Saturday and Monday evening at Snape Maltings to see, firstly, Clare Teal and then Lau, supported by the Elysian Quartet. We’ve seen the “British Queen of Swing” before (at Snape I believe) but this time she was accompanied by a small combo (piano, bass and drums) rather than a big band.
She strolls onto the stage with a big smile and a wave, from then on it feels almost like being at home with her having a cup of tea and a chat. She’s a Yorkshire lass, so very down to earth don’t you know! Although swing isn’t my favourite musical genre it’s very hard not to enjoy her performance. She’s also got a very good band with her and the arrangements were particularly fine (pianist Grant Windsor take a bow). Excellent versions of ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Chasing Cars’ amongst the jazz standards. The evening was billed as ‘The Divas and me’ so we got Clare’s versions of songs first performed or made famous by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O’Day and even Doris Day. A fun evening if not entirely my cup of tea musically. Would still go and see her again though.
On Monday, went to see Lau (also for the second time). First up though was the Elysian Quartet with some modern, partly improvisational classical pieces. Very talented, but not really my thing. Lau joined them for one before the break and then played the second half on their own. From the off you can see why they are such admired and respected musicians. I guess you’d say their music was rooted in folk but with elements of jazz and improvisation thrown into the mix as well. They know how to build a piece up layer by layer and they can create a terrific sense of musical dynamics over the course of just one song. Their own tunes are often inspired by or dedicated to the Scottish islands where a couple of them grew up – they still clearly have an emotional pull for the band, especially the fiddle player Aidan O’Rourke. So why did some of it leave me a little unmoved?
Despite the emotional context to much of their own material, I found it on occasions just a little less than compelling. Given the universally positive reviews that the band tends to receive, I’m definitely in the minority. Clearly incredibly gifted (you’d have to mutton jeff not to spot that), some of the material, although dynamically interesting, appeared to lack a core killer melody. The issue was maybe highlighted a little by a great version of Lol Waterson’s ‘Midnight Feast’, which has a lovely melody. Of course, that’s a traditionally constructed song and Lau go well beyond that with their own material and are an intriguing and adventurous live band. Maybe just a danger that the core impact could diminish as they push the boundaries of what three guys with fiddle, accordion and guitar can achieve – just saying!