Some friends and I went to see Jools Holland at De Montfort Hall on Thursday.
Absolutely brilliant.
It was an evening of jazz, swing, boogie and blues, with even a hint of classical and some ska, all seriously foot-tapping stuff, with people dancing in the aisles (but not me….I don’t do dancing at weddings, and so I certainly don’t do dancing when I’m out enjoying myself) and singing along (I did catch myself singing, in the loosest sense of the word, a couple of times).
Joss Stone made an appearance for a couple of numbers – I’m not a fan, and I continue not to be a fan, but fortunately this brief break from the music that we had come to hear was brief. Ruby Turner sang some excellent lively numbers – I have never come across her before, a big lady with a big powerful voice perfect for the numbers that she sang. I will be looking out to see what she does on her own.
The highlight for me was part way through the performance, after Jools “requested permission” to remove his jacket and braces for easier access to the piano. What followed was quite a lengthy piece, with Jools’ left hand boogying away at the top of the keyboard, while his right hand beavered away at the other end to produces a lively bass beat accompanying the saxophones, trumpets, guitar and percussion of the band. This piece seemed to include all of the styles that Jools and his band play, morphing from jazz to blues, via swing and ska, and this was where a classical piece, which I recognised at the time, but have naturally forgotten, sneaked in, all performed to a fast lively boogie beat, loud, brash, lively and totally joyful.
If this piece had been played at the end, I’m not sure that the audience would have been satisfied with just the two encores that were performed. I’m sure that we will be there when Jools next performs at DMH, and next time Chantal has said that she might join us!
Technically we live in Oaktree House, but sadly the tree had to go.
We now have a thriving Oakstump at the front of the house.
