When musicians are truly enjoying their work, the audience feels it, and listen carefully. Part of the joy is to see the musicians listening to each other. Add to that the magic of world class musicianship, with ideas and riff tumbling out of their axes.
In other words, it was a superb gig from all four: John Etheridge on guitars, Theo Travis on tenor sax and flute, organist Pete Whittaker and George Double on drums.
It was structured as a typical Etheridge gig, We had music from many people, including one each from John and Theo. There was lots of off the cuff comments from John, very funny. He was careful to announce the tunes. The first tune of the second set was a solo by John, also typical. They had an encore in their pockets, and it was needed.
The encore was “Summertime”, and they played that lovely Gershwin tune as if they had just read the lyrics again. It got me thinking: there is one word in that song which makes it sad and difficult. The word is “Until”: safe until the child rises up singing. John’s solo was “God Bless the Child”. Is he thinking about children? The solo was truly beautiful, without a lot of added tech.
Theo’s “Three People” was lovely: he has such a lyrical flow in his solos. I wonder who the three people were: I might have liked to know them.
The structure of the gig allowed everybody room to blow, and the blowing was magnificent. I can still hear Theo’s solo on “Off the Wagon”, Pete on “I’m Coming Home”, George on “Sweet Emma”.
Do not miss the next gig, ‘Bryan Corbett’s “Hi-Fly” Quintet’. This marvellous trumpeter was booked for a gig during the pandemic; a rebook was cancelled due to illness. So on
June 28th, we will finally get to hear him. He has a way with tonality like no other trumpeter.
Thanks to Steve Jordan for the set list.
Take care,
Dave
JOHN ETHERIDGE/THEO TRAVIS QUARTET
SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 14/06/23
Take a Walk (Michael Brecker)
Georgia on my Mind (Hoagy Carmichael)
Off the Wagon (Tubby Hayes)
In A Sentimental Mood (Duke Ellington)
Sweet Emma (Nat Adderley) as adapted by John Scofield
Friday Night at the Cadillac Club (Bob Berg).
* * * * * * *
God Bless The Child – Etheridge solo (Billie Holiday/A Herzog Jr)
Do Like Eddie (John Scofield)
Three People (Theo Travis)
There Is No Greater Love (Isham Jones/Marty Symes)
(I normally put together a setlist for each gig that I attend at Fleece Jazz . Dave Lyons is currently on holiday in Canada and so it falls to me to write this week’s review built around the setlist.)
Last night, we had a fine quintet of musicians under the direction of Nick Tomalin, performing and interpreting the music of British pianist, George Shearing. The band features the original instrumentation of the Shearing quintet, including guitar and vibraphone and performs music ranging from Shearing’s best-known tunes like ‘Lullaby of Birdland’ and ‘Conception’ along with less well-known compositions and arrangements.
The “Shades of Shearing” project is very much a labour of love: the respect and admiration for Shearing and his music from all five musicians is palpable throughout the evening’s performance. For this reviewer, it was a revelation having previously felt little connection with Shearing’s music aside from the odd cover such as Ella singing ‘Lullaby of Birdland’. Shades of Shearing led me to re-evaluate this and realise that there was more depth to George’s music as well as a real jazz sensibility.
The opener, ‘September in the Rain’, combining radio-friendly melodicism with full-blooded bebop, was a big hit for George in 1949, selling nearly a million copies. The head is played in the famous ‘Shearing Style’ with Nat Steele on vibes and Dave Warren on guitar playing the melody an octave apart and Nick Tomalin playing block chords behind them. During the second chorus Tomalin demonstrates the ‘locked hands’ style of George Shearing and plays some technically demanding double-time passages.
Throughout the gig, Nick explains the background to each song in the context of Shearing’s life and work. After the first number, he tells us about the challenging circumstances in young George’s life: the youngest of nine children; blind from birth; his father delivering coal and his mother cleaning trains for a living. George was something of a musical prodigy as he was offered various scholarships to continue his musical education. In true jazz style though, young George instead got a job playing piano for “25 bob a week” (25 shillings or £1.25 in today’s money) at the local pub. He first visited America in 1946 and moved there permanently the following year, arriving at the height of the bebop boom.
