Review: Richard Herring Podcast

 

Richard Herring’s podcast has got a cult following with hundreds of thousands of people tuning in to listen to his freewheeling and uncensored conversations with all sorts of people from the world of comedy and beyond. This particular conversation was with the fiery comedian Esther Manito, who was promoting the tour of her new stand up show Slagbomb.

The promotion and plug definitely took a backseat as, armed with only a notebook page of doodled ideas of what might be nice to chat about, Herring took the reins on a chortlesome hour of comic conversation. The art of good conversation is not easily learned. Knowing when to probe and when to pause, when to listen and when to fill is a skill that requires patience and practice. Herring conducted the hour so masterfully that the time flew by leaving you with the feeling of having had a lovely afternoon catch up with two effervescent friends.

The topics were often innocuous on the surface, but opened up to reveal elements of controversy. A chat about 70s kids TV lead to jokes about Rolf Harris and Jimmy Saville, a memory about playing the glockenspiel on Record Breakers prompted another about racist TV presenters, and an anecdote about Danny Dyer recalled the horror and toxic masculinity of his agony uncle page in the 90s. Even Basil Brush got called a c*nt!

This was a funny, engaging and spontaneous hour of chat that was never afraid to shock or offend. The final topic was about the expensive and inaccessible nature of the Edinburgh fringe festival, which of course led to a huge cheer for the local alternative. The Chesham Fringe is clearly on the map and here to stay! 

Review: Joe McCorriston

Joe McCorriston began his set by saying this was his first time ever in Chesham. And what a treat for Chesham to have this Morecambe born, London based singer travel up specifically to share with them his music.

With original songs tightly rooted within the 90s pop rock genre, he performed a range of tunes with titles apparently designed to entice a younger audience than the one he found at the General Arms pub: It’s An Addiction, Bar At The End of the World, Escape from Reality and Halloween all have resonance with teenage and student life. 

But he brought to these youthful topics a maturity and swaggering confidence that made them feel fresh and captivating. His guitar playing was bold and brash, his vocals broad and bravado. Dressed casually in chinos and T-shirt with his tattoos on show and a Scooby Doo guitar strap, he looked and sounded every inch the (slightly older) boy band rockstar, like the McFly and Busted boys of today.

He said he grew up listening to Green Day, and there was a distinct American twang to his singing, except ironically when he delivered a cover of Robbie William’s Love Supreme, when his authentic northern vowels were let loose. He even delivered the rap in the middle 8 with aplomb! Overall, a brilliant hour of original pop rock to please punk kids of all ages.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/30mquSx8RLhST89s7Nmlb9?si=fO8myAY_RuaBtIXw-B_OfQ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joemccorriston/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joemccorristonmusic

Review: Achilles Death of the Gods

Greek myths have a timeless appeal and it was exciting to be able to sit down in a semi-circle, appropriately enough in a library of all places, though it could have been around a hearth or fire, to enjoy this poetic retelling of a tale from the age of Troy. No special effects or gimmicks, just a couple of props and the power of human connection.

As a fan of Stephen Fry’s Troy and Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles, I was intrigued to see how poet, classicist and actress Jo Kelen would reframe the familiar plot. Her angle was concision and precision. In the 45 minutes of performance time we raced through the entire story from the romantic meet-cute of Achilles and Patroclus to the inevitable tragic death, spite and revenge. 

Happily, that ferocious pace was balanced by her poise and calm stage presence. She was controlled and measured in her delivery from start to finish. The confidence with which she moved from one character to another, sometimes giving a simple little gestures and voice changes to delineate them, sometimes just saying 'this is Agamemnon speaking', made the one woman presentation of a wide cast of characters easy to follow. 

Kelen's voice was so slow and mesmeric that I was sometimes hypnotised into simply following its rhythm and losing track of the story. It took some concentration to stay focused on the plot and not just be lulled into a meditative trance by her serpentine sound.

Overall, an elegant, sophisticated and pared down retelling of one of Greek mythology most powerful stories of love and war.

