Sunday Night @ the Globe: Liane Carroll - Dec. 4

(© Pam)

Liane Carroll (piano, vocals).

The competition was tough. Over at Bobik's, Jazz North East presented Let Spin and Ceitidh Mac whilst out there in Qatar (or your local pub or living room) England were playing Senegal in the World Cup.

England won 3-0 but on a decibels to crowd size ratio I doubt if the goals by Henderson, Kane and Saka generated the volume of applause that the Jazz Coop audience gave Liane Carroll at the Globe.

Singer, pianist, sit-down comedian (I think comedienne is passé these days) Ms Carroll (I think Miss is passé these days) can comfortably tick all three boxes.

(© Sheila)

From the kick-off to the end of stoppage time the crowded Globe sat or stood mesmerised by a performance that fired from and to the hip. Each number had amazing vocals - often with some clever and intricate scatting - swinging, blues-orientated piano and hilarious patter, before, after and sometimes during each tune.

I'm not going to retell the jokes as that would spoil it for her next audience and besides, it's not just the jokes but the way she tells them.

As someone said as I was leaving, "It may not be the Gig of the Year but it's certainly the most entertaining." This had me wondering how it was possible to be the latter and not the former - or vice versa! For me it was both. But, as Ronnie Scott (or was it Alan Barnes?) famously said, " You're not here to enjoy yourselves".

This audience certainly was and certainly did. 

Liane had also taken part in a two-day workshop at the Globe passing on her pearls of vocal wisdom to a group of aspirants of various levels who, even if they only absorbed a small percentage of her teaching, will be so much the better for it and, in the long run, so will we. Lance

Oh yes, the songs: Come Rain or Come Shine; Lover Come Back to me;  You Don't Know What Love is; I Didn't Know What Time it Was; Memphis in June; St Louis Blues; Skylark; Sinner Man; Seaside (comp. Joe Stilgoe); That Old Black Magic; Take me Home; Love For Sale; Fever; Here's to Life; All of me; Summertime/My Favorite Things/California Shoeshine Boys.