Steve Glendinning (guitar); Katy Trigger (bass guitar); Tim Johnston (drums) Plus Paul Gowland (alto sax); Keith Barrett, Francis Tulip (guitar); ? (piano); Matthew Fairhurst, ? (drums); David Gray (trombone) Kath Gowland, Julija Jacenaite (vocals).
(Review by Ann Alex)
My usual folk music Tuesday workshops haven’t yet started, so I was pleased to be able to go to the first Jazz Café Jam of the season. I wasn’t disappointed, although it was a slow start, not many people there before 8. But the house band soon got things swinging with Stella By Starlight, a sweet romantic guitar, then Katy straight in with a bass solo. All Blues followed, with Steve adventurous on the guitar as always, then came another touch of romance with ‘S Wonderful, a tune I haven’t heard in ages, a nice change. The guitar was beautifully crisp for Four, with busy drums and a bass solo, then 4’s. All The Things You Are and Night And Day (chock, chock went the drums, a sound I love).
Up stepped the first brave sitter-in, Keith Barrett taking over on guitar, with a skilful rendering of The Old Country (an Adderley tune, new to me); Gillespie’s Groovin’ High; and Monk’s I Mean You, including 4’s with guitar and drums. Well done Keith! After the break, more sitters-in appeared, Paul Gowland leading on sax with a number that I can’t name, then What Is This Thing Called Love. Up steps the first vocalist of the evening, Kath Gowland with Bye, Bye, Blackbird, stylishly sung but a bit hampered by the vocal sound not being loud enough. A pianist had escaped my notice until then, and I’m sorry not to be able to name him as I couldn’t actually see his face, such are the hazards of jams and the fact that the piano faces the wall, but his solo sounded fine. Up jumps the second vocalist, a favourite of mine, Julija Jacenaite, with a stunningly strong Mood Indigo, which included a marvellous wailing, crying sound from Paul’s alto. By now, a different drummer had appeared. I went to the loo (too much information?) and returned to find a full stage with Francis Tulip (aka number 1 son) and David Gray adding even more melody to the proceedings, and Julija telling us that There’ll Never Be Another You. The Metro was calling me home just as things were getting even better, so perhaps number 1 father, Steve Tulip, may wish to tell readers how it all ended.
I’m sorry if I missed mentioning anyone whom I should have mentioned, or got anyone’s name wrong. They shouldn’t really allow folkies to write this sort of thing!
Ann Alex
14 comments :
And they shouldn't let soulies write this stuff either.
Footprints was the main event, with James Metcalf on trumpet,Francis on guitar and Joel Brown on piano. I'm not sure who was drumming at this point. First time I'd heard this lady bass player and thought she was brill, relentlessly holding that bass line and only messing with it slightly towards the end, to great effect.
It seemed it would run and run (and could have from me) until it collapsed into a free jazz blowout, and I can't quite remember who brought it to a close and how.
Out of Nowhere was the official last piece but Joel and Julija risked the wrath of no 1 barmaid (now I'm in trouble) with a brief Feel Like Makin Love, I used to have on one of those big, useless lumps of plastic you dropped a needle on, but now have a much more compact disc where you just press a couple of buttons. I understand you can now hear it by just pressing buttons but you'll likely miss the rest of the album; one of her best.
'lady bass player', 'no 1 barmaid', 'lumps of plastic you dropped a needle on'...Next time we meet Steve we can discuss vinyl (and the stylus!) versus CD. As for 'no 1 barmaid' it will be a treat to see you thrown out next time you visit!
Do you seriously think I haven't heard it all before? I know all the myths, that's why I went to uni, to find out why people believe all the cr^p we get on the telly, in newspapers and mens magazines. Vinyl's fine if you want to buy the odd record, particularly pop records. No good whatsoever when you're buying music every day, and not stuff off the telly - they won't even go through the letter box.
Five years ago nobody gave a flying start about vinyl; just a few dinosaurs who weren't sufficiently interested in music to upgrade their same half dozen records they play over and over. Virtually nobody does now but keep believing the telly. It'll be another format in another five years and people will have to re/replace their old favourites all over again. But we'll still be able to get Kind of Blue, maybe Time Out, maybe Love Supreme.
Lady Bass Player - are you serious? You should maybe check with her before you claim political correctness on her behalf.
And don't be surprised if the lovely Lisa turns up a sense of humour.
I'm glad to say that this has gone way beyond the substance of my original review, and this is what makes this blog so good. Ann Alex
Well, as one who went to that seat of learning - The School of Hard Knocks, where we learned about apostrophes and things, I listen to the music I like irrespective of the format, I even, occasionally, play 78s. It's rather like when stereo first came out and people would listen to a record as if they were watching a tennis match. I'm only interested in the music irrespective of whether the item goes through the letter box or not. Fortunately, we have a postman who knocks on the door when confronted with such a situation. Anyhow, I enjoy listening to both of my LPs and my CD just as I enjoy reading a book rather than one of them Kindle things.
