Newbury Weekly News

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Thursday, May 11, 2017 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THE return from the inimitable
Chris Jagger and his indefatigable
Kronies was greeted with high
expectation from a packed ACE
Space audience.
They were indeed taken to new
euphoric heights as the band played
their socks off from 8pm through to
10.45pm, with just a 20-minute break.
Jagger was able to show off his
diversity of music styles, while
claiming complete ownership of each
and every song, from Scottish ballads to
whimsy Irving Berlin and soft country,
Americana and Cajun, cumulating in
hard, relentless rock.
He was backed by the driving beat of
drummer Steve Laffy, kept on track by
bassist Dave Hatfield and with superb
lead guitar of Kit Morgan, topped by the
haunting sounds emitted from the fiddle
played beautifully by Elliet Mackrell.
He kicked off the set with a slow,
comforting ballad and seamlessly flowed
into the JJ Cale classic Cajun Moon,
which facilitated Kit Morgan’s robust
interpretation of the classic interplay of
Jagger’s harmonica and Mackrell’s
fiddle.
And then on to another classic in Bob
Dylan’s Memphis Blues. Jagger was
able to really show his vocal versatility
in interpreting Dylan’s voice admirably,
backed with a musical intensity by
Morgan and Mackrell especially,
perhaps giving the song a more
melancholic feel than the original.
Morgan took possession of the stage
with a truly haunting version of Jimi
Hendrix’s Little Wing, doing real justice
to his hero, topped off with a deft touch
from the fiddle player.
A couple of self-penned country ditties
was followed by an excellent Bobby
Bland’s I Woke Up Screaming.
A heavy Chicago blues number with a
driving beat was followed by a more
upbeat Road Runner, which had us
clapping along.
Seemingly encouraged by the crowd
participation, Chris plucked a
signoretta from the crowd and
serenaded her across the dance floor to
an up-tempo little Mexican number,
followed by a couple of his own rock
numbers whose sheer force propelled
us onto the dance floor, where we
remained jumping about in sheer
delight until it was time to tread softly
out into that good night.
They will be back, watch this space.
JIM CROCKATT
THIS wasn’t a public recital – it
was an intimate soirée, with about
20 invited guests, seated on a
random assortment of chairs,
including plastic garden chairs.
The venue was the home of cellist
Charles Medlam and his wife,
violinist Ingrid Siefert, the co-
founders of London Baroque, one
of the world’s leading exponents
of Baroque chamber music.
We had been invited to hear
28-year-old harpsichordist Nathaniel
Mander ).
The atmosphere made me think
what it must have been like to
witness a harpsichordist playing
many hundreds of years ago. The
piano was not invented until 1700,
and the harpsichord had been around
since 1397. So, for about 300 years,
the harpsichord was the biggest solo
instrument in existence. Concerts
would have been in the Royal
Courts, attended by the select few.
A harpsichord concert would have
attracted great excitement. It would
have been a very major event in
society.
Mander’s recital was entirely
different. I didn’t spot any men in
powdered wigs and no one was
dressed in expensive finery. It was
very informal. But the music was the
same and the best way to enjoy it was
to close your eyes and imagine being
part of one of those centuries-old
gatherings.
Mander started on the piano at the
age of eight, but four years later
decided he preferred the harpsichord.
Even though the two instruments
both have keyboards, their functionality
is poles apart. The harpsichord works
by plucking the strings and the piano
hammers them. This results in the
piano being much, much louder, and
less intimate, than the harpsichord.
Mander is already making a name for
himself. He graduated from London's
Royal Academy of Music with first
class honours in 2011. And he made his
Wigmore Hall concerto debut in 2012.
Not a bad start. He’s already
performed throughout Europe and the
US.
In this recital, Mander played works
by Byrd (1543-1623), Tomkins (1572-
1656), Blow (1649-1708), JC Bach
(1735-1782), and Haydn (1732-1809).
They progressed in chronological
order.
He’s fanatical about his harpsichord
playing and does it brilliantly. Mander
will go places in that world.
NICK DAVIES
VOCALIST Peter Jones told the
audience at the Angel Inn that he
had travelled all the way from
London to appear there. “And I
made it in one day,” he continued.
Well, the trains must have been
running faster than usual on
Saturday, I suppose.
The singer began his recital looking
rather like a slightly older Graham
Norton and although a little hesitant
on his first selection, I Remember
You, he soon settled down. He used
impressive phrasing on the slow ballad,
Then I’ll Be Tired Of You and was soon
exercising his warm baritone voice on
Sweet Lorraine.
