The Stables, Wavendon - 28 / 9 / 2017
Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:14 pm
Founded by legendary jazz musicians, Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth, the Stables houses a superb 398 seat amphitheater that is the Jim Marshall Auditorium. This was to be the venue for our latest dose of the Giltrap drug, supported on this occasion by Carrie Martin.
We had heard much of Carrie, all of it positive – and although we had been introduced to her on previous occasions, we had been thwarted in our attempts to see her perform live.
Within minutes of our arrival, Hilary had both greeted us warmly and recruited us to duty on the merchandise table – where CDs by both Gordon and Carrie were fairly flying out to appreciative customers. We were, of course, more than happy to oblige.
The theatre had attracted almost a full house for the concert – Gordon’s popularity has not been lessened by his recent hiatus from live performance. Tonight’s proceedings, however, were to begin with the delightful Carrie Martin.
I was a little unsure of what to expect as a diminutive figure approached a stage that – with both Gordon’s array of instruments flanked by Carrie’s collection – resembled a small guitar emporium. Carrie mounted the rostrum and introduced herself it seemed a little nervously – in an appealing sort of way – but when she began to sing I was amazed. Usually my musical tastes veer towards instrumental pieces, but this mellifluous, honeyed, silken voice broadcast gentle poetry to my shell-likes.
The gathering was graced with beautiful compositions from Carrie’s new album – Seductive Sky - all original pieces from a fertile creative talent - and she demonstrated no mean ability with the guitar too. Among her arrangements were: Maria in the Moon, Dancing Dragonfly, Purple Heart and, my favourite - accompanied by Mr. Giltrap in the second set – Holly Blue.
As I listened to the lyrics of this latter piece – it’s about a butterfly – I could see in my mind’s eye this fragile lepidoptera sitting on my arm; raising goosebumps and eliciting a tiny tear. My reputation as a tough, macho biker dude is clearly in decline.
Carrie’s withdrawal from the stage and Gordon’s appearance was very slick – one off: one on – and the evening’s entertainment continued in the more familiar Giltrap manner – i.e. with amusing narratives from a distinguished career, witticisms and jests (often directed at himself). Oh! He did some guitar playing too.
Gordon’s selection of music included a varied mixture of pieces from his latest album – The Last of England – together with well-loved melodies from his extensive back catalogue. I particularly enjoyed Appalachian Dreaming on the resurrected car boot guitar: G’s interpretation of Davy Graham’s Angie: a formidable Dodo’s Dream and – with cathedral reverb selected – The Lord’s Seat. Loren, Ania’s Dream, Dublin Day and Down the River also featured – together with a fun piece dedicated to a feline entitled Po Faced Tilley.
I was not alone in noticing a definite extra element in the musical presentations of this evening. Certainly, Gordon was on dazzling form – clearly enjoying himself and demonstrating his formidable skills in an impressive manner – and Carrie’s beautiful, sincere and thoughtful compositions and genuine, open and captivating performance contributed significantly - but I felt that there was something more. Perhaps it was the historic nature of the venue: maybe the professional sound management or the acoustics – or perhaps the sheer joy of listening to wonderful music – but there was unquestionably a ‘sizzle’ evident in the atmosphere that lifted this event to exceptional level.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow opined that music is the language spoken by angels. Both Gordon Giltrap and Carrie Martin are undoubtedly fluent.
We had heard much of Carrie, all of it positive – and although we had been introduced to her on previous occasions, we had been thwarted in our attempts to see her perform live.
Within minutes of our arrival, Hilary had both greeted us warmly and recruited us to duty on the merchandise table – where CDs by both Gordon and Carrie were fairly flying out to appreciative customers. We were, of course, more than happy to oblige.
The theatre had attracted almost a full house for the concert – Gordon’s popularity has not been lessened by his recent hiatus from live performance. Tonight’s proceedings, however, were to begin with the delightful Carrie Martin.
I was a little unsure of what to expect as a diminutive figure approached a stage that – with both Gordon’s array of instruments flanked by Carrie’s collection – resembled a small guitar emporium. Carrie mounted the rostrum and introduced herself it seemed a little nervously – in an appealing sort of way – but when she began to sing I was amazed. Usually my musical tastes veer towards instrumental pieces, but this mellifluous, honeyed, silken voice broadcast gentle poetry to my shell-likes.
The gathering was graced with beautiful compositions from Carrie’s new album – Seductive Sky - all original pieces from a fertile creative talent - and she demonstrated no mean ability with the guitar too. Among her arrangements were: Maria in the Moon, Dancing Dragonfly, Purple Heart and, my favourite - accompanied by Mr. Giltrap in the second set – Holly Blue.
As I listened to the lyrics of this latter piece – it’s about a butterfly – I could see in my mind’s eye this fragile lepidoptera sitting on my arm; raising goosebumps and eliciting a tiny tear. My reputation as a tough, macho biker dude is clearly in decline.
Carrie’s withdrawal from the stage and Gordon’s appearance was very slick – one off: one on – and the evening’s entertainment continued in the more familiar Giltrap manner – i.e. with amusing narratives from a distinguished career, witticisms and jests (often directed at himself). Oh! He did some guitar playing too.
Gordon’s selection of music included a varied mixture of pieces from his latest album – The Last of England – together with well-loved melodies from his extensive back catalogue. I particularly enjoyed Appalachian Dreaming on the resurrected car boot guitar: G’s interpretation of Davy Graham’s Angie: a formidable Dodo’s Dream and – with cathedral reverb selected – The Lord’s Seat. Loren, Ania’s Dream, Dublin Day and Down the River also featured – together with a fun piece dedicated to a feline entitled Po Faced Tilley.
I was not alone in noticing a definite extra element in the musical presentations of this evening. Certainly, Gordon was on dazzling form – clearly enjoying himself and demonstrating his formidable skills in an impressive manner – and Carrie’s beautiful, sincere and thoughtful compositions and genuine, open and captivating performance contributed significantly - but I felt that there was something more. Perhaps it was the historic nature of the venue: maybe the professional sound management or the acoustics – or perhaps the sheer joy of listening to wonderful music – but there was unquestionably a ‘sizzle’ evident in the atmosphere that lifted this event to exceptional level.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow opined that music is the language spoken by angels. Both Gordon Giltrap and Carrie Martin are undoubtedly fluent.