Alice Grace (vocals); James Harrison
(piano); Paul Grainger (double bass)
At one o'clock, with no sign of Alice
Grace, Messrs Harrison and Grainger opened the show with a diverting Take the A Train. Would it be a duo gig? One eye on the door, would
our star vocalist make it in time? Strolling in, cool as a cucumber, Ms Grace
didn't pause for breath as she picked up the verse, the boys didn't blink, was
this a cool entrance or what?!
Verse, chorus, scat, Alice Grace is
the tops when it comes to GASbook material. A light yet commanding vocal style,
Ms Grace chose a fabulous selection of numbers to sing - one or two of them
usually performed with the mighty Strictly Smokin' Big Band behind her - in the
company of friends James Harrison, piano, and bassist Paul Grainger.
Our singer's distinctive,
pitch-perfect vocals, lyric-scat-lyric sustained in the upper register,
descending at will, Harrison's lightning response at the keyboard, Grainger in
cruise mode - put this Bishop Auckland Town Hall gig down as a vocal
masterclass.
The big band numbers - The
One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else and You Turned the Tables
on Me (the latter featuring Grainger's bass playing) - allowed AG to
stretch out a little, free of the strictures of the big band chart.
The ever-inventive Harrison conjured
images of the caravanserai with a nod to Sweet Georgia Brown along
the way on Juan Tizol's Caravan. As the one hour set drew to a
close Ms Grace asked the audience what it would like to hear - Weaver
of Dreams sent us on our way.
The setlist; A Train, The
One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else, One Note Samba (Abbie Finn on
shaker!), Moonlight Saving Time, You Turned the
Tables on Me, Caravan, Teach Me Tonight, Taking
a Chance on Love, Weaver of Dreams.
Next month at BATH, Friday July 19 -
John Settle's Vibe-ology. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Russell
1 comment :
Awwww - I knew this was going to be a fabulous gig - but needs must, and I had to be elsewhere. Shame, shame, shame - but how lucky we are in this corner of Ingerland, to have such wonderful, top class jazzers as Alice, James and Paul. And to think Alice sang two of my all time favourite songs ..... oh well, some other time - and there's another one!
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