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@splashpointjazz News Splash – June 2022: Jubilee đŹđ§, Germany đ©đȘ and Tennis! đŸ
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@splashpointjazz Newsletter May 2020
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@splashpointjazz Newsletter April 2022
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@splashpointjazz Newsletter March 2022
Hello Splashpointjazzers!
Sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine â€ïž
Itâs March! Spring is virtually here, and with world events being so grim, surely we need to cheer ourselves up as much as possibleâŠ
Thereâs no better way than getting together and enjoying some swinging Live Music!
Previously on @splashpointjazzâŠ.Â
A couple of action shots from our previous month:
Sue Richardson @Ronnie Scottâs
Tommaso Starace @splashpointjazz Seaford
Shireen Francis @splashpointjazz Eastbourne
Looking ahead:
Hereâs the list of our public gigs coming up. Â Weâve changed the format of the list on our website too – pls see
www.splashpointjazz.com/events to keep up to date đ
Tuesday, 8 March 2022 7:00 pm
Neal Richardson solo piano/vocal
The Pearl of China, Weybridge, KT13 8HE
Bookings: 01932 842766
Yep, another new venue for us, for occasional âtaster menuâ nights.
Wednesday, 9 March 2022 7:00 pm
[Photo: Brian O’Connor]
Sarah Moule (vox) with The Neal Richardson Trio feat. Miles Danso, Alex Eberhard
Seaford – The View BN25 4JS
www.wegottickets.com/splashpointjazz
Sunday, 20 March 2022 4:00 pm
Neal Richardson solo piano/vocal
The Queenâs Head, Parsonage Lane, Icklesham TN36 4BL
Bookings: 01424 814552
Tuesday, 22 March 2022 2:00 pm
Neal Richardson solo piano/vocal
Bangor, Wales, details TBA
Saturday, 26 March 2022 8:00 pm
Neal & Sue Richardson Duo
Live at The Swamp Studio, Raamsdonk, Holland
Details TBA
Sunday, 27 March 2022 Motherâs Day Lunch
12:00 pm Terry Seabrook, solo piano
Cooden Beach Hotel, Bexhill
Bookings: 01424 842281
(Presented by @splashpointjazz)
Sunday, 27 March 2022 Motherâs Day Tea
3:00 pm Gabrielle Taylor, solo classical guitar
Cooden Beach Hotel, Bexhill
Bookings: 01424 842281
(Presented by @splashpointjazz)
Sunday, 27 March 2022 Motherâs Day Lunch
12:30 pm Oz Dechaine, solo piano
Seaford – The View, BN25 4JS
Bookings: 01323 890139
(Presented by @splashpointjazz)
Wednesday, 30 March 2022 8:00 pm
[Photo: Brian O’Connor]
Matt Home Quartetâs âBobby Timmons Project”
Eastbourne – Fishermenâs Club BN22 7AA
www.wegottickets.com/splashpointjazzÂ
AND our dear friend and colleague Terry Seabrook has started a new monthly gig in Lewes at The Con Club:
Sunday 13th March 2022, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Milestones – Terry’s tribute to Miles Davis
https://www.lewesconclub.com/events/jazz-at-the-con-milestones/
>>> Please âLikeâ/âFollowâ our Social Media channels if you havenât already, here:
YOUTUBE:
www.youtube.com/user/SplashPointMusic
FACEBOOK:
www.facebook.com/Splashpointjazz
FACEBOOK GROUP:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/814085392610722/
TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/splashpointjazz
INSTAGRAM:
https://www.instagram.com/splashpointjazz/
WEBSITE:
www.splashpointmusic.com/
LINKED-IN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/neal-richardson-1623838/
>>> Please forward this to any friends who might be interested and recommend them to join the Newsletter by sending an email to:
news@splashpointjazz.com
See you at a gig soon!
All the best
Neal & the Splash Point Jazz mob
@splashpointjazz
©2022 Splash Point Music Ltd
@splashpointjazz News Splash: London Jazz Festival Shows! Gigs galore; Tim Minchin!
