Liane Carroll @ Ronnie Scott's - December 26

(Review by Dave Clarke)

I’ll spare you a review of a really excellent Christmas Eve performance of Hackney Empire’s ‘Dick Whittington’ despite loads of fun for all ages and original music by one S. Edis. Could this be Tyneside’s Paul Edis under another first name with a finger in yet another pie we wondered?

I can’t say we devoted much if any of a beautifully sunny Christmas Day to the Edis conundrum and even when Boxing Day dawned 7wet and windy our thoughts were firmly on our adult Christmas treat to come that night at Ronnie’s in Soho.

“House Full” said the sign on the door when we alighted outside number 47 Frith Street, and full and festive the house most certainly was. On the walls on each side of the stage were two large, red, electronic wreaths, one above the other. From all over the club came warm red glows from dozens of small table lamps and moving around the club the serving staff in black with scarlet braces carried the festive atmosphere with them.

Liane Carroll’s set began with Roger Carey on bass guitar and Russell Field on drums alone on stage playing a funky duo introduction until their boss joins them on piano and then on voice and the whole trio goes into a raunchy Love for Sale. Without a pause they’re into Fever and Liane the soul-inflected singer is suddenly scatting at full speed like Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald. More scatting follows on Almost Like Being in Love from her successful ‘Seaside’ album, and more adventurous piano playing.

By this early point in the show it’s already becoming apparent that there are a number of different, musical, Liane Carrolls. When she stops playing to talk to a group in the audience from the band’s home town of Hastings we discover yet another Liane: something akin to a Cockney music hall comedian. “We’re all from Hastings” she explains to the rest of us, “a small drugs town with a big fishing problem.”

Yet another Ms Carroll emerges: a straight, simple and moving ballad singer on her treatment of the Tom Waits’ song Silly Boy before the band move into a thorough de-construction of Doris Day’s My Secret Love with great solos from Roger Carey on bass and a particularly fevered one from drummer Russell Field which sets sections of the audience to clapping in time.

The first set was spectacularly rounded off with a pair of songs by another great female singer/pianist, the late Nina Simone. Liane first gave a great reading on both piano and vocally of My Baby Just Cares for me before leading her band into a fast, furious and thorough work – out on Sinner Man.

The final set presented us with Liane Carroll the musical host as she welcomed to the stage three very different guests, even dispensing with her trio for several tunes. First up was Jamie Safir (heard earlier) demonstrating his skills as an accompanist as Liane gave a moving performance of Make Someone Happy. A couple of tunes later and again minus bass and drums, an Irish friend met at Sligo Jazz Festival - William Byrne - sang solo on Smile, and then, with Liane Carroll and the trio, James Taylor’s You Got A Friend. The final guest number and, excepting the encore the night’s final tune, was a medley of blues tunes. Liane Carroll was in her element (well one of them!) both vocally and on piano and was excellently accompanied by her final guest Pete Cripps on harp and, as she had been all night, by Roger Carey (bass guitar) and Russell Field (drums).

The applause at the end of the show said it all. This lady is a great British jazz artist and a great entertainer. A fabulous way to spend Boxing Day!

Earlier, on stage for a 45 minute set, was a trio led by the young pianist and composer Jamie Safir, a prominent member of the UK jazz scene and equally in demand in the UK and Europe for work in pop and soul music – later to be heard with Liane. Joining Jamie were the no-less-busy Conor Chaplin on bass and Luke Tomlinson on drums. Jamie provided two attractive original compositions for the trio and terrific arrangements of GAS tunes including Frank Loesser’s Never Will I Marry, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s It Might As Well Be Spring and Pure Imagination from ‘Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.’ Needless to say with musicians of this skill and talent their 45 minute set was a delight to listen to and over all too soon.

Dave C.