Four gigs in two days

On Friday night I went to the South Bank to see a free “commuter jazz” show in the Royal Festival Hall foyer. One of the great things about this series is even if you’ve never heard of the performing artists before, it’s guaranteed to be a high standard – and there’s no admission charge either.

Last time I went, a couple of weeks ago, it was a group called the Osian Roberts/Steve Fishwick Quintet. I had no idea who they were but really enjoyed it. This time around, it was the Andrea Vicari Quartet, equally anonymous to me. It’s a rare sight in jazz to find a female instrumentalist leading the line-up: Andrea Vicari was on piano, accompanied by Mornington Lockett (tenor sax), Dorian Lockett (bass) and Mike Bradley (drums).

They played an entertaining combination of standards and original compositions, with each player showing flair and creativity with improvisation. Vicari rippled the keys up and down with flowing chord sequences, the Locketts displayed amazing dexterity and Bradley held the tempo while showing his own inventive skills on select occasions.

Yes, I do look a bit like I want to go home in this pic

The random event of the day took place a few hours later. We met Brian Haw, the infamous anti-war protester who lives outside the Houses of Parliament, in a bar! It was quite surprising to see him walk in, since I didn’t think he ever left his outpost opposite the Commons, but he must have needed a meal and a break on Friday night. He seemed a bit mad, but not unfriendly – he even agreed to have pictures taken.

After that unusual encounter it was time for some more live music, a two-person salsa performance at a Cuban bar near Waterloo station. I love the Latin genre and have hardly ever seen it performed, so it was really fun. Will definitely be going back sometime soon for more.

The third gig was on Sunday afternoon and different yet again. It was another free one, taking place in the lobby of the National Theatre. Steve Lawson, a well-known innovative bassist, was performing with flute/soprano sax player Theo Travis. Long, vivid improvisations took up most of the show but they added a few of their own tracks as well. Lawson was using live looping techniques to record short musical phrases and play them back, creating the textured illusion that there was an orchestra of bassists. Both of them had an array of pedals and foot controls to get different effects and it was fascinating to watch them manipulate electronic technology so cleverly – and hear the results.

Then later on came the maddest gig of them all: a punk music night in Kingston. I went to see a friend’s band, The Suspended, and three others were playing as well. The atmosphere was awesome and my ears are still ringing! Can’t beat live music.

So, that was four completely different gigs in two days. In London there is such a diverse scene, you can find anything you want without that much fuss. Next week there’s a lot more in at the NT in the afternoons, so I’ll definitely try and catch a bit of that.