Blues Afternoon (Al Brown and the Bluelighters, Zac Shultz Gang with Jesse Garwood, Martin Harely Trio), Spiegletent, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

 AL BROWN AND THE BLUELIGHTERS

What these afternoon sessions need is a solid blues band to open, professional, but also a bit rowdy and fun.  Brown and co deliver what's needed.  Drums, upright bass, 2 guitars.  Brown very much the front man and lead vocalist, and a few reasonable jokes.  Proper R&B style blues, everyone gets solos, the crowd get their feet tapping, and it's fun for all.  The highlight was a version of Dylan's Gotta Serve Somebody, with a great bass line and the est guitar work of the set.

JESSE GARWOOD WITH THE ZAC SHULTZ GANG

Garwood was a late addition to the line up after band leader Scultz had an accdient and had to stand aside.  Cue a festival debut for the 19 year old guitar wunderkind, who has built up a substantial following on social media.  Accomopanied by the Schultz Gang bassist and drummer, he filled the gap admirably, with talent, skill, energy and volume.  Loud and fast, but able to deliver in the slower passages, and support his bandmates (one of the bass solos was excellent), plus expressive vocals, Garwood soundeded as if he had been playing with the others for years.  He was clearly enjoying himself too, as were the others playing with him.  This enthusiasm communicated itslef to the adience who were on their feet at the end.  An exciting set.

MARTIN HARLEY TRIO

Th slide maestro, ably supported by bass and drums, brought a bit of calm to the proceedings, a more mellow approach than the previous acts.  Not a problem for Harley, who looks so comfortable and relaxed in all he does on stage.  The best vocalist of the afternoon, the best reconteur, and a front runner in the guitar playing stakes.  A master in the use of slide.  A good mix of tempos and subject matter, lyrics that could move you or make you smile, and a feeling that we were in the hands of a man who knew exactly what he was doing.  Loudest isn't always the best.

Jerron Paxton, Queens Hall, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

The Blues (and, later, jazz, R&B and R&R) emerged from the folk singing of the slaves in the southern stat4s of the US.  From those roots it has itself evolved many interpretations of the style, and much of what passes for blues now isn't really technically of the ilk.  That applies to a lot of acts in this festival.  But Paxton may be the nearest we get to the real thing.

His idiosyncratic playing style and richly expressive vocals have the authenticity of a man steeped in the genre.  A multi instrumentalist who is able to swap around seamlessly (on the night he played guitar, banjo(s), harmonica, fiddle and piano).  A big smile and deep well of funny anecdotes make for an engaging presence.  Even the act of tuning up becomes a piece of entertainment.  But there's a man with his won view of the world behind the words, a thinker as well as a joker.  A proper troubador and always worth seeing.

The Cinelli Brothers with Alice Armstrong, Spiegeltent, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

The Cinellis start up looking like your averge blues band - drums, bass, lead guitar and harmonica/vocalist, and with a good rowdy opeing number.  But things get more interesting as the set progresses and roles become blurred.  The vocalist is also a lead guitar player.  The lead guitarist is also a lead vcalist, keyboard player and bassist.  The bass player is also a lead guitarist and led vocalist.  And the drumm has a go at playing bass (at the same time as bass and snare).  Which leads to a great mix of sounds with differing voices and playing styles throughout.  

All this would just be so much fluff if the music wasn't entertaining.  No worries there.  Whle there were plenty of Blues and R&B numbers, there was considerable variety in the choice of styles and songs.  Sixties psychedelic, seventies progrock, the Beatles Come Together, and I can't resist a bit of Little Feat. And then there was the extra voice added for large parts of each half.  Alice Armstrong is a big personality with a big voice, a big vocal range, and real blues delivery. She's funny too, a match for the Cinelli's lead man who kept us entertained, and sometimes informed, between their numbers.  

It would be hard to say there was a Cinelli Brothers 'sound', given the variety of vocal, instrumental and song styles they get thought in their set.  There was an exceellent bass solo, unaccompanied guitar and decent drum solo.  They work their audience well, with angaging persoanlities who are cleary having a great time.  An excellent gig.

The Viper Club, Spiegeltent, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

We saw Tcha Limberger once before, also playing 1930s jazz.  Then the theme was primarily Europena, with a North African flavour added in.  This time it's very much American, deriving largely from the music of swing fiddler and composer Stuff Smith.  A man who, by Limberger's accoutn, had a very colourful life.

Dave Kelbie on guitar, Sebastian Girardot with upright bass.  Jerome Etcheberry playing trumpet and, of course, Limberger on the 2 Vs - violin and vocals.  Keddie is very much a rythym man, with even his one brief solo being chords only, but together with The bass man they form a solid and imaginiative section to drive the music.  Girardot turned in a few decent solos of hos won.  But ghey are there to help the two stars shine brighter.  Both fiddle and trumpet are full of surprise phrasings and departures, and work very well together, each feeding off the other.  The solos are top class.  As mentioned in my previous review, Limberger's singing voice is not great, yet he conveys such joy in his tones that that is easily forgiven.  And his anecdotes are delivered with the same infectious happiness.