There is plenty of opportunity for each musician in the “Shades of Shearing” quintet to demonstrate his chops and that is exploited to the full in the next number, ‘Consternation’. Nat Steele is a vigorous, resourceful performer who demonstrated his enormous prowess on vibes throughout the evening – all eyes were on his speed and dexterity as he fronted the band. Dave Warren’s guitar work echoed this with a distinct bebop style which reminded me of Grant Green’s lithe, loose, slightly bluesy playing. Once again, we had the pleasure of hearing Luke Fowler on double bass, who impressed us with his nimble finger-work as he took the lead or soloed on many numbers over the course of the gig. Luke was ‘depping’ and this was his first performance with the quintet. An amazing talent! After two numbers where brushes were employed effectively by Matt Fishwick to set up a shuffling rhythm on the drums, he excels on the latin-tinged ‘Mamboing’ where he knocks out an urgent and vigorous rhythm to drive the pace forward. Nick explained how mambo became popular in the mid-1950s in New York, triggering a big dance craze. George then began incorporating Cuban music into his repertoire and was at the forefront of blending the new Mambo style with jazz – continuing on from Dizzy Gillespie’s experiments with Afro-Cuban music in the late 1940s.
No tribute to George Shearing would be complete without ‘Lullaby of Birdland’, George’s best-known tune which was written for Morris Levy, the owner of Birdland, as the theme music for a radio show broadcast from the club. Here it was taken at a brisk pace with piano, vibes and guitar delivering the head in unison before Nick takes a beautiful melodic solo, again switching to block chords in the bridge.
‘September Samba’ – a bossa nova in the style of George Shearing for a guitar-vibes-piano quintet – was an original composition by Nick Tomalin; an uptempo, vivacious tune with a warm feel that complemented the Shearing numbers admirably.
‘Love Is Just Around The Corner’ completed the first set, after Nick related how George and the quintet enjoyed indulging in wordplay, by replacing the word ‘love’ with ‘lunch’ in song titles. Try it for yourselves …. It was good to hear the band stretch out, with everyone contributing inspired extended solos. Nick’s backing riffs behind the solos and choruses build the excitement.
The second set opened with ‘Oh look at me now’, from the 1961 album, ‘The Swingin’s Mutual!’ where the George Shearing quintet was accompanied by the vocalist Nancy Wilson. The song is best known from its interpretation by Frank Sinatra.
The more demanding composition ‘Conception’, a 1950 jazz standard written by Shearing is widely regarded as one of the best original bebop tunes ever written. As Nick explained, it is one of the most challenging tunes to improvise on, both because of the speed of the harmonic rhythm and the tricky modulations but the band appeared to breeze through it, negotiating the corners with ease. There is a suggestion that ‘Conception’ was written by Bud Powell, but no-one really takes this seriously. Interestingly, the original score was adapted by Miles Davis in 1950, who created an arrangement that kept Shearing’s chord changes and main theme. He also rewrote it in 1950 to create an entirely new main theme for his Birth of the Cool project, giving the composition the title ‘Deception’. Oh, what a tangled web . . . deception indeed.
A mambo-ised version of George Gershwin’s ‘Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off’ was an interesting adaptation and despite Nick’s self-deprecating comments, the original was easily recognisable and their interpretation was quite charming. Equally welcome was the second Tomalin original of the evening, ‘Blues for George’. We were the first ever audience to hear this and it would be very nice to hear it again on a future recording.
As a prelude to the next number, Nick explained how he had met George Shearing in 1993 as a student at the Guildhall School of Music as part of a South Bank Show special about George’s life and work. Nick took part in a masterclass with George teaching some of the piano students. The students, including Nick, were asked to perform a piece in front of George and receive constructive feedback. Nick performed the ballad ‘I’ll Never Smile Again’ after which George told him that it was fine but too loud! No such concerns from the rendition that we got to hear.
