Jazz vs Blues - compare and contrast

We went to two very different concerts on successive nights: Phronesis and Taj Mahal.

Phronesis
Purcell Room, London, England. Wednesday 14-November-2011

Once again my sister and BIL double booked themselves and we got their spare tickets. They went off to Ronnie Scott's whilst we went off to hear someone we'd never heard of but that's fine by me; that way you to get experience things you might not otherwise.

The novel feature was the second half which was played in the pitch black which I found an intriguing and worthwhile experiment. It did allow me to focus on the music without being distracted by watching the musicians. The music was enjoyable but I couldn't write a review about avant-garde jazz so here a couple I found on the interweb:

• Write Stuff https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150370478366592
• Mark Youll http://www.wordsofnoise.com/2011/phronesis-pitch-black-purcell-room-southbank-centre/

On the down side the Purcell room is not the most charming of venues and so we went to The Archduke for a post concert glass of wine.

Taj Mahal
Under the Bridge, London, England. Thursday 15-November-2011

We only learnt about this concert because we follow Marcus Bonfanti and he was rumoured to be playing support for Taj. A new venue to us, this is under Chelsea FC's Stamford Bridge ground and only a 20 minute bus ride away. Unreserved seating so we aimed to be there not too long after the doors opened even knowing (guessing) that it would be some time before the performance.

I got chatting to a man behind me who said he had been waiting 40 years to see Taj and had bought his tickets as soon as he heard about the gig. I am embarrassed to say that I "place-dropped" that we saw Taj a couple of years ago in New Orleans at The House of Blues.

As it turned out there was no support act so it was straight into a good long set from Taj. In NO he did a much more up-tempo rock style set; this time he did much more of an old-style set. He switched instruments playing several consecutive songs on each of electric guitar, keyboard, acoustic guitar, mandolin, etc.



I took a couple of photos on my iPhone but the security guard saw and insisted on me deleting them. Which is daft as they have put up their own photos on flickr for the world to see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/utblondon/sets/72157628126573307/detail/

And back home in 20 minutes on the 28 bus. Damn I love this city!