Wednesday 9th September 2009

Another excellent night for what must surely be one of the best events on the blues and acoustic scene in London. A big turnout of quality musicians once again showed just what variety this kind of music can offer, and it was enjoyed by another good-sized audience. All kinds of styles were in evidence and they were served up with a wide range of instrumental combinations.

The house band of myself, Charles Benfield on double bass, Martin Holloway on snare/percussion and Dave Forristal on keys kicked off with a few of my originals – Early In The Morning, Thinkin’ About Nothing, Changes Coming Here and Your Second Line, and I played my oldish Yamaha 6-string and very old National Trojan. The rest of the band were then gainfully employed with the vast majority of performers, adapting to everything asked of them and proving yet again just how good they are. Special mention here perhaps for Charles, who was giving his double bass a debut, and terrific it was too.

Mark, Charles, Martin and Dave

Then came regular visitor Laine Haines, with a predictably top-notch set of his versions of songs by the greats – Blind Lemon Jefferson’s Easy Rider Blues, Pete Wheatstraw’s Preacher Blues and Ishmon Bracey’s Cherry Hall Blues. Laine was joined throughout by harp playerJohnny Appleyard, who gelled instantly and served up some terrific playing.

Laine and Johnny

Johnny stayed up to join Clayton Denwood and the rest of the band for a rousing set comprising Tough Town Blues, Got It Bad For You Baby and Runaway Train. By the time everyone had got to full steam in this set, it was possible to believe my brash suggestion at the start that listeners might not realise that everything was unrehearsed.

Clayton

Established blues artist Big Joe Louis came on next, kicking off with two solo acoustic numbers,Tailor Made and What’s The Matter, and ending with a nice version of the venerable Catfish Blues, for which he was joined by the band andPaul on sax. Big Joe (nice to see such an established artist braving an acoustic set), was followed by first-timer Simon, whose two numbers, one solo and one with the band, kept things going just fine. In what was a packed night, next came Laura Castle, who was joined by the house band, Will Greener (of whom more later) on harp and Tom on a resonator forMovin On and Mighty Tight Woman, Damian Green taking the drum role on the second number. Laura’s set motored along and was much enjoyed.

Big Joe

Simon

Laura

She was followed by another newcomer, Ryan Carr, a Canadian who dropped by to serve up two terrific murder ballads, Butcher Boy and Darling Corry, delivered with panache and humour. This accomplished musician and performer then announced that he had a mandolin concealed about his person, and was instructed to get the thing out and play it in the next set, which he duly did.

Ryan

Good friend of the jam and unique performer Will Greener (aka Captain Bliss) was next up and his set was a real highlight, showing just what the event is about and the heights an acoustic jam can reach. Together with Charles, Martin, Justin on keys and Ryan on mandolin, he led a wholly spontaneous but totally together set that was hugely enjoyed by everyone present. Will’s just the right kind of showman, and he led from the front with Louisiana Red’sWhose Ol’ Funky Drawers Is These? (not the tender love song you might expect from its understated title), Elmore James’ Must Have Did Something Wrong, and the second Sonny Boy’s Bye Bye Bird. Ryan showed that he could play the ass off the mandolin and at one point the interplay and unison thing he got going with Will’s harp was about as good a blast of music as you could hope to stumble on.

Will

Justin followed this with the welcome sight of a 12-string and his highly effective and very individual take on that very same Sonny Boy’s classic Fattening Frogs For Snakes (one of the great blues lyrics) and the much-heard-done-electric but really-good-done-acoustic Messin’ With the Kid, Junior Wells’ signature number. The band joined him on these and together they cooked up something rather fine.

The closing performer was regular and good friend Graham Hinton, who, as it has been remarked before, is a class act. He was exactly that again, running through excellent versions of Robert Johnson’s Steady Rollin’ Man and Driftin’. Graham’s set proved yet again just how good this music can be when a very good singer and player gets together with a very good band of musicians. There’s no doubt that the band and the various configurations of instruments available on the night make for all sorts of great things.

Graham

OK, everyone’s been name-checked now (I might abandon that in future!) and how long it’s taken me to do that is a measure of how popular the event seems to be getting. We had no fewer than 9 sets aside from mine at the start, and it’s great to see how many good people are showing up. This time we had a nice mixture of regulars and first-timers, and long may that continue. We definitely seem to have got something a bit special going here.

A slight downside of that was that I had to cut some sets to 2 instead of 3 numbers to fit everyone in, so we’re looking into maybe starting at 8.30 instead of 9. Another factor this time was that a number of people had left before the end to get their trains to the various far-flung places where they live. This happens at every live music venue in London of course, though it doesn’t always happen at the Green Note. It’s maybe another reason to start earlier, as it’s a shame for things to go off the boil before the end. Maybe we should ask for a show of hands at the start (‘Who commutes from Belgium?’, that sort of thing – I’m not sure I’m joking) so that we can work out the best schedule.

Anyway, it was another terrific evening, with another feel-good vibe and many appreciative responses. A lot of this has to do with the venue itself, which is ideal for this sort of event, and the support and input from Risa and Emilia is much appreciated. Big thanks too to Agneta for doing the door and taking the photos on what was a pretty hectic night.

See everybody at the next one, on 14th October.

Mark Harrison

Wednesday 12th August

A big thanks to all those who came down for the second all acoustic jam at the Green Note last night and helped make it such a great evening - specifically Charles, Martin and Dave who provided most of the accompaniment for the night and to Helen for looking after the sound and the door.