Review: AdLibretto

I had the pleasure of watching AdLibretto at The Little Theatre By The Park as part of the Chesham fringe festival last year. As a result, I made a beeline to watch them again this year. The premise of their act is creating an improvised musical, taking suggestions from the audience and spinning a story and songs which have never been performed before and will never be performed again. The theme is usually around people thinking of what they do now for a job and contrasting it with what they wanted to do or imagined they would do when they were children.

This particular performance the musical focused on the work of Chris, now a psychiatrist but when he was a child he dreamed of being an inventor. Inspired by the musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang he wanted to create all sorts of wacky and weird inventions including flying machines. From this small spark of inspiration a full 45 minute musical was born.

AdLibretto were funny, inventive and spontaneous. they looked like they were having fun and were willing to belt out a tune with gusto.

There are always moments of messiness in this sort of performance. There were lyrics which didn’t rhyme, non sequiturs, dead ends, forgotten character names etc., but none of that really matters when the heart of the show is finding the funny and delivering a coherent story which genuinely entertains. Giving each other a bit more space so there are fewer crashed lines, interrupted gags and blurred melodies would push the act into something even more sparkling.

AdLibretto are going from strength to strength and have three or four shows a month lined up for the rest of this year, mostly taking place in London which is only a short tube right away from this friendly Chesham audience. So if you’re interested in catching them in their future performances, do you check out their website for dates and details. 

Review: From Venice to Broadway

From Venice to Broadway is a musical theatre revue put together by local amateur dramatics group the Chesham Musical Theatre Company. The theme for this show was travel and they selected a marvellous range of popular songs to explore various modes of transport and geographical locations.

The atmosphere they created was really welcoming and inclusive. It felt like you were in a family member's living room during a jolly party and everybody was being invited to take a turn at entertaining the crowd. The floor was open to all and indeed everyone had their moment to shine in the spotlight.

First up was an ensemble number: We Open in Venice from Kiss Me Kate. Then Francis, Hollie and Linda performed the touching ballad Another Suitcase from Evita. Chris (incidentally the same Chris who became the star of AdLibretto’s improvised musical at the Little Theatre on the Park a mere half hour earlier, Chesham is a tight knit town!) used a backing track to share his version of the James Bond classic From Russia with love.

As is apparently customary with this company, they included a little bit of Gilbert and Sullivan. They chose We sail The Ocean Blue, before Alli and Tim had us all giggling with a duet: A Couple of Swells.

Linda transformed the Queen song Bicycle into an avant garde poem by reading the lyrics out sans music, while sporting a cycle helmet. Safety first! Then Emily impressed with her feather boa and lovely soprano voice on Nicer In Nice from The Boyfriend.

The evening continued with Oklahoma, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Calamity Jane, even a bit of Pam Ayres and some music hall. There was genuinely something for everyone, and the night was drawn to a close with the rousing You’ll Never Walk Alone. Passionate calls for encore unfortunately couldn’t be responded to because many of the performers had to get to another one of the fringe shows! Therefore it's genuinely no exaggeration to say it was all in all a delightful evening's entertainment which literally left the audience wanting more.

Review: Alice Zawadski + Petra Haller

The night opened with a unique, intriguing and audacious act, in which tap-dancer Petra Haller and pianist Tom O'Brian improvised together for 30 minutes. The result was mesmerising, with the careful and cautious collaboration between musician and dancer proving both touching and intimate to watch.

Although tap dance is endlessly variable in terms of its rhythmic expression, it can be quite limited in terms of its ability to express narrative and emotional depth, especially in an improvised as opposed to choreographed form. The thoughtful and delicate listening between Haller and O'Brien went some way toward counterbalancing that, but it would be interesting to see this same premise revisited with a broader dance vocabulary. Nonetheless, a beautiful experiment in the wild and astonishing versatility of human artistic expression.

Next was Alice Zawadski with Invented Folklore, sharing music inspired by a day she spent exploring Watford and conversing with residents and business owners. She's a wonderful storyteller and brought her characters to life with sincerity and humour, both in her introductions to the songs, and in the music itself. She's this year's winner of the Jazz FM Vocalist of the year award, so it was a genuine privilege to be able to enjoy her singing and violin playing in such a close setting.

