much. Oh, well…
Alice Grace resumed with Beautiful Love – great tune. The Long Road, a Grace original, perhaps owed something to the Winstone/Wheeler sound, a sound Ms Grace gets so well and improvises on it.
The man originally from Alabama, Mr Pete Tanton, rejoined Grace and Gilligan on a snorter of Anthropology, Pete’s busy left hand (P Gilligan’s), Pete T’s tightly muzzled mute, Alice having fun on the Dizzy/Bird rollercoaster.
The man originally from Alabama, Mr Pete Tanton, rejoined Grace and Gilligan on a snorter of Anthropology, Pete’s busy left hand (P Gilligan’s), Pete T’s tightly muzzled mute, Alice having fun on the Dizzy/Bird rollercoaster.
Ms Grace announced to the front row: You’ll recognise this one. Quick as a flash Gilligan interjected: That’s optimistic! Ah, Minnie Ripperton’s Loving You! A super tune, it would be good to hear it again (for the first time?!) at another gig with a just a little bit of hush.
Chick Corea’s Windows took us towards eleven and Abbey Lincoln’s Throw it Away just past eleven. It had been a great evening for all (almost all, one attentive listener expressed disgust at the disrespectful, non-stop noise in the bar), the musicians Alice, Pete and Pete, troupers all, got on with it, the listening few got it, the oblivious masses responded in the time-honoured Pavlovian tradition of applauding on cue.
Russell.
1 comment :
Sods law, I'd hoped to get there cos I've only heard her at the jam session after GIJF where she was a revelation. Plus - sexist alert - a real cutie (I read that in one of the broadsheets so I'm hoping it's mildly acceptable to the PC police). Failing that, my wife is partial to more than one Darlo brass blower, also half her age.
I always like to hear anyone taking on Minnie Ripperton; Ella Henderson did a not half bad version on Britains Got X factor idol, though she's probably the best singer any of these programmes have ever had.
Alleged soul DJ Trevor Nelson who, admittedly doesn't know the difference between Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson, James Brown and Prince or Otis Redding and OV Wright (who he's probably never heard of) told poor, humble Corinna Bailey Ray she reminded him of Minnie Ripperton (no pressure then) and she rapidly rebuked him 'I CAN'T SING LIKE MINNIE RIPPERTON!'
Shame nobody ever does anything else from her fine discography; Edge of a Dream which closes side 1(vinyl)of Perfect Angel which spawned Loving You is a particular favourite.
The next couple of gigs from Alice Grace are in my diary (in pen not pencil so I'm hoping she'll keep it in her set - no pressure then.
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