Not so much a review….more a recommendation.
From its origins at The
Sage, Gateshead, in 2017 the “Jazzy Christmas” franchise has grown and grown
and is still expanding, territorially, with gigs in Surrey and Cumbria already
this year! St. Cuthbert’s, Crook, is once again the first venue in the
North-East from which I am reporting with uncharacteristic brevity (on the
assumption that Lance or Russell will pen some more musically insightful
comments after one of the remaining shows).
St. Cuthbert’s was as welcoming as ever
with turkey rolls and mince pies in the interval, a well-stocked bar and a
raffle in which I failed to win a prize (as usual) despite there being 13 of
them! Did we escape without the excruciating cracker-jokes? Oh, no we didn’t!
It’s an integral part of the show now, after all!
With Jo Harrop at the mic, you know the
vocals will be brilliant and as soon as you see all the familiar faces in the
band you know it’s ditto for the music! You get 15 numbers (including the
encore) played in an incredible variety of styles – all Christmas favourites
but, in the words of the MD, “jazzed up”.
Standout moments, for me, were the band’s
rendering of Joni Mitchell’s heartfelt, almost self-loathing, River
(amazing song – check out the lyrics) and the contrastingly romantic Winter
Love Affair which Paul and Jo did as a duet.
Quirkiest moment was Paul’s solo piano version of Rudolph…… done as Monk might have done it! It was well-received by most of the audience, judging by the applause, but reindeer loving non-jazz audience members might find it a bit of a shock! I thought it was genius – see what you think if you get to one of the remaining shows. I recommend that you do! Jerry E
3 comments :
How can you NOT name the musicians? This isn't a two person show!
Hey Anonymous, what were saying about not naming the musicians?
It was perhaps remiss of me not to do so but I was aiming for brevity and knew that a full name-check would appear in subsequent reviews. Of course it is not a two person show. Insofar as I made any comment on musical quality, I said that Jo was brilliant and the band members likewise. I have seen this show every year and know most of the musicians personally. I would not wish to offend any of them. If you are one of them, I apologise unreservedly: no offence was intended. Here, for the record, are the missing names: Paul Edis (piano/MD), Andy Champion (bass). Matt McKellar (drums), Emma Fisk (violin), Jason Holcomb (trombone), Rachel Jeffers (piccolo and flutes), Graham Hardy (trumpet and flugel), Matt Anderson (tenor and soprano sax), Faye Thompson (alto sax and clarinet).
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