The second series of Gospel Blues came to an end with another memorable show.

The line- up featured nine performers new to the show as regulars Daniel Thomas and the Jason Thompson quartet were unavailable. The format changed with five vocalists (Steve Denton, Sharon Hernandez, Jenny Ingram-Brown, Emily Gilligan, Heavilyn Sarpong) and three musicians (names to follow) rather than the usual three singers and four musicians. Steve Denton played the anchor role introducing the music.

Unfortunately the show started fifty minutes later than scheduled which meant my wife and I could only see the first set as we had another commitment.

The first set consisted of some gospel songs and some spirituals. The harmonies of the quintet of singers were superb. It was great to hear the Latin version of ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ , ‘Venite Adoramus’ which brought back memories of my choral days over half a century before. The medley of spirituals was beautiful, they started with ‘Go Down Moses’ and amongst others included ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ and ‘Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child’

Promoter Ovie did well putting together such a good line-up in a short time-frame. We look forward to the next series of show with high expectations.

2018 has been a good year for Gospel Choral music. The IDMC Gospel Choir seized their opportunity by selling out Hideaway for two nights at Christmas.

The choir of 14 singers, leader John Fisher on keyboards and four piece band played two one hour plus sets. The singers and John Fisher adopted an African dress code and wore bright colours; there were reds, yellows, blues, greens, oranges, whites and purples which brightened the stage.
The songs were a mixture of well-known Christmas carols, a few lesser known Christmas songs and some gospel songs.
A number of the choir members took lead vocals while the rest provided harmonies. My favourites of the night were ‘O Holy Night’ and ‘Believe’ on which I felt that the harmonies were fantastic.
There was plenty of opportunity for the audience to join in on the more familiar carols such as ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’, ‘Silent Night’ and ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ (which included hand actions too). The show ended with a mash up of ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ and Chaka Khan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody’.
The audience left Hideaway having been richly entertained. The choir return to Hideaway in March as part of their 25th anniversary tour. I suggest you book early because this will be a sell-out.

Ivy Chanel is charismatic, full of positive energy and has been blessed with a beautiful voice and this combination guarantees that her audience have smiles on their faces.

This was the third time that my wife and I have seen a solo Ivy gig and we have additionally seen her twice fronting the Mo Pleasure Band. Ivy is a very likeable person and has a highly accomplished band of musicians including two backing singers.

Ivy sang two sets which were largely based around her own compositions which are all upbeat numbers which get the feet tapping and the body moving. Two of the best of these were ‘April’ and ‘Wind Blows’. To be honest this is not the style of music I would listen to at home but when sung live her music is compelling.

Ivy did a few covers and on these she showed what a great voice she has. Her version of Deniece Williams ‘ ‘Free’  showed the range her voice has the quality of her tone, I particularly enjoyed her version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’ too.

As we were nearing Christmas the performance became seasonal with ‘Joy to the World’ on which she was joined by four more singers from her church, this was followed by a great version of ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’, a carol I’ve heard so many times but Ivy gave this much sung carol a fresh sound.

I did not catch the names of all the musicians but Michael Brown on guitar and Tuca Milan on percussion were exceptionally good. Backing vocalists Lisa Graham and Nathan Lewis complemented Ivy’s vocals well.

Hideaway was at best three quarters full, I’m not sure why Ivy’s shows are not sell outs because her performances are worthy of full houses.

Paul Carrack and the SWR Big Band and strings delighted a packed Playhouse, Charing Cross audience.

I have enjoyed the music of Paul Carrack since 1974 when I first saw him performing as a member Ace at the Greyhound in Croydon. 44 years later and I still enjoy his laid back vocal style that helps one relax when one needs too. However I’ve never been a Big Band fan, I’ve grown to appreciate the musicianship of these bands as I’ve started to understand and like jazz more. The combination of Paul with the SWR Big Band worked and was enjoyable.

They played two sets the first consisting of Paul Carrick songs and some jazz standards, the second focussing on Christmas Songs.

I enjoyed the songs that I have always liked the best. ‘How Long’ (The Ace Classic), Living Years (the Mike and the Mechanics song) and ‘Love Will Keep Us Alive’ (a Paul Carrack/Jim Capaldi/Peter Vale song recorded by the Eagles). Of the Christmas songs ‘A Christmas Song’ and Silent Night were my favourites, the latter being the first encore. The show ended with a rousing version of ‘Over my Shoulder’ which was co-written by Paul with Mike Rutherford.