We conclude (almost) with Charlie Shavers’ ‘Undecided’ as arranged by Shearing and originally featuring Toots Thielemans, the harmonica player, on guitar. But of course, this being Fleece Jazz we couldn’t go home without an encore and the band duly obliged with a George Shearing composition that he never recorded: ‘She’. Not to be confused with the Charles Aznavour ballad, this was Nick Tomalin’s imagined version of Shearing playing his own tune. Bud Powell recorded it and I would recommend that you give that a listen, if you can. Much of what we heard during last night’s gig combined a light, mellifluous melodicism with the harmonic complexity of Bud Powell and was a commendable tribute to George Shearing and his legacy.
We have a three-week break before our next gig on Wednesday 14th June, when we are excited to have the Etheridge–TravisQuartet, a veritable jazz super-group featuring electric guitar, saxophones, flute, organ and drums. John Etheridge and Theo Travis have been the frontline of the legendary band Soft Machine and are joined by a topflight rhythm section comprising one of the most go-to keyboard players in the British jazz and blues scene, Pete Whittaker and drummer Nic France.
People seem to be afraid of original music. All but two of the tunes we heard on this lovely gig were written by Philip Clouts, our leader on piano. Philip writes beautiful, varied and accessible music that any jazz lover would enjoy.
My favourite tune was Nyasa Lullaby. It was a beautiful slow lullaby based on a single tone row. The variations on the row seemed without end. I was sorry when the tune ended.
But Philip is a very talented composer. I don’t know whether he has ever visited Cannery Row (we had our honeymoon there and thereabout). That was 60 years ago, but I think he caught it as we saw it back then. So he took us all around Africa, South America and the U.S. west coast. It was a joyous ride.
The band is very happy with standards: both the Rogers and Hart and the Horace Silver were delightful.
I hope we have the band back. They deserve a much bigger audience. The comments afterwards were from very happy people. Steve Jordan’s setlist is below.
Next gig, 24 May, will celebrate the great British pianist and composer, George Shearing. Nick Tomalin’s quintet will do them honour.
Take care,
Dave
PHILIP CLOUTS QUARTET
SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 10/5/23
All compositions by Philip Clouts except (3) and (9)
Tilt – with influences from Latin America
On West Hill – inspired by John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row about a small seaside community in the U.S.A. West Hill is the area where Philip Clouts lives in Lyme Regis on the Dorset coast.
Have You Met Miss Jones? (Rodgers & Hart) featured two wonderful solos by Tim Fairhall on double bass
Umoya – titled from the Zulu word for life-force.
Nyasa Lullaby – inspired by musicians from Tanzania using notes from just one scale
Marula – named after the fruit-bearingl tree with a dome-shaped canopy indigenous to the savanna woodlands of East Africa and Madagascar.
I really enjoyed this gig. Alex Clarke is a superb performer with a range of warm timbres and with proper jazz in her soul. She is also clear on the talk mic about what she is playing, which I guess is a great help to Steve Jordan when he writes the set list (see below, and thank you). I am not surprised that she attracts a back line as celebrated as Clark Tracey on drums, Dave Green on bass and Rob Barron on piano.
The tone Alex produced on “Ballad for Very Sad and Very Tired Lotus Eaters” was really beautiful. It was a great performance. There is nowhere to hide when you are playing in duet mode. The synergism between Rob and Alex was lovely. Alex gave the trio lots of room to blow. I could see her enjoyment of their work, particularly when trading 4s with Clark. We are thankful too that she spoke to us about each song: not a lot, just enough.
Clark had one terrific solo in “Oleo” . There is a phrase about good drummers: “playing the room”. Clark’s understanding of the room acoustics and the volume of his colleagues is exemplary. He is such a class act.
Dave is one of those rare bassists that you can listen to their accompaniment with pleasure and interest. He seems to find fascinating things to say under other people’s solos, and his own solos are great.
