Samara Joy (vocals); Connor Rohrer (piano); Felix Moseholm (double bass); Evan Sherman (drums); Kendrick McCallister (tenor sax); David Mason (alto sax, flute); Jason Charos (trumpet); Donavan Austin (trombone)
First Emmet's Place, then Ronnie's, this evening Birmingham Town Hall. Samara Joy, all of 23, is touring the world as the bona fide superstar she has so rapidly become. Accompanying our NYC-based singer was an all-star septet featuring several familiar names. The suited-and-booted septet walked out onto Birmingham Town Hall's vast stage, took their seats and began to play. We were awaiting Ms Joy's entrance. And there she was, strolling out from the wings. An almighty roar greeted our superstar. Wow!
An extended Sweet Pumpkin opened the show. Arranged by Donavan Austin, this was impossibly good, Joy's enviable vocal range, phrasing and no little theatricality (think Sarah Vaughan), held the Town Hall audience spellbound.
The band could play, that's for sure! Arrangements rehearsed to the nth degree, razor sharp ensemble work, Ms Joy's daring vocals never less than thrilling. Betty Carter's Tight a case in point - wow! Linger Awhile taken at a blistering tempo all but blew the roof off. Mingus' Something Like a Bird (for Charlie Parker) arr. Kendrick McCallister, a fabulous arrangement of You Stepped Out of a Dream (we were indeed dreaming), it doesn't get any better than this.
Most of Ms Joy's band contributed arrangements, not least NYC drum maestro Evan Sherman's arrangement of Thelonious Monk's Worry Later. Fully two hours later we were approaching the end of a wonderful evening. Asking the audience if there were any Portuguese speakers in the house, a few voices replied: Yes! Ms Joy said something like: Ah, shoot! Undeterred, our superstar sang the first verse to No More Blues in Portuguese before reverting to her more familiar 'American' English. And that was it.
A standing ovation and thunderous applause brought Samara Joy back to the stage. A dramatic take on Guess Who I Saw Today? won another standing ovation. Ms Joy - and her band - once more walked off into the wings. The Birmingham crowd wouldn't let her go. A further standing ovation brought about yet another return to the stage. A blues to finish, the horns blowing, the rhythm section cooking, Ms Joy a sensation. Russell
No comments :
Post a Comment