The Traveling Janes @ Spice of Life, London - Jan. 26

Ali Affleck (vocals); Rico Tomasso (trumpet); (clarinet); Lauryn Gould (reeds); Amanda Lee (piano); Katie Cavera (banjo, guitar); Danielle Price (tuba); Richard Pite (drums)

Ali Affleck fronts a variety of ensembles. This afternoon at Cambridge Circus we would be listening to the multinational Traveling Janes. Scottish-American bandleader Affleck, Lauryn Gould (Texas), Amanda Lee (Singapore), Katie Cavera (California) and Danielle Price (dividing her time between Scotland and Norway) were to be joined by two notable names - Rico Tomasso, of the parish of Chiswick, and Spice of Life promoter, Londoner Richard Pite.

As the twelve thirty start approached there was no sign of bandleader Affleck. The other Janes were ready to go. And go they did. Throughout the afternoon the set list would prove to be more than eclectic and with a decidedly Celtic flavour (the clue was in Burns' Night, which just happened to be the previous evening). In due course Ms Affleck would waltz in, coffee cup in hand. 

The eclecticism: My Gal Sal, I've found a New Baby, Wild Women Don't Have the Blues, The Turtle Dove, Back in Your Own Backyard, If I Had a Ribbon Bow, Molly Malone, Charlie is My Darling, jazz and more. Runnin' Wild, that's more like it! Jazz, hurray! And so to the Janes...Texan Lauryn Gould (reeds) impressed, Katie Cavera, a cut above in the banjo stakes, and Danielle Price, who straddles the spectrum from New Orleans to improv, laid down the foundations for the entirety of the gig alongside Mr Pite. At the house upright, Amanda Lee made a big impression. Ragtime, stride, swing, our Singaporean Jane really could play, then some! And not forgetting the contribution of the other token male, Mr. Tomasso. Only kidding, chaps!

Next week's Spice of Life gig (Monday 2 February) is an 'Alto Summit' featuring Alex Clarke and Donovan Haffner, supported by Simon Woolf (piano), Adam King (double bass) and MC Richard Price (drums). Russell