It's impossible not to enjoy Viper Club with a smile on your face.

Blues Afternoon (Sandy Tweeddale and Gus Munro. Gerry Jablonski Band, True Strays), Spiegeltent, Edinbugh Jazz and Blues Festival

 SANDY TWEEDDALE AND GUS MUNRO

Tweeddale and his usual band , drums and bass, combining with Munro for the opening set. A mix of blues standards and some of Munro's own songs. The latter handled the vocals, and his rough tones are perfect for the material, with the bonus of some attacking harmonica. But the real joy lies in the guitar work, each taking turns to provide the lead, then working closely together. The contrast between Tweeddale's effortless fluidity and Muro's more staccato approach, and his generous use of the slide, provided contrast and harmony. Lots of energy, lots of fun, and a genuine rapport with their audience. A great opener for the afternoon.

GERRY JABLONSKI BAND

Opening quietly, out comes guitarist Jablonski and his drummer, the latter taking the mic and delivering a few vocals of soulful blues... But then it changes. the drummer takes his rightful place at the back, on come the bassist, harmonica player and singer, and up goes the energy, the volume and the craziness. The GJ Band gets into full swing...

A raucous rocking R&B outfit that bring smiles, stage presence and infectious showmanship, with strong vocals, flashy guitar work and powerful harp solos. They're all over the stage, out in the audience, spilling out their enjoyment. Lots of laughter, but also driving rhythms, decent melodies and virtuosity to back up the flash. Tremendous fun.

TRUE STRAYS

The format of these shows is intended to build up the anticipation, and leave the best to last. So perhaps that's why the final act felt a bit of a let down. Objectively there's nothing much wrong with the performance. A conventional 4 piece line up of drums, bass, keyboard and lead guitar, with lead vocals coming from the guitarist and bassist. This pair very much the front men, very much the focus.

Was this blues? Tenuously at times, and some of the melodies and lyrics almost felt poppy at times. They took a while to get going, and struggled to build up a relationship with the audience like the previous acts had had. The singing of the guitarist was off key at times, the bassist much better. The musicianship was good though, and it's always a pleasure to here a steel guitar played with slide. Keyboards contributed a lot to the sound, and he got his own solo towards the end of the set.

The first two acts felt like bands, even if Gus was guesting with Sandy's trio, they felt like proper units. The Strays felt like a duo with a couple of guys added in, and a look at their history (the pair have been best friends since childhood) provides a likely explanation, and that lack of togetherness came through. An enjoyable act, but disappointing as a show topper.

D K Harrell, Spiegeltent, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

A young Louisiana blues guitarist with a string of awards and a big reputation. Who also turned out to be a lot of fun.

But first the band. Drums, bass, keyboards, sax and trumpet. On they came, announcing they were going to warm us up. Two foot tapping instrumentals, nothing flashy, but jazzy and mellow, and a chance to show off some of the musicianship to come. The trumpet solo especially.

Out comes D K, a big presence in all senses. The vocals are strong, the playing excellent. He doesn't say much. To begin with. But once that man is warmed up... Funny, and able to improvise in response to his audience. Stories behind the songs, stories behind his career.

For all that the guitarist's virtuosity and vocals are the focal point of the show, this is a real band performance, both in terms of the integrated sound, the interactions with D K, and the solos they bring. Trumpet, sax and keys all had moments to shine, the bass solo was decent, and drummer excellent. D K's playing is smart, a man who isn't afraid of the simple approach at times, with no need to always be showing off. Sometimes basic is best. There's also a playful quality, almost whimsical at times. The guitar suddenly playing a few bars of Jingle Bells, the trumpet giving is Happy Birthday. There's a slo a passion, and not just in the music itself. A short speech on women's rights was an unexpected bonus, and the piss-take impression of the Mandarin Moron gave us a good laugh.

Great music. But that fun factor really makes it an occasion.

 

The Manfreds, Queens Hall

For the third time in four years here we were again.  Same band, same line up, same nostalgia.  And the same quality of entertainment 

There isn't really much to add to what I've written about them before both in November 2022 here, and in November 2024 here.  Age continues to take some toll, primarily it seems on Jones.  The voice is again a little less than it once was, but still decent enough, and his ability to stand on one leg reamins but with much reduced times.  Still the ever engaging front man though, and his harmonica playing remains top noth.  McGuinness, originally not in Jones' class for vocals, has not really been affected, and he still sings well.  His When I'm Dead and Gone is still one of the great highlights of the evening (but I do love a bit of mandolin!).

While the old Manfred Mann hits remain crowd pleasers, they have been improved with jazz and blues influences being added to the arrangements.  While the real quality lies in the blues numbers, notably the Howlin' Wolf songs.  Maybe this is just a night for the oldies, but at least it's one of musical quality.