Take the world famous BBC Concert
Orchestra, throw in the highly esteemed Guy Barker Big Band and to top it off,
serve with a sprinkling of two great American jazz singers and an award-winning
British vocalist and you have your explanation for why ‘Friday Night Was Music Night’!
The packed Big Top was in good
spirits and ready for a great night of live music, which was being broadcast
live on Radio 2 for those who weren't fortunate enough to be there.
The show began with an
unannounced voice-over reading the news, live from Radio 2, which signalled to
everybody to take their seats, sit down and strap themselves in for one hell of
a ride!
The show was narrated by BBC
journalist and news reporter Jeremy Vine, who told the story of the American
prohibition in the 1920’s and 1930’s and through a programme of classic songs
from this era, he took the audience back to the sleazy days of under the table
drinking, gangsters and most importantly, some of the finest music written in
the first half of the twentieth century.
The show started in grand form,
with the classic wailing brass and speakeasy sound of ‘Sing Sing Sing’ closely followed by the introduction to the first
singer of the night, Liane Carroll, whose performance of the Ethel Water’s hit
song ‘Stormy Weather’ was both
playful and emotive, showing off her exceptional vocal control as well as her
outgoing personality.
Kurt Elling made his Cheltenham
Jazz Festival debut smoothly with a fusion of Irving Berlin’s ‘Blue Skies’ with Thelonious Monk’s ‘In Walked Bud’. Completing the trio of
vocalists, Curtis Stigers sang the Louis Armstrong hit ‘Someday You’ll Be Sorry’, dressed
sharply and with a stunning vocal performance to match.
From the first four tracks alone,
it was already lining up to be a fantastic night and definitely one of the
highlights of the festival this year, keeping up the fine form of previous performances.
Elling told the audience that ‘I Can’t
Give You Anything But Love’ was “…definitely the one I came to sing”,
saying mid-song “…that feels good don’t it? That’s right!”
The three singers all leapt to
their microphones with great enthusiasm for each song, with performances which
weren’t just vocally impressive but also engaging, fun and demonstrative of how
much they were all enjoying being there; during Kurt Ellis’ performance of ‘Minnie the Moocher’, Liane and Curtis
were having a great time dancing hand in hand on the side of the stage.
The songs featured many solos,
all of which were played with a high degree of virtuosity without going too
over the top, keeping it all very family friendly, which is often a potential
trip hazard for a lot of contemporary jazz acts.
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