Friday Night Was Music Night!

Friday 2nd May - Big Top

Take the world famous BBC Concert Orchestra, throw in the highly esteemed Guy Barker Big Band and to top it off, serve with a sprinkling of two great American jazz singers and an award-winning British vocalist and you have your explanation for why ‘Friday Night Was Music Night’!

The packed Big Top was in good spirits and ready for a great night of live music, which was being broadcast live on Radio 2 for those who weren't fortunate enough to be there.

The show began with an unannounced voice-over reading the news, live from Radio 2, which signalled to everybody to take their seats, sit down and strap themselves in for one hell of a ride!

The show was narrated by BBC journalist and news reporter Jeremy Vine, who told the story of the American prohibition in the 1920’s and 1930’s and through a programme of classic songs from this era, he took the audience back to the sleazy days of under the table drinking, gangsters and most importantly, some of the finest music written in the first half of the twentieth century.

The show started in grand form, with the classic wailing brass and speakeasy sound of ‘Sing Sing Sing’ closely followed by the introduction to the first singer of the night, Liane Carroll, whose performance of the Ethel Water’s hit song ‘Stormy Weather’ was both playful and emotive, showing off her exceptional vocal control as well as her outgoing personality.

Kurt Elling made his Cheltenham Jazz Festival debut smoothly with a fusion of Irving Berlin’s ‘Blue Skies’ with Thelonious Monk’s ‘In Walked Bud’. Completing the trio of vocalists, Curtis Stigers sang the Louis Armstrong hit ‘Someday You’ll Be Sorry’, dressed sharply and with a stunning vocal performance to match.

From the first four tracks alone, it was already lining up to be a fantastic night and definitely one of the highlights of the festival this year, keeping up the fine form of previous performances. Elling told the audience that ‘I Can’t Give You Anything But Love’ was “…definitely the one I came to sing”, saying mid-song “…that feels good don’t it? That’s right!”

The three singers all leapt to their microphones with great enthusiasm for each song, with performances which weren’t just vocally impressive but also engaging, fun and demonstrative of how much they were all enjoying being there; during Kurt Ellis’ performance of ‘Minnie the Moocher’, Liane and Curtis were having a great time dancing hand in hand on the side of the stage.

The songs featured many solos, all of which were played with a high degree of virtuosity without going too over the top, keeping it all very family friendly, which is often a potential trip hazard for a lot of contemporary jazz acts.

Guy Barker led the orchestra and the band expertly, no less than expected and the final applause after Jeremy Vine informed the audience that “…we’re off the air now!” was rapturous.  As an integral part of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival programme, the questions that will be on everyone’s lips will be “what will the theme be for next year’s show and when can I book my tickets?”