Open Water - Twickfolk

Joanne Doolan

Open Water
Joanne Doolan
Jeff Alexander
Richard Rozze
Dave Whitford

Floorspots
Paul Vile
Holly Rose Thomas
Michael de Podesta

Michael de Podesta

TwickFolk - The Cabbage Patch Pub, 67 London Road, Twickenham, TW1 3SZ
www.twickfolk.co.uk

26th March 2023

Open Water are an acoustic trio based in the South East of England, their music is rooted in the British Folk Tradition with influences of Celtic and American Bluegrass.

Joanne Doolan’s unique vocals emanate from her Welsh musical roots. An award winning vocalist,  she started to perform as a jazz vocalist whilst training as an actress at the prestigious Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.  Since then Jo has developed her vocal style to embrace folk and country styles.  Open Water features Joanne’s intriguing lyrical writing, much influenced by the Romantic poets, Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, Rumi and the lyrics of Joni Mitchell.

Dave Whitford

Guitars and other stringed instruments are played by Jeff Alexander and Richard Rozze. Also for this Twickfolk gig, the trio were joined by the doyen of jazz bass, Dave Whitford .

Jeff Alexander 

Jeff is an acoustic guitar specialist, particularly classical and flamenco styles. He has researched early music and plays the lute and related instruments, and has been heavily involved in folk and Latin styles. Jeff has recently been interested in developing his own guitar tunings to create haunting melodies and fascinating textures. An enthusiastic and much respected educator, Jeff has worked at Canterbury Christ Church University as guitar tutor and lecturer since 1979.

Richard Rozze

Richard’s influences stem from rock, blues and jazz traditions. He is a former Graduate of London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studied a Masters in Jazz. He currently teaches guitar and Jazz styles at Canterbury Christ Church University and has been involved in teaching on the Mehr Clef Jazz Summer Schools.

Paul Vile

Open Water were supported by floorspots from Paul Vile, Holly Rose Thomas and the Michael de Podesta.

Holly Rose Thomas

Christine Tobin - Kiss and tell

Christine Tobin

Christine Tobin came to the Twickenham Jazz Club with only two sidemen to fight for her cause. There is a bravery and obvious purity in having so few instruments and personalities on stage. It was toward the end of the month (24/04/2014) and the crowd wasn't as plump in numbers, so it made for a close knit group with a singer who weaves a narrative with great skill and pathos.

The spine of the performance belonged to an 80 year old, well his songs anyway. The words of Leonard Cohen have given Tobin the inspiration for her latest album A Thousand Kisses Deep (2014 - Trail Belle Records) but visually she has very little in common with the Canadian wordsmith.


Dave Whitford - Bass

Christine Tobin was bathed in a spicy light that only exaggerated her already flame hair and exotic visage that challenged Cleopatra with its generous sweep of mascara. When her hips started to move and the gypsy hoops in her ears started to swing you couldn't help but imagine her as an Irish Esmerelda. Despite there being another poet's words in her mouth it is her ability as a storyteller that lived with us long after this performance.

Phil Robson - guitar

"Dance Me To The End Of Love", "A Thousand Kisses Deep", "Everybody Knows", "Take This Waltz" swept past before we saw the best of Dave Whitford on Bass. We familiarised ourselves with the stoop of Whitford recently when he performed with the excellent Alex Hutton at TJC in December 2013. Tonight and without charts to look at, he raised himself to his full height. Another two Cohen tunes "Story Of Isaac" and "Tower of Song" gave us a mere flavour of his talents and it was a regret we didn't taste more of his solo work in particular.

Joe the Hat

The third member of the trio was the consummate professional Phil Robson on guitar, with a dead pan demeanour that barely varied throughout the evening. Neither did his talents dwindle from start to finish. He laid down an early marker on "A Thousand Kisses Deep" where he was gentle and firm. As a kisser I imagine he would be smooth and easy, not a fast and furious fiddler.

Caroline Rock

Robson is going to be a busy man this year with his Organ Trio (Ross Stanley & Gene Calderazzo) coming to the capital on 13th May (S.E Collective) and further afield a North American tour with the Partisans.





Lister Park

With only the trio on stage for the majority of the night, it gave me a chance to turn my pen on some of the audience and of course the first person that catches your eye is legendary Jazz figure Joe the Hat who doesn't need any introductions. The music copyright expert Andy Rock was in attendance with his elegant wife and the TJC's website manager Lister Park brought a bit of muscle to proceedings.

Kelvin Christiane -
Soprano

A Twickenham Jazz Club night wouldn't be the same without an entrance from host Kelvin Christiane, this time on soprano saxophone. He gave the swinging "Angel Eyes" the sass it needed and the lemony zest that perfectly balanced the buttery voice of Christine Tobin.

AL.

