James at the Glasgow Hydro last night.
Not my cup of tea really but my daughter asked me if I would go with her and bought tickets for a Xmas pressie.
The real bonus was that unbeknownst to me, Doves were the support act. I was a real Doves fan back in the day and it was great to hear all those favourite tunes again.
James put on a great show, very visual and interactive, but still a bit meh for me. Daughter really enjoyed it though so that’s all good !
A great live band, saw them in Newcastle last year at an all standing Brewery tap-room venue. I agree the keyboard/Mariachi-style trumpet player is amazing.
Haydn - Sonate in G major, Hob. XVI: 40
Mozart - Rondo in A minor, KV 511
Beethoven - Sonata No. 23 in f minor, op. 57 ‘Appassionata’
Schubert - Sonata in A major, D 959
This time Brautigam at the Great Hall Concertgeouw playing a house Steinway instead of his usual fortepiano.
Started off with a lovely Haydn Sonata 16/40. I loved some personal touches he added make the tune more personable and witty.
Then the Mozart Rondo K511. This has been played a lot by many other pianists. Problem I had with Brautigam was overuse of pedals so the notes sounded blurred and overly romantic. I missed his forte piano here than the modern Steianway for this tune.
Both the Beethoven Appasionata was too vague and romantic rather than filled with angst and passion. Schubert Sonata was a bit better but still lacked articulation. But then my reference is Richter so comparison is probably not fair.
So this was a mixed bag.
We’re going to this next Thursday so hope we like it as much as RLT’s Cabaret performance.
Scott Hamilton quartet, Pizza Express Live Soho Tuesday evening. Fabulous gig, I was a little unsure about booking this thinking it may well be a little too smoooooth, I shouldn’t have worried, lots of improvising and extended solos. What a nice chap he is as well, this quartet have been playing together since the 90’s and it shows, they’re back in August. Lovely venue I prefer it to Ronnie Scott’s, we could have done without the fire alarm instructing us “In The Interest Of Safety Please Vacate The Premises Immediately” for 10 mins though. Not sure how you’d get out of that basement if there was a fire. Apologies for the soft focus photo or more accurately out of focus.
Great to see Dave Green on bass ! That must be his vintage bass - several hundred years old I think.
Scott H. has been active in jazz from at least the mid-70s. Back then he was the ‘wunderkind’ and heavily featured on Concord Jazz. Good that he is still going strong.
Looks like the saxophonist is sat at your table. Did he tuck into your dough balls?
I think they’re Olives Badger
That was the table in front of us, we were offered it when we went in but made the wise choice of the not quite in the bands face table just behind. Sadly Scott H doesn’t stand to play and his mobility is not good and he uses a cane when walking, no problem with his lungs though!
Gawd love a big band. Daniel Casimir’s crammed onto the stage at Norwich Arts Centre tonite. Superb compositions and great group playing and soloing. Decent crowd but heaven knows how the economics work, no names known to me bar the lovely Rosie Turton.
Both guitarist and bassist have a lot of pedals and stuff on the floor and both sight reading.
Hi Andy,
Yes I am no expert as I do not play but you are correct as there were plenty of weird sound effects from both. I really enjoyed it but others including my missus didn’t. I know Jazz encompasses a very wide range of musical styles but I feel this might have been a little too much on the edge for some of the audience. They showcased a lot of their brand new album “I am Alien”.
Have a listen and let me know what you think.
All the best Prem.
Yes I will - just had a look at bassist Ruth Goller’s website - very interesting.
Saw Ruth G. in performance at the Bath Jazz Weekend with Elliot Galvin earlier in the year. An interesting musician and very involved with the music as it progresses.
Concertgebouw Orchestra
Aurel Dawidiuk - conductor
Leo van Doeselaar - organ
Debussy - Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Poulenc - Organ Concerto in g minor
Tsjaikovski - Symphony No. 4 in f minor, op. 36
What a lovely matinee at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.
I knew nothing of this conductor but turned out he has been an assistant conductor at the RCO for last 2 years. 50% of the his time assisting Klaus Mäkelä and other 50% assisting various conductors from all over the world.
RCO horn section was superb as the Chicago Symphony brass. This was the first time I have heard Concertgebow’s organ solo and boy it sounded great. ( unlike the Orchestra Hall’s organ which sounded totally distorted ) 
Well, the band certainly delivered 120% for him ( just 25 years old ) from a delicate dreamy Debussy to melodic Poulenc finishing with a dense Tchaikovsky’s 4th. I am impressed. I have seen another young conductor in this hall but Dawidiuk so far is most organised with plenty of fire as well as delicacy creating a captivating story telling. I will be keeping my eyes on this young conductor.
Tori Amos at the O2 Manchester
As her new album is not released yet, Tori treated us to a number of deeper cuts that were reinterpreted with the help of three additional singers for the first time. Quite noticeable that they took a lot of the higher vocals, even lead on occasions.
I’ve followed Tori since the 90s and seen many shows. For me, tonight lacked the connection and improvisation that made previous gigs special. I’m quite content when artists present their work in different ways - they are their songs after all. But we didn’t get any Tori solo with piano and for me, the singers brought a level of density that often overlaid Tori. It was only the fourth night of the new tour but I was left wondering whether her restrained vocals were a choice, rustiness or if she is genuinely struggling. I hope it is not the latter.
Sadly she seemed to be struggling a bit (understandable given the passage of time) on BBC’s Piano Room recently. But I am not sure how much warm up there would have been for that. It may even be a late morning performance.