We haven’t seen Rob for far to long, and people thought of him as new to us, which he is not. They commented on the delight they had listening to his solos and his work throughout this excellent gig,
Our next gig will be the Philip Clouts Quartet. The music will carry us to South Africa and beyond. One quote: “Precise ebullience and relaxed funkiness” – The Guardian
Take care
Dave
ALEX CLARKE QUARTET
SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 26/4/23
Sound for Sore Ears (Jimmy Heath)
Where or When (Rodgers and Hart)
Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma, Jacques Prévert, Johnny Mercer) arrangement by Alex Clarke inspired by Chet Baker’s
Ballad for Very Sad and Very Tired Lotus Eaters (Billy Strayhorn) – a duet featuring Alex Clarke and Rob Barron
Like Someone in Love (Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke)
Oleo (Sonny Rollins)
* * * * * * *
Who’s Smoking?! (Paquite d’Rivera) written for James Moody
I’m Old Fashioned (Jerome Kern)
Only A Year (Alex Clarke)
Brazilian Affair (Phil Woods)
I’ve Never Been In Love Before (Frank Loesser) from the musical Guys and Dolls
Just One of Those Things (Cole Porter)
ENCORE: Shake It But Don’t Break It (Erroll Garner)
Steve Jordan described this gig as stellar, and it was in many senses. First of all, the music which was originally performed by Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane is amazing. The sextet is certainly starry: they were Andy Panayi (tenor and soprano), Alan Barnes (alto), Steve Fishwick (trumpet and flugel), John Donaldson (piano), Simon Thorpe (bass) and Peter Cater (drums). The arrangements were gorgeous, rich and exciting with beautiful harmonies (and dissonances) and great rhythms. The playing was terrific: the timing was spot on, and the solos just engulfed one.
Andy and Alan commented on the music, but Andy was the conductor. It seems that nothing except the set list was decided in advance, and they had freedom to construct each song as they wished. This just added to the joy of the evening.
All of the musicians were jaw- droppingly awesome, the horn section especially so but the rhythm section was tremendous too. A special mention for Steve Fishwick for depping so faultlessly – a measure of his talent and professionalism and he appears so calm!
Favourites? Difficult: the first tune, “Miles” hit you in the face with the horn chorus. Maybe also “Dat Dere”. By that time in the second set everybody on stage was grinning at the quotes and riffs of their colleagues.
We are lucky to have Steve Jordan about. He supplies the set list below.
We complete our January/April programme with the stunning young saxophonist and flautist Alex Clarke. She brings with her the dream rhythm section: Rob Barron piano, Dave Green bass and Clark Tracey drums. We hope to see you on Wednesday 26 April.
Dave
ALAN BARNES/ANDY PANAYI SEXTET
SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 12/4/23
Miles (Davis) from the 1958 album Milestones
Two Bass Hit (Lewis-Gillespie) also from the album Milestones
Jeanine (Duke Pearson) from the 1960 album Them Dirty Blues by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet
This Here (Bobby Timmons) from the 1959 album The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco
Wabash (Julian Adderley) from the 1959 album The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago
Blue Train (John Coltrane) from the 1957 album Blue Train by John Coltrane
Lazybird (John Coltrane) from the 1957 album Blue Train by John Coltrane
* * * * * * *
Locomotion (John Coltrane) from the 1957 album Blue Train by John Coltrane
Jive Samba (Nat Adderley) from the 1962 album Jazz Workshop Revisited by The Cannonball Adderley Sextet
Dear John (Freddie Hubbard) from the 1991 album Bolivia was dedicated to John Coltrane and based on Coltrane’s Giant Steps
Naima (John Coltrane) dedicated to Coltrane’s first wife
Dat Dere (Bobby Timmons) from the 1960 album Them Dirt Blues by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet
I’m Old Fashioned (Jerome Kern) from the 1957 album Blue Train by John Coltrane
ENCORE: Del Sasser (Sam Jones) from the 1960 album Them Dirty Blues by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Something about the instruments: first the piano. Oddgeir Berg brought some electronics driven from a small but very good mic clipped to a bar on the open front piano. This gave Oddgeir a variety of soundscapes driven by the piano. He used his hand on the strings at times to produce a percussive sound. Mind you, while playing without the electronics, his touch is such that the full range of dynamics from softly lyrical to loud percussive was there.
