Gig Review
Ronnie Taylor & Johnny Wands
Saturday, 10 January 2009:
This was a very interesting duo; sax player (Ronnie Taylor) and a singer/guitarist (Johnny Wands). An unusual combination but one that worked a treat! Both Ronnie and Johnny have a long blues and roots pedigree – more than 80 years between them - and their combined experience has created a strong bond. Their range of material was quite eclectic and Johnny’s own compositions stood up well; he gave each a preamble as to why he had written them and once heard one could feel the passion! They presented a range of styles covering ballads, boogie, country, blues, gospel and jazz.
Mort Shuman’s “Fever” was given a nice jazz feel – languorous, drawn out vocal lines - and was very good. During the concert Johnny regaled us with tales of the musical luminaries he had met whilst sojourning in New Orleans! One of them was Mose Allison and the duo then did “Parchment Farm”, which really kicked along. A nice addition was J. J. Cale’s “City Girls”; laid back and easygoing. Some excellent RnB with Jimmy Reed's “Big Boss Man” and a lovely rendition of Leadbelly's “Alberta”.
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The second set kicked off with one of my favourite blues songs, Sonny Boy Williams “Help Me”, a sweet driving version! They followed that with ‘Work Song’, Nina Simone's vocal version of the Cannonball Adderley instrumental, which featured some scorching sax from Ronnie. Throughout the evening Johnny's range of vocals and guitar playing was matched effortlessly by Ronnie's beautiful sax work. Always playing nice fills, complementing Johnny's vocals or emphasising certain moments and at times being quite sublime, which lead the audience to burst into spontaneous applause!
One number in particular where Johnny could pour out the emotion was Ray Charles' “Georgia on My Mind”; slow, smoky, bluesy jazz provided an excellent showcase for this duo's immense talents - and created quite a mood! Another name that Johnny had met Stateside was Fats Domino, so “Walking to New Orleans” got the Taylor/Wands treatment. Very nice, it was too! They finished the set with one of Johnny's own numbers about an experience that he had in Cuba.
We wouldn't let them go without one more, so Johnny soloed 'a capella' style on the Bahamian hymn ‘I bid you goodnight’ which was quite poignant! This was one of those really unexpectedly different yet hugely enjoyable evenings that you get every so often. Take any opportunity you can to catch these guys!
Review by: Lewis A Harris.
© Bluesnights. The Dorset Blues Society.
10 January 2009.
