I thought this morning that it was time for some hot jazz and so I turned to the music of the Avalon Jazz Band. The band was formed in New York in 2014 by vocalist Tatiana Eva-Marie and violinist Adrien Chevalier. Their musical style is inspired by the sort of jazz played in Paris in […]
Chris Elliott and Caitlin Jones – Staffordshire Men
We first met Chris and Caitlin in 2015 when they supported the Hall Brothers at the Workshop Theatre, Halifax ( a lovely little venue). At that time they were part of a group called Bric-a-Brac along with Bella Gaffney and Hether Sirrel. When Bric-a-Brac disbanded (largely due to the distances involved in meeting) Chris and […]
Celebrating John Lewis and The Civil Rights Movement
This weekend in the USA many people have been celebrating the life of Congressman John Lewis. Lewis was an American politician and civil-rights leader who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia’s 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020. He was one of the 13 original Freedom Riders. There […]
Salut Salon – Wettstreit Zu Viert (Competitive Foursome)
“Summer”, composed by Antonio Vivaldi, becomes the stage for a musical competition. Salut Salon fight acrobatically and with a special sense of humour — this is a Salut Salon classic. Salut Salon is an all female chamber music quartet from Hamburg, consisting of two violins,a cello and piano. They were brought together in 2002 by […]
Dodie Clark – A Song About Acne
Every now and then the internet rewards your hours of browsing with a little gem. Today I am delighted to share with you the unconsidered trifle that is Dodie Clark. She is an English singer-songwriter, author, and YouTuber from Epping, who is known for her light melodies juxtaposed by emotionally complex lyrics. Clark began her […]
Richard Thompson – Oops I Did It Again
Yesterday’s post discussed various covers of The Cure’s song ‘Lovesong’. This reminded me of Richard Thompson’s excellent ‘1000 Years of Popular Music’ project. He finishes the album with an awesome cover of Britney Spears’ ‘Oops I Did It Again’ complete with some 16th century guitar stylings. Richard who began his musical careeer with Fairport Convention, […]
Lovesong
Sometimes it is possible to judge the quality of a song by the artists who cover it. Lovesong by The Cure is one of those songs. It has been covered by a variety of artists, even appearing on the soundtrack of the movie ’50 First Dates ‘ and being sampled by Perfect Circle on their […]
Rachael Sage – Catch The Light
It was almost three years ago when a Facebook post from Nick Hall brought Rachael Sage to my attention. She and her violinist Kelly Halloran (we shall hear more from Kelly in a future post) were touring the UK and needed a venue for a gig. My offer of St. C’s was readily accepted and […]
The Beiderbecke Affair – Alan Plater
In the mid 1980’s, there appeared on television a series of programmes describing the mis-adventures of Trevor Chaplin (itinerant Geordie woodworker) and Jill Swinburne (English teacher and conservationist) all loosely tied together by the music of Bix Beiderbecke (the first white jazz cornet player – his music it is said ‘sounded like bullets shot from […]
Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Didn’t It Rain
This being Sunday, I thought it was time for some great gospel music in the company of the legendary Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She was an American singer/songwriter, guitarist, and recording artist. She attained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and rhythmic accompaniment that […]