 | |
Photo © Kim
|
Nothing! Absolutely nothing!
From the opening Honeysuckle Rose which began so gently with just the rhythm section behind her before erupting like Vesuvius when the full band hit the triple fortissimos until the final That Old Black Magic Alice had the audience enraptured.
Our girl looked good and sounded even better - or was it vice versa? - probably both!
The songs had all been recorded by Ella F and feature on the recently recorded crowd-funded album Alice and the band will shortly release. Every one a gem.
Frank Loesser and Jule Styne's I Said No with its clever and amusing lyric. Puttin' on the Ritz, a song that Irving Berlin wrote for the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie Top Hat, had an alto solo from Steve Summers and, whilst Ginger may have been able to dance backwards in high heels Alice didn't chance it but, instead, was content to deliver an impeccable vocal.
Mean to Me featured nice tenor from Jamie Toms and that great line by Roy Turk - why must you be mean to me when you know what you mean to me? Comparable with anything Cole Porter wrote! Certainly better than Can't Buy me Love although Alice and SSBB, like Ella before her, proved that you can make a purse out of a sow's ear.
A Flower is a Lovesome Thing, sung tenderly and effectively with Dave Kerridge blowing tenor on the Strayhorn classic. Lullaby of Broadway and a Michael Lamb arrangement of There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon For New York proved that there's more to Porgy and Bess than Summertime. Gil Evans arranged it for Miles but Michael's version would probably have been too fast for Miles. Fortunately, it wasn't for Alice.
Steve Summers blew on Get Happy then we hit the penultimate Time After Time. This had been quite a set. Get happy? We certainly did!
Alice Grace (vocals) Michael Lamb, MD, Graham Hardy, Gordon Marshall, Stuart McLean-Fowler (trumpets); Chris Kurgi-Smith, Mark Ferris, Keiran Parnaby, John Flood (trombones); Jamie Toms, Dave Kerridge, Steve Summers, Keith Robinson, Laurie Rangecroft (reeds); Pawel Jedrzejewski (guitar); Graham Don (keyboards); Michael Whent (bass guitar); Guy Swinton (drums)
-----
 |
Photo © Kim Bainbridge. |
Earlier, the Dean Stockdale Trio got things underway with a mix of standards and originals. Three seasoned players at the top of their game they set the scene perfectly for what was to come. Lance
On the Sunny Side of the Street; Promise the Moon; Moon River; First Light; Kelly's Blues; Out of Nowhere.
Link to more photos by Kim. ps: Good to (finally) meet Maurice Rodham who preceded me in Windows Music Shop all those years ago. Maurice went on to greater things as a music teacher at St. Cuthbert's in Newcastle. His pupils included Steve Summers, tonight's lead alto, and Cormac Loane, another good friend of mine now based in Birmingham. Aged 91, Maurice looked well.
1 comment :
Summertime was sped up at Montreux with Quincy Jones, a magnificent and emotional DVD/video.
Post a Comment