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THE CECIL SHARP PROJECT
Cecil Sharp House, London
Bonkers really. Just a week earlier young Scots fiddle player/singer Patsy Reid (from the band Breabach) had never met any of the other participants. Same with Mississippi- born American singer-songwriter Caroline Herring. So, to put them in a house in the country for a few days with the likes of Steve Knightley, Jim Moray, Jackie Oates, Andy Cut- ting, Kathryn Roberts and Leonard Podolak (of The Duhks) and ask them: 1) not to kill each other and; 2) to come up with a credible original song cycle and show based on the life and work of song and dance collector Cecil Sharp seemed like the demands of a sadist. They’d do well to get out of this one with their professional reputations intact.
Watching this crazy notion sprout tri- umphantly to life at the house named in Cecil’s honour in a joint promotion between Shrewsbury Folk Festival and the English Folk Dance & Song Society makes you want not only to hug every single artist on stage but marvel at the levels of human creativity lurk- ing within them. With an experienced master song craftsman like Knightley on board it was always a safe bet that the original songs would portray Sharp’s tale slickly enough, but nobody could have anticipated them emerg- ing from their hidey-hole in Shropshire with such a complete, varied and polished show that it felt like it had been worked up for months, not days.
Project manager Neil Pearson’s shrewdly- balanced selection of artists had clearly been made with just such a variety in mind. His one proviso had been that the show started and ended with an ensemble piece but in the event, virtually everything was done collabo- ratively, from Knightley’s reflective Mining For Songs opening through a sublime Oates/ Roberts duet of ‘Cecil’s greatest hits’ into the Appalachian era of Sharp’s collecting, giving licence to the extraordinary Podolak to lead the gang in a raucous version of The Cuckoo, and finishing the first half with an extrovert demonstration of hambone dancing, audi- ence participation and all.
But if the first half was good, the second half is sensational, ranging from a Caroline Herring song of dissent, Black Mountain Lul- laby, to the the touching romance of Beauti- ful Maud to an intriguing juxtaposition of the American/English connection on Barbara Allen and a provocative tribute to the woman Sharp had collected Barbara Allen from – Aunt Maria Tomes. The manic Podolak cuts loose again belting out Veggie In The Holler on the subject of Sharp’s travails as a vegetar- ian in an area where chicken is regarded as a vegetable. The mood swiftly shifts with a mournful song about Sharp’s death, Caroline Herring softly reciting the names of the songs and singers Sharp collected in his life while the others gently sing the haunting refrain of Ghost Of Songs.
And all the while the music is outstand- ing. As Jim Moray commented, any band fea- turing the fiddle of Patsy Reid, the box of Andy Cutting and the vocals of Kathryn Roberts has got to be worth hearing in its own right, while Moray himself produces one
of the supreme show-stopping moments with a terrific version of Lord Douglas, comple- mented by Jackie Oates’ gorgeous harmonies.
And yet, the biggest surprise is reserved for the finale when the ensemble gather for demonstrations of both morris (poor Patsy Reid nearly capsizing in the stampede) and American step-dancing, before the show ends on a deliciously irreverent note with a saucily ambiguous ditty questioning the rela- tionship between Cecil Sharp and his faithful assistant Maud Karpeles.
The show will be repeated at Shrewsbury Folk Festival in August by which time a live album will have been released but I suspect this show will take on a life of its own beyond those events.
Colin Irwin
MUSIC MAKER REVUE / PURA FÉ TRIO Rich Mix, Bethnal Green Road, London
The Music Maker Relief Foundation is a non- profit organisation run out of North Carolina by folklorist Tim Duffy whose self-generated mission is to help and support as many living US roots musicians as he can find. Though not exclusively, the bulk of musicians promoted by Music Maker perform the blues as reflected in the line-up of the current touring Revue. The Revue features six individual artists supported by a rhythm section. It’s an old-style Revue show, no padding or waste, with each artist performing just three numbers.
Touring alongside them is the Pura Fé
Trio (fR333) who performed a fine opening set, much of their material coming from their new live CD. Accompanied by guitarist Cary Morin and percussionist Pete Knudson, Pura Fé sat with her lap slide guitar perched across her knees, using her voice to soaring, and often mesmerising, effect.
The first Revue artist on stage was 74-year-old Dr GB Burt sporting a grey beard and a shiny electric 12-string guitar. He settled on a stool like he was relaxing on his front porch and immediately had the audience in the palm of his long-fingered hand, as his timeworn voice purred out his autobiographical song What Can An Old Man Do, But Sing The Blues? His other two items continued in similar rural downhome style.
Dr Burt was followed by
pianist Eddie Tigner, the old- est performer in the Revue, but his sophisticated piano work and lively vocals gave no indication that he’s actual- ly 84. His spot featured a Route 66 that owed more to Nat King Cole’s original recording than any later R&B version. A couple of years younger than fellow Alaba- man Dr Burt, Milton Frazier (aka Alabama Slim) likes to
boogie. He fronted the backing band letting his guitar set the groove. Starting with Old Folks Boogie his three numbers got the audi- ence’s feet moving. Backing guitarist Albert White (whose Uncle was the legendary Piano Red) moved from the shadows to centre stage to show that he was a master of a more modern style of blues… his precise guitar work matched by his controlled yet strong vocal delivery.
The Revue featured two women… both named Pat. First up was Bay Area guitarist / vocalist Pat Wilder sporting a flame top Gib- son Les Paul which she attacked with wild abandon. The audience responded in kind and were immediately on their feet bopping like crazy. Ms Wilder lived up to her name, ducking and weaving, pouring as much ener- gy into her short spot as many other per- formers would have used for a hour-long set. Then, not to be outdone, Pat ‘Mother Blues’ Cohen took to the stage sporting a sparkling blue dress with blue feather boa and blue hair to match. With her huge personality and her raucous vocals she drove the audience to even greater frenzy as she exulted You Can Have My Husband But Please Don’t Mess With My Man! ‘Mother Blues’ left the stage, microphone in hand, to get down with the crowd belting out a rip-roaring Wang Dang Doodle. All too soon all the performers were linking arms to bid their farewell… “Hey, Hey, The Blues Is Alright”
The quality of the Music Maker Revue deserved a much larger audience than they played to at the Rich Mix, but the 100 or so souls that did bother to turn up to check out the show had a very good time and gave the performers a really fantastic reception. If they should ever return… don’t miss!!
Dave Peabody Dr GB Burt
Photo: Dave Peabody
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