The Vortex Jazz Club, 11 Gillett Square, London N16 8JH | Bookings 020 7254 4097 | Email Info at Vortex

January 2009
gig reviews

The Teak Project
The Descendants
Elliott Henshaw Band
Benet McLean
Partisans
LJO Vortex Sessions
Ntshuks Bonga's Qwati
Joe Stilgoe
Stewart Curtis Klezmer     Fusion Ensemble
Christine Tobin
Julian Argüelles Trio
Marc Ducret
Buffalo Collision

Gig reviews archive

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January 2009 gig reviews by Chris Parker

Joe Stilgoe

Friday 16 January 2009

We were promised 'an excellent live performer Ÿ accomplished songwriting, great voice and humour', and that was what was delivered, in spades, by pianist/songwriter Joe Stilgoe, joined on this occasion by bassist Chris Hill and drummer Ben Reynolds, the rhythm section from (most of) his debut album, I Like This One (see CD Reviews section).

Like, say, Harry Connick, Stilgoe is a skilled pianist (not only in the sizzling, boppish mode he uses to embellish his own material, but also – as he demonstrated by inserting a stride-piano passage into 'Just One of Those Things' – in other modes of the jazz-piano tradition, too) as well as a versatile and intelligent interpreter of standards; unlike many of his contemporaries, though, Stilgoe is also capable of writing smart, witty songs of his own, the title-track of his album a perfect example.

He waited until the fourth number of his first set to unveil this particular gem, preceding it with a zippy band-introducing opener, a lively version of Rodgers and Hart's 'The Lady is a Tramp' complete with topical references, and a perhaps over-vigorous (given that its nagging languor could be seen as its defining feature) visit to the same writers' 'Where or When'.

'I Like This One', though, is designedly an infectiously upbeat, celebratory song, and – the odd slightly misjudged use of his falsetto voice aside – was impressively performed by Stilgoe, with Hill and Reynolds singing the chorus's harmony parts with grace and humour. Given that he is such an accomplished pianist, Stilgoe might be forgiven for playing more, but he sensibly restricted himself to the odd pleasingly florid introduction (Cole Porter's quintessential torch song 'So in Love') and to pithy and punchy mid-song solos, plus occasional snappy fours-trading with Reynolds; he is, first and foremost, an entertainer (albeit a supremely gifted one), and his inter-song patter is an integral part of his act.

As he ruefully admits in one of his own songs, 'I Really Shouldn't be Allowed to Speak', his tongue can run away with him at times, and he did, arguably, make one too many references to how odd it was that he found himself in Dalston (though he redeemed himself by complimenting the Vortex piano) – overall, though, this was a wonderfully entertaining evening, from first to last (a vibrant encore, 'Just in Time'). Stilgoe should be much better known than he is; there is something in his performances for everyone.

 

 

 

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