Audun Ramo’s bass also was driven through a stomp box set, but the changes to the sound of the bass were very subtle. It was lovely to hear such bowing with varying timbre. Audun also used the instrument as a drum with his hands and fingernails for one song. A bit of magic: the bass folded into a cello shaped case at less than airline maximum.
Bands flying from Norway don’t bring a drum kit. Lars Berntsen used a very nice rented kit (thank you, Webby, who even brought 5 snare drums for Lars to choose from). Lars brought his own cymbals, of course. No mics or electronics on the drums.
With one exception, the tunes were all written by Oddgeir. They varied through stormy, light happy and subtle, melancholy and happy swinging. The arrangements didn’t leave much room for applause after solos. Watching our audience from the sound desk, its listening was visibly intense. There was applause and hoots after each number, and some stood to applause after the last song. Can we have them back, please?
Steve Jordan builds annotated set lists from gigs, for which we are very grateful.
Tickets for Barnes/Panayi on April 12th are going nicely, so do book with David or WeGotTickets soon.
Take care
Dave
ODDGEIR BERG TRIO SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 22/3/23
Here Comes The Toughest
The Dream of Adam – a lullaby for one of Oddgeir’s three children.
Dancing Through The Storm
Happy Morning
Psalmist
Sunday Mood
* * * * * * *
List
Scenes From A Movie
Vagabond
Oldies
Bring On The Night
Mermaid’s Dance
Wonderwall*
Post Mortem
All compositions and arrangements by Oddgeir Berg except * written by Noel Gallagher of the rock band, Oasis.
This gig’s review is from Robert Carr of the Hadleigh Nub News. All of the pictures from the gig are on our gallery page
Take care,
Dave
A fun night with Jivin’ Miss Daisy at Fleece Jazz
By Robert Carr
With blizzard conditions making travelling difficult on a bitterly cold Suffolk night, the entertainment supplied by Fleece Jazz at the welcoming Stoke by Nayland Hotel Resort provided just the tonic (gin optional) to warm the audience members.
From the off, Simon Thorpe’s Jivin’ Miss Daisy band set the swinging tone of the Fleece show with a bold and brassy performance of Count Basie’s Peter Pan, the first of many tunes from his orchestra’s vast repertoire.
Simon is the band leader and bassist of the nine-piece combo whose line-up for the show was: Mark Crooks (alto saxophone & clarinet), Liz Fletcher (vocals), Alex Garnett (tenor saxophone & vocals), Colin Oxley (guitar), John Pearce (piano), Matt Skelton (drums), Malcolm Earl Smith (trombone & vocals) and Enrico Tomasso (trumpet).
An up-tempo arrangement of Royal Garden Blues followed. Over 100 years old, because it is based on the earliest of riffs, the blues number is considered to be one of the most important compositions in jazz history. It also allowed band members to introduce themselves on their instruments.
Vivacious vocalist Liz introduced herself to the audience with several songs from the Great American Songbook. These included Harold Arlen’s Get Happy, which Simon told us is his band’s signature tune. Liz has a lovely personality and a sweet-sounding voice in keeping with the dance and swing band style of the era when each had its own singer.
A particular delight was Liz, Simon and Enrico’s vocal harmonization on Cole Porter’s You Do Something To Me, augmented by Mark’s super sax solo. Also, a lovely surprise was the arrangement of Stairway To The Stars where Liz was sensitively accompanied by Colin on guitar, together with the piano, bass and drums of the rhythm section.
Such was the feast of wonderful 1920s, 30s and 40s standards offered from the pens of Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, The Gershwins, Rodgers & Hart, et al, I would have liked to have listed all of them, but there has to be a limit.
Similarly, from such a talented line-up it is difficult to feature all the musicians. However, Ellington’s calypso Limbo Jazz so elicited dazzling virtuoso trumpet playing from Enrico that it was a stand-out performance. As a youngster, hearing a Louis Armstrong record inspired Enrico to learn to play his chosen instrument. This led him to a successful career in which he has won so many British jazz awards.
