Madeleine Peyroux (vcl/gtr); Gary Vercase (keys); John Harrington (gtr); Barack(?) Murray (bs); Darren Beckett (dms).
What can you say about Peyroux? She's got a vocal sound that first captured me when I heard Dance Me To The End Of Love on her Careless Love CD.
That sound was very much in evidence tonight in front of a well-attended Sage Hall One. Put a band of A-listers alongside her and you have the perfect recipe for enjoyment.
And yet...
...I came away feeling ever so slightly let down - as if I expected Cloud 7 (which I did) and only made it to Cloud number 5. The material, particularly early on in her set was just so samey - a criticism that has been heard before - and it did begin to pall. In fact it wasn't until the last couple of numbers that the jazzier element emerged - an I Hear Music where she introduced the band and a Ja-Da based number that got a nice groove going.
However, the crowd enjoyed it all and, with reservations, so did I.
Earlier, guitar/vocalist R.J.Thompson did a 30 minute support set. That's the difference between an out and out jazz gig and the fringier ones - the latter invariably have a support act.
This is no reflection on RJ who I have heard before in a similar role - he does it well.
Lance.
PS: Am I alone in longing for the days when singers were singers and songwriters were songwriters - apart from Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael !?
PS: Am I alone in longing for the days when singers were singers and songwriters were songwriters - apart from Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael !?
Completely with you on your post script... On a lesser gripe I feel that singers should sing and not play at the same time, they often sound better doing one thing rather than 2! Louis Amstrong never played and sang at the same time!
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