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Review of Tim Minchin, Brighton Centre 25/10/21
Review of Tim Minchin, Brighton Centre 25/10/21
[Main Photo: Tim Minchin + Band, by Neal Richardson 25/10/21]
I was one of the lucky ones to witness the one-off comical/philosophy/musical/lyricist genius that is Tim Minchin LIVE in Brighton last night (25th Oct), as part of his BACK Again Tour
The man is a force of nature – in a class all of his own. His songs and soliloquies are all breathtaking in their wit and wordplay.
He started, predictably unpredictably by appearing alone at the piano in darkness, and regaling us with his comic-dark song “If this plane goes down”, thus setting the tone for an evening full of musical and comic surprises, that had all of us at turns in hysterics, disbelief (at his lyricism) and tears.
And soliloquies there certainly were! I would estimate that the performance time was equally split between the marvellously-inventive songs (easy to see why he was entrusted with Dahl’s Matilda), and his powerful rhetoric, both of which reward the careful listener (there are a LOT of words) at his unparalleled crafts-person-ship. He delights in provocation, in popping pomposity, hypocrisy, tribalism, religiosity, social media and faux-beliefs along the way, together with much ire at the confirmation biases with which we all inevitably operate, and his main point: how hard it is for any of us to change our minds! But it is all done with such good humour, impishness and well-place self-deprecation that it would be hard to take offence instead of being rightly challenged by his prodding.
The inventive songs came thick and fast (I refer here to a few examples just by the titles I gave them):
Dilemma: the conflict between his piano-playing key signatures and his vocal range⊠resulting in him playing in F major and singing in F sharp!
Mitsubishi Colt: an astounding bravura display of machine-gun words set over a walking bass in the left hand with a super-fast improvised line in the right hand.
Power of Prayer: A complete, logical destruction of its title, just broiling in acerbic wit. The words filled two pages in the A3 souvenir programme, yet Minchin had no paper aide memoire throughout the gig.
After the first few numbers, the 7-piece band appeared as suddenly as he had, filling the sound out fully in true rock-star fashion. All the players were, of course, top notch and multi-skilled. Once again I have to single-out the drummer/vocalist Brad Webb, who once again absolutely nailed it as the power behind the musical throne.
The philosophical challenges and quips came thick and fast too, like so many fireworks in the Minchin firmament: “The self is an illusion based on fear”; “You need eyebrows to get irony, that’s why seagulls are so literal”;Â “Churches are like football teams – just with mascots that can fly”; “I’m a proud empiricist” and so forth.
Periodically he treated us to his “Glossary of Terms”, revelling in explaining some of his forthcoming cultural references to younger attendees (“I can’t believe there are fully-grown adults here born since 2000!”).
Then in the best traditions of stagecraft, several times at a high-point of energy and hilarity, he would slay us all with a profound ballad, “The Absence of You” and “I’ll Take Lonely Tonight” being two of such.
The second set opened with a self-declaration of his being uxorious (“I want you to have to go away and look things up”), but with an ode to his wife that was a little more shall we say statistically-based. “She hates it” he admitted.
There was a stunning video projected in sync with his tune about “Leaving L.A.”, followed by his 9-minute mini rock-opera about⊠“Cheese!”, featuring his self-proclaimed best pun ever written (no spoilers here).
More excellent diatribes followed, winding up to the finale, the autobiographical “I talked too much and stayed too long” – which he declaimed as his preferred epitaph!
The gentle chorale encore, using the whole band to blend stunningly-rich vocal harmonies, belied the truth behind the grit and causticity of the preceding proceedings⊠actually this whole exercise had been a paean to love.
Minchin’s writing – of both script and lyrics – is incredible;Â his wordplay as good as anyone who ever lived.
It’s little wonder he has been awarded THREE honorary Doctorates so far.
He is indeed in a top class all of his own. Thrilling.
Neal Richardson, Seaford UK
26th October 2021
@splashpointjazz
@splashpointjazz News Splash: Livestream and Epsom this week; Jamie Cullum!
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Review of Jamie Cullum at The London Palladium, Weds 6/10/21
Jamie Cullum at The London Palladium, Weds 6/10/21
Iâve followed Jamieâs career – and been inspired by it – for around for 20 years now.