I think I hijacked one of yours before Ann. I do apologise, but you're right, there's nothing like it. The purpose of art is to force people to confront their assumptions and preconceptions. Jazz is a revolutionary art form which doesn't just behave the way it's supposed to.
Well said that lady (oops sorry), and I hope both of your LPs wasn't a Freudian slip. Sadly there's generally no one in my house when the postie arrives so it's a weekly trip to the post office for larger items.
I should perhaps say I had the most enormous vinyl collection but I moved into a nurses home (or is it nursing home, I can never remember) and used cassettes for a few years (also making a comeback - allegedly).
The first time I went on Amazon ssssss was on a nightshift and by morning I had 80 albums in my basket I'd never managed to find on vinyl, some I'd been looking for for 20 years. That's the whole story: not the hissing, the post box and the other impracticalities; CDs and the ability to download on to them means you can have everything, and I want everything.
If that's it I should point out you missed one of mine Lance, or did you not get it. The one about the private joke and the vitrola.
Many years ago I used to debate on the Amazon discussion forum and the classical people were always condescending until one night I took one of them on. We raged through the night and he started telling me I was asking him the wrong questions; you could almost feel him stuttering through his keyboard. About 5.30 he announced he was off to bed. Of course I was on a nightshift.
Funny story. I was at a soulie bash in Durham on saturday. A barmaid had just taken over and had been told to get the manager if she had any concerns at all. A particularly bad vinyl pressing was on at the time and she kept looking at the speaker. I told her it was just the weather outside and not to worry, but she called the manager anyway. True story.
Why do people think the artists wanted all this interference added to their music?
In fairness, hard-core rare soul people don't even know just how poor it sounds, and haven't gone back to vinyl in response to the media dictat, like sixties teenies, seventies rockers and some Jazzwise readers, but never really got into CDs. By the time they overtook vinyl records for availability, the DJs, concerned their hard won trophies were about to become worthless, began boasting that they only played original vinyl. Meanwhile they all made money bringing out CDs and I remember one playing an album version of a track with a seven inch single on the deck.
Soul is having a punkrock period insomuch as the worst record collections at a soul night belong to the DJs, like the musicians were the least talented and musical people at a punkrock gig. Everybody else at the soul night has a bunch of CDs and a computer so they have everything, while the DJs have imposed restrictions on themselves so all they have is half a box of not very good vinyl records.
Just found this thread with the link from "New Comments on Old Posts". I agree with you Ann when you say this type of discussion is one of the joys of this (and other) forums.
Steve, I happen to share your lack of understanding as to why anyone wants to go back to vinyl - for all the reasons you mention. I even have one or two CDs where electronic "crackle" has been added to a track to give it that retro feel - how strange is that?
I have two albums each with one track with added crackle. One is by current soul songstress Angie Stone; the other is by John Legend and samples an old seventies soul record by the Dramatics.
The figures are greatly manipulated; vinyl sales are actually miniscule. I remember Piers Morgan saying a while back we went from vinyl records to downloads. I spend a lot of time in HMVs (waiting for kids) and occasionally somebody looks at them but hardly anybody ever buys one. Mind it's always just the usual rubbish. The sales increased last year but I think it's because a lot of men (sorry ladies) got a player for Xmas in 2016 so have bought bits to play on them. A work colleague bought it all lock stock and, but is drifting back to CDs for practical reasons, like what to play in the car.
I must be unusual as I only hear what I want to hear. I'm oblivious to any snap, crackle and popping. All I'm aware of is the music. It probably comes from living in a house that backs on to the railroad track. Visitors will remark, when a train rumbles by, "How do you put up with the noise?" I shrug and say, "What noise?" I suppose it's the same with records having grown up with shellac and vinyl (and cereal!) As regards playing in the car - my last car only played cassettes (anybody want a couple of 100 cassettes free?)
I agree (I grew up under the viaduct in Durham) but the media message is that people who buy vinyl are somehow more into music than people who buy CDs.
Stuart Nicholson commented in Jazzwise that, to be a true believer, you have to listen to Bluenote on vinyl records, insulting a huge majority of their readers.
I'll swap you my cassettes for yours.
This one could run and run, like the Bob Dylan and Grateful Dead discussions on Amazon which are in their thousands.
On Friday I was in HMV in Darlo (waiting for Mrs T in Primarni) and two young girls came in to look at the vinyls. I wondered if this was the appeal, being able to call them vinyls, a code us old nerds don't use. All myths are constructed in language, not 'reality'.
She headed past the CDs to technology which I always find amusing, but I'm pleased to report she left with two CDs she wouldn't have found or been able to afford on vinyls and, who knows, they may have even been worth listening to.
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