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John Jorgenson,The Webb Sisters and Alan Thompson

Venue: Haig House Club
Town: Liverpool
Date: 3/10/14
Website: http://johnjorgenson.com/

Here's a quiz question- Where can you see a group of musicians who have toured extensively with Elton John, Leonard Cohen and John Martyn playing together on stage?

The answer is - Haig House Club in South Liverpool. When? Tonight, when the appreciative audience were treated to an evening of superlative music from John Jorgenson [one of the world's finest guitarists, who has played with The Desert Rose Band, The Elton John Band and The Hellecasters], the wonderful Webb Sisters [who have performed in over 400 concerts over 6 years with Leonard Cohen] and superb bass player Alan Thompson [who played with the late John Martyn for many years and who is now a member of Jacqui McShee's Pentangle]. Quite a pedigree, I am sure you will agree.

John Jorgenson is no stranger to Haig House, thanks to enthusiastic local promoter Frank Donovan who has brought John here on numerous occasions and now a John Jorgenson concert here is like a family reunion !

John Jorgenson is a real musical chameleon in that he has appeared here with several totally different, but equally outstanding, bands. We have had his amazing Full Electric Band, his Gypsy Jazz Band and, as recently as July this year, his Bluegrass Band featuring Herb Pedersen and Jon Randall. Tonight was something completely different again. And rather special, as John had enlisted the fantastic Webb Sisters [Hattie and Charley] to help him [and Alan] play "the songs that I love which need female vocals".

Thus, we were treated to a wonderfully eclectic selection of songs to which Hattie and Charley added their sublime vocals [just ask Leonard Cohen] as well as heavenly harp [Hattie] and acoustic guitar [Charley].

The choice of songs was, naturally, impeccable. Any show that includes two songs by Gene Clark is fine by me and the excellent 12-string driven versions of "She Don't Care About Time" and "Set You Free This Time" were nothing short of brilliant, particularly if, like me, The Byrds are your favourite group.

We also great covers of songs by Tracy Chapman ["Baby Can I Hold You"], Rodney Crowell ["Wandering Boy"], Emmylou Harris ["Bang The Drum Slowly"], Neil Young ["Heart Of Gold"] and local hero George Harrison ["I Need You" from "Help"], all immaculately played and sung.

From the Webb Sisters' repertoire we enjoyed a pair of tracks from their latest EP "When Will You Come Home", namely "It May Be Spring But I Still Need A Coat" and their gorgeous version of "Always On My Mind". Equally lovely was "The Goodnight Song", whilst their version of Leonard Cohen's "If It Be Your Will" was nothing short of spellbinding.

John Jorgenson's dazzling guitar virtuosity shone through on his delightful rendition of Django Reinhardt's gypsy jazz classic "Nuages" and the Celtic-influenced instrumental "The Musical Priest". Another highlight was his lightning-fast duet with Hattie's harp on the tune "Feather".

John is no mean lyricist either, as he demonstrated on his poignant song "for friends no longer here", "If You Could See".

The final song by this incredibly talented quartet was something of a surprise- a fabulous rendition of ABBA's "SOS", which brought the house down. With lead vocals by Charley and great interplay between John's 12-string and Hattie's harp, this was a great way to end what had clearly been a hugely enjoyable evening both for the band and the audience.

Come back again soon, John.

Peter Cowley
Photocredit Nicki Vinall

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