Xhosa Cole, who I reviewed last year for his electric appearance on the same Pump House stage at the Watford Jazz Junction Festival, played flute and saxophone. I don't have the name of the pianist, but the rest of the band were Jon Scott on drums, Misha Mullov-Abbado on double bass and Watford born ("Harlequin born", according to Alice!) Simon Roth on his own invented instrument the 'Magic Box', which lent an eerie, futuristic sound to proceedings.

This was the final night of Watford Junction's performances at the Pump House for this year, but the jazz continues on Sunday 18th May with Jazz Steps in Oxhey and Watford Heath. I look forward to celebrating the festival's fifth anniversary next year! For more details visit the festival website.

Review: Errol Linton + Kate Shortt

 

Jazz has often been a rich vein for comedy but more often than not, the comedy finds its target by poking fun at the cliches of the genre and its pretensions. Tonight's support act, the marvellous Kate Shortt, did the opposite, treating the jazz with immense affection and letting the funny flow through character, witty observation and a confident rapport with the audience.

Her main instrument was the cello which she played in all sorts of weird and bendy fashions, not just bowing and plucking but bashing the wood to create percussive sounds as well. She made extensive use of looping which allowed her to layer up the sound and create rich musical tracks in front of our very eyes. She even did an improvised song with suggestions from the audience which made me think of a game from Whose Line Is It Anyway. Somebody shouted out Marmite (which she loved), another person sardines, and finally somebody shouted Snickers from the very back. All of them ended up in her song in perfect rhythm and harmony, and with tongue firmly in cheek.

Shortt was really clear in her diction which was important because her comedy jazz songs relied not just on musical references and quotes but also on clever lyrics which took jazz into previously unexplored terrain including broken down cars, the challenges of the menopause and Arts Council funding for songwriting workshops in primary schools where the kids are taught the hallucinogenic delights of magic mushrooms.

A highlight was her self confessed moment of indulgence: a sweet and scat-heavy rendition of Dream A Little Dream Of Me. The entire set was an unexpected delight.

Next up was Errol Linton and his blues band, a show which completely sold out weeks in advance. This Brixton born harmonica player now has the reputation of being Britain's foremost Bluesman, having started out busking on the London Underground he now plays to appreciative packed houses internationally.

The prevailing mood of his set was pure, unadulterated fun. He, the band, the whole room lost track of time as we bounced from one great blues number to the next. Linton switched from harmonica to vocals and back as if they were one and the same action. Gary Williams on drums and Lance Rose on double bass kept the beat heavy and thumping. Petar Zivkovic on piano provided colour and mood, especially when giving New Orleans swing, and Richey Green on guitar strutted and preened his way through soaring solos like a rock star. Highlights included Stressed Out, Around the World, The Boogie Disease and perennial classic Ain’t Nobody's Business If I Do. Top notch blues played with love for a highly appreciative crowd.

Review: Mark Kavuma Quartet and Watford Writers Jazz Track Titles

Tonight began with a jazz event that focused on words rather than music as the Watford Writers, a local group that welcomes, inspires, and encourages all writers and poets to share their work, gathered to present a series of competition winning poems and short stories on the theme of Jazz Track Titles. Here I must declare an interest, as I was honoured to be invited to judge the submissions and pick my four favourite poems and short stories, most of which we were lucky enough to hear read aloud by the authors.
Pieces ranged from the whimsical and comic to the touching and chilling, with copious playful interpretations and reimaginings of both jazz titles and familiar lyrics. The whole event was jovially hosted by Ian Welland. To enjoy the writing for yourself please do visit the Watford Writer's page here.

Two years ago, I saw Oscar Lyons and his band play at the Pump House Colne River Room as part of Watford Jazz Junction festival. This year he has graduated to the Pump House main stage and it’s a graduation that is well deserved. All of the songs played were his own original compositions and each was imbued with a strong emotional core. I felt he was a very careful piano player, never wasteful with notes and preferring to leave space and gaps then to fill the air with distracting frills and trills.