Named after the heart-warming movie Driving Miss Daisy, Jivin’ Miss Daisy was formed in 1999 and has been swinging ever since. Simon told me that he had been “really looking forward to the return to Fleece Jazz, one of the best clubs in the South-East, with its long stellar jazz history and loyal supporters.”
Not every jazz gig is as lively as this was. So, with so much dance music on offer for the fun night out, it surprised me that nobody strutted their stuff on the dance floor – not that anybody on my table chanced it. Next time, perhaps.
Resident at Stoke by Nayland Hotel Resort, the club has been presenting jazz for the best part of 30 years, garnering renown for the quality of their shows and friendly atmosphere. It was my first time at the club, and I can see the reason for its reputation – I hope to revisit it soon.
Advance information about Fleece Jazz shows can be obtained by asking to be added to the club’s mailing list. Log on to www.fleecejazz.org.uk then click ’email list’ to subscribe.
Next up on Wednesday 22 March is the Oddgeir Berg Trio. Tickets are available from www.wegottickets.com/fleecejazz or by telephoning the booking office at 01787 210796.
JIVIN’ MISS DAISY SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 08/3/23
Peter Pan (Count Basie) from 1954
Royal Garden Blues (Clarence & Spencer Williams) 1919
I’ve Got the World on a String (Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler) 1932
Get Happy (Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler) 1930
So in Love (Cole Porter) 1948
Lullaby in Rhythm (Clarence Profit/Benny Goodman/Edgar Sampson/Walter Hirsch) 1938
Flaming Reeds and Screaming Brass (Jimmie Lunceford)
Limbo Jazz (Duke Ellington) 1962
Meet Me Where They Play The Blues (Steve Allen/Sammy Gallop)
10.You Do Something To Me (Cole Porter) 1929
11.Stairway to the Stars (Malneck/Signorelli/Parish)
A band primarily playing bebop, without a drummer, is not to everybody’s taste. It is to mine. You get the combined sound and great clarity from each instrument. This band’s musicianship and joy in playing together were exceptional. Power of Three indeed.
Tommaso Starace is a great presenter: lovely stories, good (and very bad) jokes, and most important, he was clear about song titles and composers. As to the latter, Steve did have a query or two about attribution. But the thing is his playing. His mastery of the instrument is amazing, with a big dynamic range, ideas piling on one another, accurate slurs (if that is not an odd combination) even in the altissimo. He radiates the joy of playing. Interestingly, when others are soloing he leaves the stage, giving them all the space in both the sonic and spatial senses. You can still see him loving what his friends are doing on-stage.
Jim Watson is special. He is in a class with very few members: those whose left hand is as strong and inventive as his/her right. I could not pick out an individual solo to talk about. They were all superb. Fleece Jazz has a listening audience, but shouts and whistles were heard after several of his solos. He doesn’t go onto automatic when accompanying, either. Like all three of the musicians, his listening skills are A+.
Australian Luke Fowler is new to Fleece Jazz, but I hope we will see him many times in the future. Of course, without a drummer, his pulse had to be strong and accurate. Luke is a brilliant soloist. Although he is perfectly competent in the highest register of the bass, he doesn’t rely on that register for solos.
Thanks to a lovely band for a great evening. Steve agrees, and brings a set list for you to see.
The next gig will have you dancing in your seats or on a dance floor. The wonderful nonet, “Jivin’ Miss Daisy”, will be returning to us. See the poster at https://www.fleecejazz.org.uk/Daisy.pdf.
Take care,
Dave
TOMMASO STARACE SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 22/2/23
Kansas City Blues (Charlie Parker)
This Here (Bobby Timmons) as performed by The Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Del Sasser (Sam Jones) as performed by The Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Kiki (Charlie Parker) Did Tommaso mean Ko-Ko?
Autumn in New York (Vernon Duke)
Caravan (Duke Ellington)
* * * * * * *
If I Should Lose You (Ralph Rainger/Leo Robin)
Passport (Charlie Parker)
Speak Low (Kurt Weill/Ogden Nash)
Segment (Charlie Parker)
Work Song (Nat Adderley)
ENCORE: Voyage (Kenny Barron)*
* Voyage was performed by Stan Getz, accompanied by pianistKenny Barron. Barron performed with Getz for the last five years of the saxophonist’s career.
