Perth Festival of the Arts: review of Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra at Perth Concert Hall

May 27 2011 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

THE keyboard wizard with the slicked-back hair and his merry men (and women) – superb musicians one and all – were back at the Perth Festival to croon, boogie-woogie, reggae and generally wow the sell-out crowd.

And this time Holland’s arsenal in all things musically good had the mighty force of Perth Concert Hall at his disposal.

And boy, did they sound good – all 19 members of this wall of big band sound throughout their slick set. It moved at breakneck speed to fit in the 90-minutes or so set a brilliantly-devised programme packed with good sounds from instruments and vocals.

Mr Holland said only what he had to say – he did seem genuinely pleased to be back in Perth – letting the music do the talking for most of the evening.

The convivial proceedings had been led off in fine style by singer/guitarist Mark Flanagan, a member of the Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and also a very fine performer in his own right.

His 20-minute set flew by – and he should have been satisfied with a support job very well done.

Post-interval, Jools Holland bounced on stage in his style familiar to all who watch his very fine ‘Later with …’ BBCTV show, the audience catching brief glimpses of his trademark bright red braces beneath his equally familiar black suit.

Such is the man’s talent both at the piano and on vocals that he could keep the spotlight on himself, but after nicely warming up the crowd, the evening was all about distribution of musical wealth, with an electrifying evening of classic blues, jazz and soul.

Holland and his orchestra’s repertoire had everything, from Muddy Waters’ ‘Got My Mojo Working’ to Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’, and pure blues in Why Love Set Me Free.

Special guest Sandie Shaw was rather unfortunately more memorable for her dress than her performance. Sorry, but a low-cut, tight fitting, mini mini dress on a woman ‘of a certain age’ just did not complement what was actually a pretty good set from this 1960s icon, whose trademark bare feet were a fine touch.

Shaw’s four song set led off with The Beatles’ Love Me Do, included her hits Girl Don’t Come, Always Something There to Remind Me, and this reviewer loved the soul ballad arrangement of her Eurovision winner, Puppet on a String, this suiting her vocal pitch.

But vocally it was the magnificent Ruby Turner who stole the show and had most of the audience on their feet – the Jamaica-born big mama’s many talents are massive, justifying Holland’s introduction as ‘the queen of boogie-woogie’.

Other highlights in this stellar concert included a cracking drum solo by percussion ace Gilson Lavis which raised a big cheer, Holland’s sheer genius at the piano and the satisfaction of knowing that, while we enjoyed ourselves, the 19 talented people on the stage were having a ball too.

Alison Anderson