Duncan Eagles and Becky Morse - Janet's Jazz Night

Duncan Eagles

Becky Morse - vocals

Janet McCunn - vocals

Duncan Eagles - saxophone

Terence Collie - piano

Paul Michael - bass

Ted Carrasco - drums

Ted Carrasco

Date - 19th January 2018

Venue - Janet's Jazz Night, Jazz Cafe Posk, Hammersmith, UK.

Paul Michael

Next Janet's Jazz Night

February 9th 2018 - Maciek Pysz and Maxyne Ryan, Jazz Cafe Posk, Hammersmith

Terence Collie

An energised Cafe Posk was treated to a Duncan Eagles inspired set that owed more to his jam busting roots than recent Brit-wave compositions. Eagles cut his teeth on a diet of jazz jams, alongside the best musicians of his generation he honed his skills in the gladiatorial dens of Kingston-upon-Thames and Streatham. Eagles is now a comfortable and polished performer, perfect for nights such as these, but do not miss the opportunity to see him push the boat into deeper waters with his trio Partikel. One tune penned by his own hand is worth two from the Jazz bush.

Becky Morse

You might not know the name nor the voice of Becky Morse, but here is a woman who loves taking risks. It would have been easy to play safe in a challenging environment such as this but Morse eschewed the usual vocal fare. Yes there was a Jobim crowd pleaser but also the more ambitious Spain from Chick Corea. Becky Morse is a woman of many talents, when not singing in London's nightspots she is a script supervisor on some of the UK's best TV and Film productions. If you've watched Mr Selfridge, Line of Duty, Broadchurch, Black Mirror, Silent Witness, Holby City or EastEnders then you'll probably have witnessed her work.

Janet McCunn

The very popular series of Janet’s Jazz Nights are hosted by Janet McCunn and fabulous house band led by Terence Collie  and feature a first set with a special guest instrumentalist followed by a guest vocalist joining Janet for the second set. The third and final set is a jam session so all can come and sing and play. Just put your name on the list! These are fun and friendly social evenings with a Jam Session at the end…all musicians welcome.
More information at http://www.moodindigoevents.co.uk/

Emily Saunders ESB - London Jazz Festival

Emily Saunders - Voice

Steve Pringle - Keys

We got a generous slice of Emily Saunders' imminent album release at the EFG London Jazz Festival this year. Playing before a mixed crowd of jazz lovers and first timers at 229 The Venue (20/11/2014) she had something for everyone from Brazilian dance rhythms to edgy lyrical counterpoints. The album in question, Outsiders Insiders, had just arrived from the printers but the official release date will be in 2015.

A full ten musicians feature on the album itself but here at 229 the numbers were cut in half. Alongside Emily Saunders (voice) were Steve Pringle (keys), Paul Michael (bass), Shanti Jayasinha (trumpet) and George Hart (drums). The album line up boasts a fine array of musicians too including Byron Wallen, Trevor Mires, Bruno Heinen, Dave Whitford, Jon Scott, Fabio de Oliveira and a favourite of Art of Jazz, Asaf Sirkis.

Paul Michael
Bass

A quick stride into the title track of the new album, Outsider Insiders, was the only disappointment of the night. The lyrics are the strength of this tune and like in many live performances it is the words and their meaning which can be lost in the canter of performance. Take this as a compliment to the album's clarity and Saunder's writing rather than anything less savoury.

George Hart
Drums

Drummer George Hart and bassist Paul Michael laid the bait for You caught me which was haunting and tantalisingly strung out. If this was a waiting game then it was Emily Saunders who laid the bait and us who fell into her trap. It was breathy and spoke of hot sands and empty worlds.

Again there was a breathlessness in the sultry Reflections. If I were to get lost in the distant memories that this song evokes then it would be with Steve Pringle. His gentleness and subtlety on keyboard were a pleasure to hear. It is the first time I have seen Pringle step out from behind the camera and it was an enjoyable challenge to contain his bouffant in the sketchbook.

Shanti Jayasinha - Trumpet

Without being too sycophantic, Shanti Jayasinha is a man who lives up to his reputation. Alongside Saunders on Summer Days they gave one of those elevated performances that is reminiscent of a singer like Mark Murphy, where the voice matches the altitude of the imagination. I haven't drawn him since my early days when I sketched him in a Kelvin Christiane quintet at Café Posk. What I didn't realise that night, but now seems irrefutable to me, is that his rhythm is of the infectious kind. It is in the sway of the shoulders and the richness of sound.

'Residing' brought Shanti Jayasinha to his pulsing best, he was forceful in solo and ensemble. It was a groove reinforced by George Hart on drums, his head rolled, a smile crossed the face and sporadically there was a bunny hop that flipped him up off his stool. This stood proud as a live performance, Emily Saunders had a tenacity and a strength of line. This night she captured a tension between the upbeat call of the carnival and thoughtful lyrics that plant a seed in the mind. Sometimes they flowered into romantic ideals and occasionally they grew into thorns of the sinister kind.

AL.

Noa Alvarez - Sweet Magnetism

Noa Alvarez

Noa Alvarez is that swirl of chocolate sauce that advertisers dream about. You know the one. Late at night whilst surfing TV channels your tummy is seismically activated by its sticky magnetism and the rumbles that ensue moisten an already salivating mouth. Last Sunday (08/09/2013) Noa and her band gave us a taste of this sweetness at the Half Moon in Putney without ever quite sating the appetite. It was an 'amuse bouche' before the banquet that I hope will be served by Alvarez in the years to come.

Ben Gilbert - keys

The five piece fitted seamlessly into the Half Moon's retro music room. Dressed predominately in black, they were lit by both hot and cool pools of light that seemed to have spilled out of a David Lynch film. The hottest of the performers was bathed in the steeliest of spectrums confusingly. The valleys either side of Ben Gilbert's widows peak reflected the harsh blue tones giving the impression that he was less than human. His topside pallor suggested automaton while the hands were those of a full blooded male. His attacking work and subsequent solo on a high tempo 'It might as well be spring' was excellent and he was equally adroit on 'How Deep is the Ocean'.

Terry Knight - drums

The hottest of lights rested on the heavies towards the rear, yet despite this responsibility Terry Knight kept a low profile. A subtle performer and a recent graduate of the infamously bacchanalian Dordogne Jazz Summer school Knight looked comfortable on drums. We look forward to the time when he will swap his I.T. persona for the jazz man he craves to be.

Paul Michael

The least familiar of the faces on stage, Paul Michael, deserves a better look and listen before my emotional barometer is tipped in his favour. Maybe its his fierce top knot that has me running scared, evoking all those memories of the quick witted outlaws of The Water Margin.



Although it was Gilbert who started things moving earlier in the first set with his work on Caravan, he was ably supported by Tormod Sund on trumpet. I have talked before about the trigger moves a musician makes when he or she is in the groove, and for Sund it is a knee rattle. The left in particular wobbled as if a cascade of small change had escaped from a hole in his pocket.

Tormod Sund - trumpet

Again and again you felt yourself drawn to Noa Alvarez's beautiful deep eyes that plunged beneath a dark heavy fringe. Arms braced beside her, shoulders see-sawed, fingers snapped and with a switch of those eyelashes you felt the magnetic poles draw you closer. Alvarez responded well to the chemistry between Gilbert and Sund on 'Caravan' and again on 'It might as well be spring'. The way she finished each tune with more heart than when she started made you feel there was more to come. Judge for yourself and hear her at The Pheasantry (King's Road) on the 26th October.

AL.