Blues In Britain
March 2009 Vol. 1 Issue 87
The Oval Tavern, East Croydon
18th January 2009
John O'Leary is a well-known figure on
the British blues scene and is a welcome regular performer at the
Oval Tavern. For this performance he was joined by Jules
Fothergill on guitar, Jools Grudgings on keyboards, Glyn Evans on
bass and Jamie Levine (Jamie Little) on drums. John also
invited two special guests, Alan Glen on harmonica and vocals
and Saiichi Sugiyama on guitar.
The band kicked off with that blues
classic "Born In Chicago" with fine harp, a tuneful and
jazzy extended guitar solo and a great extended keyboard solo.
More harp pyrotechnics occured on "Snatch It Back & Hold It"
with again more fine dynamic guitar. Jools Grudgings played
some fine Hammond style organ on "Early In The Morning"
with all the stops pulled out on guitar and a full bodied harp
solo. Saiichi Sugiyama then guested on "She's Nineteen
Years Old", where the band gave a great ensemble sound and there
were fine solos from all the featured instrumentalists.
Alan Glen was invited on the stage to
sing and play harmonica on "I Don't Worry About A Thing (Cos
Nothing's Gonna Be Alright)". A lyrical harp solo was
followed by an equally lyrical guitar solo, then keyboard followed by
harp and finishing with question and answer on harp and guitar.
This was great stuff and the audience loved it! Alan followed
up with Junior Wells' "Stomach Ache", a fine vehicle for
harp with a Wes Montgomery style solo from Jules on guitar and a
Jimmy Smith style solo on keyboards. John O'Leary came back to
finish the set on harp and vocal with a fine rendering of "Little
By Little".
he second set started with the
ensemble, minus John, playing an instrumental a la "Pick Up The
Pieces" with all soloing to great effect. John then played
"Look On Yonder's Wall" which seagued into "Help Me"&
"One Way Out". There was much dynamics on display
with great keyboard, guitar and harp solos which left the audience
shouting for more. Jools Grudging then featured, playing some
scintillating boogie woogie. Then, Saiichi Sugiyama was invited
up on "Rock Me Baby". There was some great guitar
work from him and Jules, an excellent extended harp solo from
John, with a great build up and good dynamics. The song seagued into
"40 Days & 40 Nights" for a grandstand finish.
Alan Glen played harp on "Watch
Out" with great soloing from all and a duo on harp with Alan on
John. This was all great stuff that the audience thoroughly
enjoyed. John then played and sang "Long Ways From Home"
once again with great soloing from all, then finished the gig with
"Black Cat Bone" which brought a great evening to
a fitting conclusion.
John O'Leary has a strong track record
and his band is equally well qualified. Jules Fothergill was on
fire and was matched by all the other performers. Alan Glen
showed his mastery of the medium and Saiichi Sugiyama added greatly
to the performance. This was a night to remember; long may it
continue at The Oval Tavern! - Bill Smith