Last night we had two deps at this gig due to illness in the band , but they were amazing. We wish Neville Malcolm and Robin Aspland quick recoveries. Jerry Logan was the bassist: he was the pulse of the band, inventive and accurate. Carl Hudson played piano and keyboard with intensity and joy.
This was a band with power and love throughout the evening. We loved Dave Lewis’s raw, yet lyrical sound on tenor sax. Rod Youngs is a brilliant and very powerful drummer.
There are some jazz singers with “little girl” voices, and those singing from the throat, not the belly. Lizzie Deane must have the diaphragm of an opera singer. She has a huge dynamic range, and a timbre range from sweet to howl and everything in between. She moves from up front vocalist to band member with ease.
Whether in up tempo happy, slow intense ballad or a shouting cry of pain, the band clearly had a love of the material. They also had a joy in listening to each other. Yes, it was a lovely gig.
I have to say that the techy didn’t have a great night, what with lighting troubles, and reverberant mics. I wonder who that could be. Oh yes: me.
On Wednesday 22 February, the very welcome return of saxophonist Tommaso Starace, with his “Power of Three”. He will be with Jim Watson on piano and Luke Fowler on bass. It will be a varied and delicious evening, do come.
Thanks again to Steve for providing the set list.
Take care,
Dave
DAVE LEWIS’ 1UP BAND SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 8/2/23
Turn It Round
Casablanca
Deep Underground
Hurt Inside
Rain on Venus
Sun Was In My Eyes
I Don’t Need No Doctor
Ain’t It True
* * * * * * *
A Real Mother For Ya (Johnny “Guitar” Watson)
Take A Little Time
Bright Lights
Either ‘Love Gives More Than A Taste’ or ‘Got To Hold On To That Feeling’ *
Good Man
Great Big Hole In My Heart*
Blue Horizon
Sweetest Thing
ENCORE: What Do People Say?*
* Dave Lewis announced most numbers but by the second set he would occasionally just say two words to the band about the next number without telling the audience what they were about to hear or what they had heard. Those titles with an asterisk are my guesses based on lyrical refrains within the song.
Peter Fairman said “John was Burning!”. Steve and Dave were away. Miles Dagnall wrote the following review of this gig.
If a rock band only needs three chords and the truth, what happens to the man who knows three thousand? Can he still maintain the authentic feeling expressed in the blues and marry it with the technique necessary for accomplished jazz playing ? This is John Etheridge so the answer is of course, ‘yes’. Ably supported by this edition of his Blue Spirits with Pete Whittaker on keys and George Double on Drums, the trio delivered a set full of passion and inventiveness.
Starting with ‘Love, Lovely Love’ and an intense version of Ray Charles ‘You Don’t Know’, and a ‘Secret Love’ full of a skipping rhythm, highlights of the first set included John’s own Broken Hill – familiar to fans of Soft Machine – full of sweet and sour moments on both organ and guitar and an almost tangibly crunchy and riff-filled version of John Schofield’s’ Do Like Eddie’.
The music was interleaved throughout with heartfelt tributes to jeff Beck, who John had played with (naturally) dropping into snatches of Nessun Dorma and a moving version of Jeff’s favourite Stevie Wonder tune, ‘Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers’. The range of John’s repertoire, included a delicate solo rendition of Rabbie Burns’, ‘My Love is Like Red Red Rose’ which morphed into Billie Holiday’s ‘Bless the Child’, and an inventive trio take on Hank William’s Cold Cold Heart, honouring the tune, while re-writing it with inventive sleight of hand – Pete’s funky chords and George’s precise drumming adding unexpected flavours . The gig ended with a passionate version of Hendrix’ Little Wing; George and Pete adding their own ideas to John’s blues- soaked playing. ‘Summertime’, as an encore, left the full house looking forward to warmer times, and glad they had braved a miserable January night to witness a master at work.