An enjoyable evening. This was my wife and I’s 100^th gig of the year. Not the best of the 100 but still worth seeing. We will definitely see Paul perform live again but I’m still not sure about the Big Band.

The launch show of  CrazySexyCoool’s ‘Amazing Grace’ was such a success, judged by the audience response, that the challenge will not be to improve on the standard of the opener but merely to maintain it.

From the moment Steve Denton opened the show with ‘Wade in the Water’ accompanied by Luke Smith on piano and Samantha-Antoinette and Sarah Brown on backing vocals, I felt that this was going to be a very special afternoon. By the time Steve had followed with ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ before Samantha sang ‘Go Down Moses’ and Sarah sang ‘(Sometimes I Feel Like a ) Motherless Chid’, I felt so emotional, totally blown away by the quality of the vocals. Neil Reidman was the narrator telling the story of the development of the spirituals and the evolution to gospel and blue music.

I had only ever heard ‘Motherless Child’ sung as part of Richie Havens ‘Freedom’ which always ended with frenetic guitar playing to the point where most of the strings were broken. Sarah’s version was far more controlled and transmitted the raw emotion of the song.

The high standard was maintained for throughout the two one hour sets and the artists and promoter received a richly deserved raucous standing ovation. This was my wife and I’s 99^th gig of the year, it was one of the best and it was a shame it was not the 100^th because this show and its music illustrate what I enjoy.

I had never heard of Sarah Brown until yesterday, she was sensationally good. Her version of ‘Summertime’ was fantastic, taking the standard and making it different by changing up the tempo toward the end of the show. She has a big voice, big hair and a big heart, she was instantly likeable. I knew Samantha-Antoinette from the Powerhouse Choir and Gospel Blue and my expectation of her were high, she delivered. She has a voice ideally suited to spirituals gospel and blues. I had not heard of Steve either but I was hooked from the opening bars of ‘Wade in the Water’. Neil was a good narrator and showed his vocal talent on ‘Amazing Grace’. Luke who I have seen on many occasions is a fantastic pianist.

It was great to hear the songs of such greats as Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharp. This was a fantastic show played to a packed audience, my one fear is that the demand for tickets for future shows will be so high that either lots of people will be disappointed that they can’t attend or the show will have to be moved to a bigger venue.

A fearless performance from Michelle John which received a raucous response from a packed 606 audience.

A few years back when my wife and I first saw Michelle perform solo, it was immediately apparent that she had an amazing voice. At this gig she performed standards by legends such as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner and Prince and each of them was sung to such a high standard that I feel she would have made these greats feel proud. Michelle sang three of her own songs too and these sat well alongside the standards.

The one downside of the night was that a small number of the audience showed total disrespect for Michelle by talking very loudly during her performance. The cacophony reached a crescendo during ‘ Priceless’ which is my favourite of Michelle’s own songs and it took the edge off of my enjoyment. 606 audiences are usually the best behaved audiences I’ve been a part of and hopefully this was an exception rather than a new trend.

Michelle has a voice that I would compare to a luxury car, she can sing gently to begin a song and then moves quickly and effortlessly through the gears to reach a level of strength reminiscent of Tina Turner but the clarity and tone worthy of comparison with Aretha Franklin.

The show started with ‘So Amazing’, included a 12 bar blues featuring George Wilkins on harmonica and included some Christmas songs too. My highlight was ‘Purple Rain’ on which David D’Andrade’s amazing guitar playing complimented Michelle’s stunning vocals.

Credit must be given to the rest of the magnificent band. Stefan Brown played drums but sadly I did not catch the names of the keyboard and bass players. A great night of entertainment.

This was another outstanding Gospel Blues show which left its audience wanting more.

The line-up for this show was Daniel Thomas, Samantha-Antoinette and Yolanda Greaves supported by Jason Thompson’s excellent band. The show started slowly and was fairly average Gospel Blue fare until Samantha-Antoinette launched into an amazing version of ‘Go Down Moses’, when Samantha gives a song her all she not only takes us all to church but conjures up images of slaves in a chain gang. I had not heard of her three months ago and now I believe she is one of the premier UK gospel singers.

