Live
Richard Earnshaw @ Jazz Café 19/06/10
T’was the Saturday before Summer Solstice 2010 and in a small venue in north London named Jazz Café I listened to an album from start to finish. I stood there listened to each track, there was no jumping to the next track after a minute or putting it on shuffle.
What there was however was an 8 piece band, 6 vocalists, and a very enthusiastic cameraman. The album in question is In Time by Richard Earnshaw, a true whiz music kid who is one of the most unassuming people I have ever seen in the music industry. As lights went down Richard explained that the band would be performing the entire album with songs in the same order as on the cd. Richard’s album is not out until July, but given it has been his labour of love for a decade he wanted to ensure we all got the full experience.
The showcase started with a welcome return of 90s soul star Kenny Thomas lending his vocal talents to the track ‘Good Love’ and later on in the show his own track ‘Waiting’. A good opening song, it set the tone for was one of the most enjoyable shows I have been to. A crowd diverse in age and race started moving along to the music, enjoying the sound that Richard’s merry band were producing. Whilst Kenny got the crowd energised, it was vocal talents of Natasha Watts that really turned up the heat when she sang Carleen Anderson’s ‘My Door Is Open’. Building an easy rapport with the audience she went on to blow the audience away with her vocal ability. Watching musical director Richard’s face as she sang was almost as entertaining as watching Natasha; he was clearly awed by some of the notes she was hitting as well having the vibe the band were having. If there was ever a moment that the whole band were caught up in the euphoria of the night, it would appear this was it. Natasha also lent her vocals to two other tracks performed by other artists on the album before MOBO award winner Nina Jayne graced the stage to sing her light and bouncy track ‘Circles’. Giving the evening feel of a family affair the backing vocalists for the night showcased their own talents too. Firstly Natasha Young slowed down the pace just a touch with her track ‘Young and Foolish’, which was note perfect and a track the crowd were keen to join in on. Simon Green later had his chance to showcase his soulful voice too on the album title track, not losing an ounce of energy that he had giving out the whole night. There was a welcome appearance from Imogen Ryall too who performed a rendition of the jazz standard ‘Cry me A River’. Vocally she brought the jazz element to the table, and her duet with the saxophone player was enjoyable to watch, however Richard’s background arrangement I am still undecided on.
Moving away from the vocalists however I have to talk about the band as a whole. As I previously said this was one of the most enjoyable showcases I have been to, and the reason for that was the band Richard put together. As a performing unit they made me feel like family, as if they were performing in my front room. I felt welcomed, relaxed, and encouraged to pull up a chair, take off my shoes and just watch them have fun on stage. As for the crowd, as the saying goes “everybody and their mother was having a good time”, and that was true because I was standing just a few feet from the mother of one of the band members and she definitely was having a good time. The band were able to capture the sound that is on the album and then translate that onto the stage. Their laid back attitude, sense of fun and kinship, and the level of energy of the singers, especially Mr Green, really set the band apart from a lot of others out there. I would have liked to have heard more from the entire brass section, and perhaps for their encore heard something that was not on the album, but nonetheless it was a good showcase. Richard should be very pleased with album he has produced, and the event as a whole.
Words Richard 'Ricardito' Ashie