From smaller gigs, jazz weekenders (we had breakfast together at Margate I seem to remember!), to his worldwide breakthrough with âTwenty Somethingâ onwards, Love Supreme and huge festivals and his messianic Radio 2 show spreading the word to new generations.
So it was with great pleasure and awe that I approached Londonâs iconic Palladium tonight to see a jazz piano player/singer/songwriter sell out two nights with his 10-piece band in 2021. What a huge achievement in itself, and what an amazing show. Â World class, as good as it gets. Perfectly paced, with a huge range of styles, inexhaustible energy, and superb musicianship all round. Jamie is astounding, and deserving of his successes.
The gig got off to a very good start with support act Sam Wills, who captivated the capacity crowd with the quality of his voice, keyboard, songs and his singular band of Ed Blakely.
The sound throughout was crystal clear, which was a good indication of the engineering for the main act to come.
The crowd gave Jamie a heroâs welcome as he bounced onto the stage, and as he thanked everyone, he acknowledged that many had waited two-and-a-half years to see this show since buying their tickets in 2019, thanks to the pandemic. (One of his parting comments later as he left after the encores was âYou were worth the waitâ – which summed up the love flowing in both directions).
He immediately got everyone on his side by summing up the lost months with his poignant song Age of Anxiety, starting with just piano and voice, before his first-class band joined in.
Followed by (I Wish I Was) Taller, and These are the Days Iâve Been Missing, we were all on board the Cullum train for wherever he wanted to take us.
The energy didnât drop – even in the quieter numbers – and a near two hours flew by.
The catchy songs kept on coming with almost no break, and covering a massive range of styles – from swing, New Orleans, pop, ballads, choral, dance, to zydeco and boogaloo. Â Jamie is a thoughtful songwriter, always surprising with his lyrics eg âThrow me a rope; will I climb or will I choke”
Jamie is a superb showman – the whole show was superbly crafted but proving that old showbiz maxim of how much work has to go in to make something appear so effortless. Â He is very generous in sharing the limelight with his team: Each of the 10-piece band members had their moments of glory, and all were amazingly good. Â There was a genuine feeling of them loving their jobs, this night, and each other.
Special mention must go to drummer, who nailed the whole thing down throughout, perfectly jumping between the non-stop tempo/style/meter changes⊠not to mention emerging from his drum solo into a 15 meter groove!
As a jazz musician myself, a highlight for me was a Quintet version of Porterâs I Get A Kick, very cleverly arranged with the horns playing Groovinâ High riffs in between the lines (and soloing on the latter). Suddenly 2,300 people – many of whom probably wouldnât identify as jazz fans – were listening to mainstream swing and bebop… clapping solos⊠70 years on from when Nat King Cole had played on this same stage.
Band line-up changes continued apace – keeping the interest up – when Jamie switched to Trio format, then again solo at the piano. I loved his wistful solo version of What A Difference (A Day Made), with gorgeous re-harmonisations and vocal sweeps. The Palladium could have been a tiny Manhattan piano bar at 3am.
Then we were off again with the full band for a high-octane romp through Hang Your Lights from his 2020 Christmas album⊠âI was very nervous about going anywhere near the walled garden created by Michael BublĂ©, so I wrote my own 10 songs for it!â.
Next we had 8 of the musicians down the front of the stage with just Loz Garrettâs bass, singing as a beautiful chorale; then straight back to full-throttle 10-piece with the backing singers dancing and Jamie off the stage and in the audience (much to everyoneâs delight). With well-practised persuasion he had everyone – the whole Palladium – on their feet dancing and waving to his command.
A series of encores followed, whereupon the band left the stage to the star to sing âYou And Me Are Goneâ.
He finished the show in this wonderful place just as he had started out his London career – alone with a piano and a mic, demonstrating consummately his musicianship and passion for the music, on which everything else in the evening – and the past 20 years – was built.
Catch this Tour wherever you can.
