Bob and Hilary James – They are “Flesh and Blood”
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Tag Archives: jazz
Seasonal music – another good reason for the season
If you’d have said to me when I was a young adult that I’d be enjoying Christmas music later in my life, I would probably have laughed at you.
But here I am, it’s 2019 and I have many Christmas albums and it feels untrue how we develop and change. Now, it has to be said that any fascination for Christmas I had when I was younger had been turned right around by the time I hit my teens and in the intervening years some remarkable transitions have taken place in my life. These have caused me to re-evaluate why Christmas should be celebrated – and celebrated in a totally different way. But, back then I had exactly one Christmas-flavoured record. It revolved at 45rpm and had one song on each side. Now, I have more than thirty albums of seasonal music – mostly songs of faith and about the birth of Jesus but some that are just about the festival and carry their own joy.
This list may come too late for you to listen to them but at least it gives you some time to add to your own collection before next year. It is the nearer the day when the true love brought five gold rings than the day when we celebrate the birth of the Messiah – so perhaps you’ll find some jewels here for 2020:-
Steely Dan – “The People Request”
Who: Steely Dan
Where: The Beacon Theatre, Manhattan, New York City, USA
When: 21st October 2018
What: By Popular Demand
On the first days of booking tickets for this “popular demand” show, ticket-buyers were asked by Ticketmaster to write-in their requests for songs to be featured. Now those who booked on the first day were probably (for the most part) die-hard Dan fans who had in mind songs that they had seldom heard before. But if this was the case then, there was little evidence of it in the set that emerged with this more closely resembling a “Greatest Hits” show than two-hours of rarities and deep cuts. Now that is not to say that this wasn’t a wonderful show to see. This band are tighter than they have ever been. Older bands like this either barely tolerate being on the stage as each other (look at the recent Fleetwood Mac debacle) or they have grown close and closer still through years of musical and personal inter-action. The latter is the case with Steely Dan
Steely Dan – The Most Unforgettable Night of Whatever
About a lifetime ago, my friend, Andrew, and I went to Leeds for the day and in the course of our shopping I brought home every Steely Dan album that had been released to that point, that I didn’t already own. By the time I had worked through albums like Pretzel Logic I was a fan for life. Indeed, Katy Lied joined Van Morrison and Bob Dylan in seeing me almost single-handed through some very tortured teenage years.
Flash forward to 2015 and my wonderful opportunity as I was invited to fly out to the U.S. and cover their residency at the Beacon in New York. I’d seen them a number of times but to see them on home territory playing with imagination and verve — well, this is the stuff that dreams are made of. So let’s take a look at their final night:
Who: Steely Dan
What: rockabye gollie angel tour 2015: “The Most Unforgettable Night of Whatever – Featuring Spectacular Musical Guests, Glorious Tunes and Riffage, and Whatever the Party Calls for! “
When: October 17th, 2015
Where: Beacon Theatre, New York, New York, USA
The Greatest Damn Steely Dan Band to Ever Come Down the Pipe
Who: Steely Dan
What: rockabye gollie angel tour 2015: “By Popular Demand” night
When: October 16th, 2015
Where: Beacon Theatre, New York, New York, USA
“The greatest damn Steely Dan band ever to come down the pipe”. So said Walter Becker on this “By Popular Demand” night at the Beacon. And you know what – in terms of live performance, – I think he is just about right. This was an outstanding night of music. The “By Popular Demand” thing might just have been a cool cover-up: I’m not really sure what was so different from some other nights on the tour – but slightly dodgy promotional tools aside, this was a very, very good performance indeed.
The Children of the Light
What: The Children of the Light Trio – Danilo Perez, Brian Blade, John Patitucci,
Where: Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Frith Street, Soho, London
When: July 14, 2014
Writing reviews of jazz concerts can be a difficult ask – especially when the artists communicate little with their audience. Here I am in Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London and I’m scribbling notes – mental and written – but those pesky musicians won’t give me song titles to hang my thoughts on. What can I say? Tonight was a night of beautiful music. Here are some random thoughts I came away with but they won’t make the most coherent review.
Folk ‘n’ Magic
What: Cordner and Rudolph supported by Perkelt
Where: Ravenscourt Arts, Hammersmith, London
When: June 11, 2014
This show promised to be an unusual and cosmopolitan evening of folk music and it didn’t disappoint. The main act came from Northern Ireland and France, the support from the Czech Republic and in the show there was something for everyone.
What happens when four play?
Where: Clapham Grand, London
When: 10th November 2011
Who: Fourplay
“Smooth jazz”. Just what does that mean?
Native Soul
Who: Danilo Perez Trio
Where: Ronnie Scott’s, London
When: 17th May 2011
Striking the Right Note – Ron Carter @ Ronnie Scott’s
Date: 29th March 2011
Where: Ronnie Scott’s, Soho, London
Artist: Ron Carter’s Golden Striker Trio
