TJ Johnson (piano, vocals) + Tom Johnson (vocals)
It's ever so convenient. Step off the train at King's Cross, walk for two minutes onto Gray's Inn Road, turn into St Chad's Place and there it is, Jamboree. If it's three o'clock on a Wednesday, TJ Johnson is in town. It was only last week that TJ was 'up north' to play two solo piano engagements and this afternoon he would, for the most part, once again fly solo.
Upon entering, the first face encountered was none other than TJ himself. A case of 'long time, no see', five days to be precise.
An elegant tune, said TJ of Just Friends. Quite. JC Johnson's Black Mountain Blues as sung by Bessie Smith scored big. BB King's acerbic Paying the Cost to be the Boss, I've Got the World on a String (excellent), some Hank Williams, some Willie Nelson, of course, the first set was an entirely new slate of tunes. It begs the question: How many tunes does TJ know?
Jamboree barman Tom Johnson (no relation) joined TJ to sing Don't Get Around Much Anymore. Yet another talent!
First set: Listen to the Wind; Just Friends; Black Mountain Blues; In the Heat of the Night; Paying the Cost to be the Boss; Tennessee Waltz; Goodnight, Irene; Don't Get Around Much Anymore; Lost Highway; I've Got the World on a String; The Good Old, Bad Old Days; Don't Touch Me There.
Interval. Recorded music (crackles included) to suit the occasion.
Lights dimmed, tables candles illuminating the scene, another bottle of Jamboree, TJ opened the second set with Always on My Mind. A finger-snapping Rodgers and Hart Where or When, a tribute to the recently departed Jerry Lee Lewis with a tremendous take on Great Balls of Fire, this was TJ in overdrive!
An almost winter Autumn Leaves, almost melancholic, possibly the tune of the day. From Joseph Kosma to Johnny Cash's Forty Shades of Green to Alberta Hunter (My Castle's Rockin'), TJ knew 'em all. One more to finish, Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone.
Second set: Always on My Mind; Where or When; Blueberry Hill; It Had to be You; Autumn Leaves; Forty Shades of Green; Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone. Russell
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