Neal Richardson, Seaford UK
6th October 2021
@splashpointjazz
PS I will be talking about the show on the #splashpointjazzshow Livestream 7/10/21 7pm UK (on FB and YT)
#RespectMovie – Review of the new Aretha Franklin film
Respect – film on UK general release 10th September; Details from KovaPR.com
Youâd be forgiven for thinking that a film about Aretha would be an extended sugary buildup to the recording of the eponymous song⊠but youâd be completely unprepared for the hard-hitting masterpiece that unfolds.
Mention must first be made of a jaw-dropping performance from Jennifer Hudson as Aretha, both in acting and singing, the latter channelling the great lady herself to an unbelievable degree. Ms Hudson sang it all live during the filming, and there are enough closeups to prove it.
Quite simply, an astounding bravura work.
Childhood Aretha is beautifully captured by young actress Skye Dakota Turner too.
Itâs a long film, but Aretha had a long and eventful life.
The cinematic pace doesnât falter, and tackles just about every serious issue of the day – racism, segregation, the civil rights movement, domestic violence, child-abuse, religion vs music industry, mental health⊠and hooks you in right there in the first 15 minutes.
All the supporting cast are wonderful, and make the most of the no-holds-barred script. The sets and costumes are meticulous in their historical accuracy, even down to the microphones, studio equipment and musical instruments.
The music re-creations are very cleverly done, with proper musicians playing actual instruments mainly live on-camera.
There are nice insights too into songwriting and production. (Having produced many albums in studios I could appreciate the largely-authentic agony and triumph of these moments!).
I would say this hard-hitting biopic should be essential viewing for musicians of all genres, and anyone else with any appreciation of a truly legendary singer.
Be prepared to be informed, shocked, elated, awe-struck and moved to tears.
The last 15 minutes are among the most powerful bits of cinema Iâve ever seen.
Neal Richardson
(Pianist/Singer/Producer)
@splashpointjazz
31/8/21 Seaford, UK
Summer Jazz in the Vineyard!!
Yep, green shoots are well and truly maturing, as we have now booked gigs over the next 3 months creating more than 70 properly-paid slots for musicians :-).
All the details and ticket info is on our website at splashpointjazz.com
And our latest innovation isâŠ
Summer Jazz In the Vineyard! Â 10th+11th July, 2-6pm
Buy tickets at splashpointjazz.com
Here’s the official PR:
24/5/21
A new jazz weekend is coming to an East Sussex vineyard in July, featuring two fantastic professional bands and refined wines.
Summer Jazz in the Vineyard will bring the music of legends Nat King Cole and Chet Baker in two shows featured in the London Jazz Festival, to Off the Line Vineyard in Hellingly.
The festival also includes wine tasting, vineyard walks through the unique natural woodland, pas- ture and ponds, a kidsâ gym and a Salehurst Halt food van serving local and seasonal produce.
Seaford-based jazz musician and festival organiser Neal Richardson said: âAfter a year of isolation we canât wait to bring people together for a fabulous summer weekend of live music in the gor- geous grounds of the vineyard.
âItâs great to be working with fantastic local businesses to create an exciting event to celebrate summer and enjoy jazz together.â
Pianist/singer Neal Richardsonâs show âNotâ King Coleâ, described as âJazz at itâs purestâ by Jazz Journal, is on the Saturday 10th and trumpeter/singer Sue Richardsonâs âChet Baker: Too Coolâ of which Jazz FM said âI kid you not, you closed your eyes, you were listening to Chet Bakerâ is on Sunday 11th July.
Kristina Studzinski from Off the Line Vineyard said: âWeâre delighted to be able to welcome people back to our vineyard and grounds, and of course serve up our wonderful local wines.
âJazz and wine is a perfect combination, and our lovely vineyard is the perfect setting.â
Off the Line specialises in roseÌ wines, all of which will be available to sample, taste and purchase at the festival. It sits alongside the Old Cuckoo Line, an old railway connection between Polegate and Edridge, and festival comers are encouraged to arrive by bike or foot along it as an environ- mentally friendly option.
The event runs from 2-6pm on the 10th and 11th July, and tickets at ÂŁ20 for one day or ÂŁ35 for both are available at www.splashpointjazz.com
Thanks for reading!