Next up was a version of Close Your
Eyes, in which his delivery was smooth,
in spite of a slight nasal effect in his
voice. Martin Pickett was the
accompanying pianist, along with
Keith Howard, who supplied the
foundation on double bass. Both played
well, contributed neatly-constructed
solos and, if the overall effect was a
somewhat thin sound, it was because
the singer really could have benefitted
from a flute or sax soloist alongside him
and a good drummer to round out the
rhythmic thrust.
As a three-man team though, they
all worked hard and well on a good
selection of standard tunes, familiar to
everybody. Jones seemed happiest and
most at home on songs associated with
Frank Sinatra and he had certainly
managed to assimilate many of the
little tricks of phrasing and delivery
that the master crooner had pioneered.
He did well on You Make Me Feel So
Young then switched to a taste of the
blues, singing trumpeter Kenny
Dorham’s Since I Fell For You.
There was certainly plenty of variety
with some scat singing on Paper
Moon, a bit of R&B on a Ray Charles
composition, a lively Caravan and
Nature Boy, at an unusually bouncy
tempo.
The novelty song Straighten Up and Fly
Right, associated with Nat King Cole,
had him a little worried that he would
confuse the animals in the lyric, but he
sailed through it without slandering
either the monkeys or the buzzards.
DEREK ANSELL
Music
Chris Jagger and the Kronies, at
ACE Space, on Friday, April 18
Music
Nathaniel Mander, harpsichord,
at Brick Kiln Cottage, Hollington,
on Sunday, April 30
Jazz
Peter Jones, at the Angel,
Woolhampton, on Saturday, April
29
Music
The Mandolinquents plus
guest Steve Tilston, at
Arlington Arts, Snelsmore,
on Thursday, May 4
THE Mandolinquents are fast
becoming regulars at Arlington
Arts – but you can never have too
much of a good thing and they are
very, very good indeed.
They blend an idiosyncratic mix of
superb musicianship with whimsical
humour and seamlessly move between
folk and classical styles, covers and
self-penned tracks without missing a
beat. Each time I have seen them,
they have delighted their audience
with a fresh and different set-list
and incorporated a range of special
guests.
Opening the show with their own
jazz-infused number Taxi Horn Rag,
they immediately changed gear for
When Summer Comes Again, a wistful
folk piece that showcases Hilary
James’ pure vocals, and followed this
with a Vivaldi Allegro. Such versatility
is the hallmark of truly excellent
musicians and The Mandolinquents’
stock in trade.
After a couple more tracks, including
the traditional Appalachian folk song
Wayfaring Stranger (which I first
heard as a cover by US psychedelic
band HP Lovecraft), guest Steve
Tilston took to the stage with his
multi-award-winning British folk
songs.
Steve is one of the best singer
songwriters around and I loved his
rendition of The Fisher Lad Of Whitby,
a song he found the words to in a
Victoran book of songs, and wrote a
melody for.
After the interval, The Mandolinquents
returned with a brilliant version of
the Oscar Hammerstein song set to
Bizet’s music Beat Out Dat Rhythm On
A Drum and continued to demonstrate
their massive versatility with a great
version of Duelling Banjos from the
John Voight movie Deliverance, and,
of course, their signature piece, Leroy
Anderson’s Typewriter.
Steve Tilston then joined The
Mandolinquents on stage for some-
thing of a jam session, including a
stunning version of the Bill Trader
song, made famous by Elvis Presley,
A Fool Such As I.
A marvellous evening of music.
BRIAN HARRINGTON
Moves like Jagger ...
Chris Jagger and his Kronies play their socks off and have ACE Space jumpin’
Can’t have
too much of
the Mandos
Brick Kiln
baroque
Variety spices up life at the Angel
Chris Jagger Picture: RichardMarkham
TheMandolinquents
Choral concer t
for church bells
THE Hurst Singers’ Spring Concert
at Silchester parish church on
Saturday (7.30pm) features music
by Bernstein (West Side Story),
Mozart, Verdi, Dvorak, Bruckner
and Fauré.
Included in the programme are
Generations Chorale, who sing
unaccompanied.
Tickets, priced £10 (including glass
of wine or soft drink), are available
from Ralph Atton (0118) 970 0825,
Richard Fletcher (0118) 970 0633 or on
the door.
Children go free.
Proceeds will go to the church’s Bells
Restoration Appeal.
Newbury Weekly News