Alex Hutton Trio - Dark Fables

Alex Hutton - Keys

Alex Hutton does not perform his own compositions enough and it is mystery to us why not. The crowd at Twickenham Jazz Club would welcome him back week after week, for they listened with intense delight and finished the evening by leaping to their feet in praise.

A standing ovation was not on the cards considering the start to the evening (28/11/2013) which spluttered to life with a clashing of melodies and volumes. 'Crying Wolf' nearly brought us to tears, partly because of a new synth riding on Hutton's usual keyboard arrangement, whose temperamental volume control jumped and dipped with alarming regularity. It also took some time to digest Stu Ritchie, his drumming and all of his noise toys which he produced from his magician's bag. Here's a man who juxtaposes his diminutive appearance with a larger than life sound and persona.

Dave Whitford - Bass

Both the first and second tune 'Clouds' were from Alex Hutton's most recent album Legentis. The Trio now restored some serenity with this tender tune and the warm front of Dave Whitford rolled in with a subtle rumble. Whitford often gets so low whilst playing you would think he was competing in a limbo competition rather than a concert. He is a thoughtful player who I have sketched in a clutch of gigs recently, here he was the nimbus nexus.

No Alex Hutton gig could be without his signature tune  'JJ' and Ritchie's drive on drums supported Hutton as he played with intensity and commitment. As an audience you get caught in the drama of the tune, it is a hurtling nose dive you just cannot pull away from. This wasn't the show stopper though. 'Shenandoah' created such a hush in the ample audience that we heard the footsteps of Dave Whitford in Alex Hutton's snowfall of notes. Hutton usually plays with an intense bow but here he leaned back and with mouth open unshackled his wrists.

Stu Ritchie - Drums

If our ears were tuned to bass and piano then our eyes were fixed on Stu Ritchie and his drums. His versatility is so impressive you feel you are experiencing more than just one man. Here with drumstick in mouth he gave us the drummer's equivalent of a Jew's harp. It fitted perfectly with his wily coyote image, Ritchie is wonderful to draw as he looks like one of those gnarled compact Gauls from an Asterix book.

The synth which housed Alex Hutton's 'Flute in a box' was a hit and miss affair, but it set the mood on the atmospheric 'Robin Hood's Cave'. Its hollow call combined with Ritchie's bowing, and created a growling smear of retro emotion. It reminded us of those dark fables so keenly animated in the 1970's where children's tales weren't spoiled by a sugary coating. I am full of admiration for the Twickenham Jazz Club audience who digested both Hutton's sweet frosting and his bitter laments with equal relish.

AL.

ps. After this gig I tracked down the music for Noggin the Nog which you can download here.

Gareth Lockrane Grooves - Whirlwind Festival

Gareth Lockrane - Flute

Day 1 of the Whirlwind Festival came to a close with an hour set from homegrown favourite Gareth Lockrane. Bringing his award winning lips to lighten the heart of the Kings Place audience before their journeys home into Autumnal London.

Dave Whitford - bass

Not a stranger to my pen, Gareth has entered my sketchbook on a few occasions recently, most consistently as part of Mark Perry and Duncan Eagles' new release, Road Ahead. More importantly he has found his way into the hearts of many jazz lovers both on the local and international stage. His modest demeanour belies a vast talent and he is as you expect, approachable, good company and by no means intellectually challenged. He has been brave enough to choose strong stylised graphic image for his album covers and as a fellow artist they caught my attention some time ago.

Alex Garnett

Surprisingly with an initial sweep of his wand he didn't live up to expectation. A mere blip in normal service, maybe a fault of my expectations and desires or possibly a victim of his own success. The rigours of balancing teaching, recording, composing and performance may have taken a toll on energy levels. This was short lived and once Lockrane had "Put the cat out" he combined well with Alex Garnett on the second tune, "Dark Swinger"  where they both broke from trot to gallop and entwined in complex agility.

Ross Stanley - piano

 In fact the charts seem so engrossing that Dave Whitford on bass could barely raise his nose from the page. He definitely has the most low slung style on the circuit and with his left hand reaching high into the air, he has the air of urban cowboy on a mechanical bull.

Tim Giles - Drums

"Memories in Widescreen" introduced us to Ross Stanley on piano, a showcase for his emotive talents and the heart strings were ritually plucked. He is a man of two halves, the top half serene and bookish in appearance while his legs, in particular his left, pumps at a rapid rate. A repetitive stroke that could only be matched by a Viagra fuelled, foot pumping, mattress inflating desperado.

A favourite of the set was Lockrane's "One for Bheki", with its slow groove and harmonic threads which brought out an intensity in both Stanley (organ) and Tim Giles' subtle drumming. It suited the late hour too with the first flushes of sleepiness unveiling themselves. It wouldn't have been a fitting end to the first festival day so Gareth Lockrane's Grooveyard left us with the jaunty 'The Strut' to put a spring in our step.

AL.