The second set was simply one of the best ever Gospel Blues sets. After an impromptu ‘Silent Night’, Yolanda opened it with a stunning version of Bridge Over Troubled Water and set the bar high, however Daniel and Samantha-Antoinette rose to the challenge and cleared the bar with their versions of ‘Be Grateful’, ‘Amazing Grace’ (which was the closer), ‘God Bless the Child’ and ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ with Yolanda responding with a spectacular version of Emeli Sande’s ‘Breathing Underwater’ in between. This was Gospel/Blues/Soul at its best.

The only downside was that the second set had to end prematurely because the set was over-running the time allocated and in the rush to finish there was no opportunity to introduce the band who deserved their own ovations from a very happy audience.

Yolanda Brown delighted a sell-out Pizza Express audience with a great set of brilliant sax music in celebration of her 10 years in the music business.

My wife and I had seen Yolanda play at the Royal Festival Hall just three months ago. Here she played a single 90 minute set and had no guest performers but the level of enjoyment was just as high. There is something very special about small intimate venues where you can see the beads of sweat cascading down the faces of the performers. There is a greater opportunity to see at close hand the dexterity of the band made up of: Rick Leon James (Bass), Talbert Wilson (Drums), Precious Obimdi (Piano and Keyboard) and Dave Niskin (Guitar).

Yolanda Brown has the personality to engage an audience of any size and it is great that she can express her passion for her craft in a way that enhances the enjoyment of her audience. She featured tunes from her albums ‘April Showers, May Flowers’ and ‘Love Politics War’. My favourites were ‘Tokyo Sunset’, ‘Confusion’ and ‘PoliTricks’ but Yolanda could play anything and still thrill an audience.

If you get the chance catch one of her shows or watch her on Celebrity Mastermind over Christmas or on CBBC in the New Year.

Gospel Blues continues to deliver high quality Sunday lunchtime music in Pizza Express Holborn.

Every time we go to see a Gospel Blues show, we wonder whether the latest line-up can deliver a show as good as its predecessors and every time they deliver. The latest line-up was Daniel Thomas, Beverley Skeete and Yolanda Greaves. In previous reviews I have probably not given Daniel as much credit as he deserves, he is the one constant vocalist and he leads the show and helps create the wonderful chemistry which makes the shows so special. With Daniel around many of the songs do not finish when they are expected to he adds pieces of improvisation to the end (or as he call them re-mixes), many of which show his great sense of humour. As an example yesterday after Beverley sang ‘Rainy Night in Georgia’ he conjured up an image of Beverley standing soaking wet at the bus stop with her Oyster as he stops in his car to pick her up. Daniel has a powerful voice well suited to Gospel music and his versions of ‘Go Down Moses’, ‘Going Up Yonder’ and ‘Grandma’s Hands’ were outstanding.

Beverley and Yolanda were in good form too. Beverley always sings an amazing ‘I Put a Spell On You’ and Yolanda a great ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ but it is the chemistry and camaraderie of the singers that gives these shows an extra edge.

There are two more shows before Christmas on December 9th and 23rd, I would recommend anybody who loves Gospel music or the Blues try to get a ticket.

This was a nostalgic night for a sell-out audience as the three women sang songs that are a part of the soundtrack to many lives.

Beverley Craven, Julia Fordham and Judie Tsuke had combined their talents to record an album ‘Woman to Woman’ and this show part of an Autumn Tour followed by a Spring tour were arranged to showcase the album. The trio were introduced by Tracey Ullman who was as witty as you might expect her to be.

Beverley Craven opened the show with the album’s title track and sang three further songs before Julia Fordham took the lead and opened with ‘Happy Ever After’ and then sang lead on another three songs. Judie Tzuke finished the set by singing lead in four songs, the first of which was ‘Welcome to the Cruise’.

The second set followed a similar pattern with Beverley then Judie, then Julia each taking the lead in three songs. It was clear that they would return as they had each not yet sung their biggest hits.

The encore saw Beverley sing ‘Promise Me’, Judie ‘Stay With Me Till Dawn’ and Julia ‘Where does the Time Go’. They closed by combining on ‘Safe’ a song co-written by Judy Tzuke and Beth Nielsen-Chapman. The closer and ‘For You’ were my favourites from the night as the three women harmonised so beautifully on both.

The audience gave the women a deserved standing ovation.

It is almost forty years since I last saw Judy Tzuke sing live and her voice was as good as it was back then. I have seen the others more recently and their voices are also as good as they have ever been. An enjoyable evening and I would recommend you see them on tour, particularly if you enjoy any of their music or indeed if you enjoy good music.