St Louis Blues opened Merlin Roxby's latest appearance here on Pink Lane. Fashionably late, our ragtime pianist explained that having set off for Prohibition Bar he dashed home to pick up his own preferred piano stool!* Merlin's approach is to play a tune, not say a word, play another tune, not say a word, play a...
Patrick McHale's Into the Unknown, Left Bank Two (the theme to Vision On), clearly our pianist isn't bound by the book! Hallelujah I Love Her So, Joplin's Swipesy Cakewalk (excellent), at times there's an elegance to Merlin's playing, Randy Newman's You Got a Friend in Me, this was a typically eclectic Merlin Roxby set list.
A young punter sidled over, phone in hand, pointing to the screen. Merlin took a look, quickly shaking his head. The clear message: I don't take requests. Excellent! Top Cat (composer Hoyt Curtin) is a fixture in the set, Maple Leaf Rag is well within Merlin's compass, similarly Benny the Bouncer (check our ELP).
Hoagy's Heart and Soul a highlight, Ahmet Ertegun's Mess Around (an early career Ray Charles' number), Merlin Roxby is an emerging talent. Catch him next time (Saturday 10 June) at Prohibition Bar.
* There must be musicians out there who have arrived at a gig having forgotten to pack a trumpet, saxophone, piano (unlikely), double bass (equally unlikely), drum kit (most unlikely) or some other instrument. It's confession time! Russell
1 comment :
I recall Roy Williams turning up at the Lockerbie Jazz Festival only, upon opening up his case. to discover he'd left the slide half of his trombone at home! Fortunately, Herbie Hudson was on hand to loan him his instrument!
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