Professor Forristal and I kicked things off with some guitar and piano versions of Howlin' Wolf's Shake It For Me, the gospel standard Walk With Me, and Save That Money, a current favorite of mine originally by Rufus Thomas. We were then joined by Steve Van Deller on mandolin and tore through a couple of Mississippi Sheiks tunes and a tasty original of Steve's, for which he swapped to a Puerto Rican cuatro - surely a first for a blues jam!

Matt Milton provided some dark and wryly humorous originals and a great reworking of the Leadbelly classic In The Pines on guitar and banjo, making the most of the ambiance and the rapt audience. Then Dan Raza played and dropped in a great versions of Hank William's I Saw The Light and Leadbelly's infamous Goodnight Irene. You wait years for some Leadbelly songs and then two show up at once. I might bring my twelve-string next month... Anyway, it showed how versatile and broad the scope of the new acoustic jam can be.

Graham Hinton, good friend and long-time supporter of the GN jam barely had chance to take his coat off before we pushed him on stage. He was joined by holidaying scandinavian Jacob on harmonica who had walked past, saw there was a jam and dashed off to buy a harp especially for the evening. I then accompanied Graham on my National for a tasty Robert Johnson tune and - I think - a Spencer Davis Group number!

Down to two guitars on stage now, which allowed Lane Hines to do his idiosyncratic selection of delta blues, invoking Son House and Bukka White with his free-flowing style and haunting voice. I tried to keep up on slide while thinking we sounded as good as a recently unearthed Paramount 78 record...

The night rolled on and most people made it back on stage for another number or two. We romped our way through Charley Patton's mercurial Screamin' and Hollering The Blues to end the night and it was immensly gratifying how many people made a point to say how much they had enjoyed listening to everyone who played.

So far so good then. Next month Mark Harrison will be back from holiday and we shall continue to welcome players and listeners who are disposed to this sort of sublime mix of bluesy music. It was wonderful having banjos, mandolins and harmonicas plunking, chiming and tootling along respectively to such a consistently high standard; and with the piano too, it was definitely the vibe we were after. It would be nice to hear some violin or accordian, or even a washboard...

See you next time - on the 9th September.

David Atkinson

PS - I'm toying with the idea of introducing a theme song - probably based on Big Bill Broonzy's tune Saturday Night Rub.

Wednesday 8th July 2009

Well, we kicked off the new-look Blues in London jam at the Green Note on Wednesday 8th July. As acoustic jams are not exactly thick on the ground and we’re keen to start something new, it was anybody’s guess what would happen. In the end, the evening was something of a triumph, showing that the idea of an evening of acoustic blues has lots of good possibilities for both players and audience.

I kicked off with an instrumental on the 12-string and a solo number on the National. Rick Webb (Blues in London founder) came up next for a duo number and then the house band joined us for three numbers, all originals. The house band comprised Charles Benfield on bass and Martin Holloway on drums/percussion – one of the fundamentals of the evening is that the drumming isn’t full-volume full kit, but brushes, snare, some bass drum and some things to shake and hit with the hand. It was also meant to include ‘Greasy’ Dave Forristal on keyboards (and hopefully it will in the future), but an injury ruled him out this time.

Six singer/guitarists came to play, four of whom were not familiar faces at previous jams. They each did three numbers. First up was Clayton – nice voice, good player, interesting repertoire. He gelled well with Charles and Martin from the off. Then came Dan (pictured above with Charles and Martin), again excellent, with rack harmonica adding something to the mix and again playing with the house rhythm section. Justin came next, with the band and on a 12-string, doing his own take on the blues and augmented by Lindsay on electric guitar. Lindsay played sparingly and tastefully through the very small amp, showing that the idea that electric players can fit in as sidemen with the main acoustic fare can work.

The excellent Graham Hinton was next, a class act doing traditional blues songs with polish. The house rhythm section and ‘Harmonica Phil’ blended very well with him. He was followed by Made Jay, a newcomer to the venue, who brought the house down thrashing the hell out of a metal National and doing Son House and Robert Johnson songs with every bit as much passion as the originals. He was a compelling act, breaking two strings such was the seeing-to the guitar was getting, and carrying on regardless like a man possessed. The standard didn’t take any kind of dip at all when he was followed by Laine Hines, a terrific, quieter performer with a fine voice. The house band were back on now, having had a brief break and together the three of us rounded the evening off with another couple of my originals.

The venue was full from the start, with a listening audience that responded very well to the music dished up. The sound was nice and clear, and people could talk at a normal volume, without having to bellow over the music. But the evening put paid to any idea that acoustic means quiet or twee. There was just as much power and presence as with electric blues, just not as much volume. Everyone could hear everything.

So we uncovered some very good people and we kind of proved a point. There was a feel-good air to the evening and it was agreed by audience and players alike that it had been a great success.

No disrespect to any of the electric jams all over town (and we’re all participants in those too). But what we’re trying to establish here is something different, where acoustic players can do their thing, which is every bit as valid as anything with lead guitar solos in it.

If this takes your fancy, come down to the Green Note every second Wednesday of the month. And bring your friends. If you want to hear something different in the blues, including some people doing original material, come and listen. If you play and sing, the only thing to remember is: keep the material reasonably simple for people to pick up straight away – you’ll be with some fine musicians, but too many chord changes are going to end up with furrowed brows and reduced audience enjoyment. At its best, people playing a number together for the first time can sound like a tightly-rehearsed unit, as we had on this opening night. And one final thing – it would be good to have as wide a range of instrumentalists as possible joining in – mandolin, fiddle, banjo, hand percussion, accordion, flute, sax as well as harp and guitar would be more than welcome.

I won’t be here for the next one, 12 August, which David will be running. I’ll be back for September 9th.

Mark Harrison

Your hosts for the evening...

Mark ‘Made in 1934’ Harrison

David ‘Seaside Dave’ Atkinson