His band comprised George Johnson on tenor sax, Zaki Osahn on double bass and Ananda Brandão on drums. I especially enjoyed watching Johnson play as his changing facial expressions were a barometer of the performance, ranging from blank neutrality as he let the sound of the band just wash over him, to broad toothy grins as he revelled in the inventive improvisation of his bandmates. Brandao provided a showstopping solo which used every part of the drum kit with ingenuity and originality, and it's worth noting Osahn is a local player who studied at the Purcell School.

The main act was the Mark Kavuma Quartet, which became a quintet with the unexpected addition of saxophonist Ruben Fox. The rest of the band were Jack Garside on bass, Jack Thomas on drums, Deschanel Gordon on piano.

Sophisticated, mature, confident and charismatic, this band has everything you want from contemporary jazz. Even sartorial style, which seems in some quarters to be going out of fashion. When you looked at them, you could see they were every inch the jazz band who meant business: sharp shirts, pork pie hats, statement glasses; they were brimming with personality.

My highlight moment, as a lover of the Great American Songbook, was their sharp and spiky interpretation of Almost Like Being In Love, a Lerner and Lowe classic originally from the 1957 musical Brigadoon. They brought the tune right up to date with wild beebop improvisation, spiky rhythmic changes and soaring solos, while never losing the heart and romance of the original song. I especially enjoyed Gordon's piano improvisation, racing chromatic scales juxtaposed with syncopated splashes of notes. A class act all round.

Review: Tim Garland and Gwilym Simcock

The night began with the Nico Widdowson Trio (Nico on piano, Joe MacLaren on double bass, Jordan Hadfield on drums), an energetic young band who immediately captured our attention with a clever bit of stage deception. A languid count in was abruptly followed by a ferociously paced first piece, and the tempestuous speed barely slowed for the entire set.

The band played with such urgency and passion that I feared for the safety of the instrumentsI It was spellbinding to see such attack in their performance, at times it almost bordered on the aggressive. Nico jerked violently in his seat whilst ascending and descending the piano keyboard with such force that I worried he might pull a muscle. When leaning back during bass or drum solos, he often glared into the audience with a devilish grin. And he even introduced one of his pieces as a warning to landlords that they shouldn’t raise rent unexpectedly on their young tenants or they might expect an avante-garde jazz piece to be written about them in retaliation. There were moments of traditional jazz sounds, stride piano, quotes from Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Thelonius Monk. But at it's core this was jazz that was fearless, fighting and inspired by the world today from a young person's perspective. Electrifying.

It was utterly disarming therefore when Nico chose to end the set on a beautifully lyrical ode to his mother. Waves of gentle romantic sound which spoke intimately of love, tenderness and connection. A touching close to the set.

If Nico and his band were the upstart firebrands, then Tim Garland and Gwilym Simcock represented the Old Masters. Tim Garland may be an international star but he's also a Watford local and so it was delightful to hear that this was his first performance on the Pump House stage, and he remarked how perfect a setting it was for a night of jazz.

They’re both masters of their instruments. They play with such felicity and precision, such extravagance and control. It’s an absolute joy to see them communicate through music both with one another (their long standing friendship is immediately apparent) and also with us, sharing their musical ideas.

Tim Garland shared the Spike Milligan quotation: A jazz musician is somebody who never plays a piece the same way once! And that was true of their set tonight. Cole Porter's How Deep Is The Ocean was stretched and reshaped in splendid contortions. Tim Garland shared a wonderful piece inspired by a dream he had of being surrounded by underwater creatures. At first he felt them to be threatening him but as they approached and came closer he realised they were imploring him for their help. When he woke, he rushed to composition to produce a piece that was ecological in theme, all about how we can help preserve natural life and improve the current climate disaster's impact on aquatic biodiversity. Gwilym Simcock shared a piece which he wrote that very day on his journey from Berlin to Watford, having dropped his kid off at school that morning and not having been able to sleep the night before because of a cold that woke him up at 4 am. A world premiere!

Overall, a magical night. Genius not at work, but at play.

Review: Janet Evra + Ilario Ferrai Trio

Janet Evra is an international jazz vocalist, bassist, and bandleader, originally from England and now based in St. Louis in the USA. 

Janet has collaborated with jazz superstars Randy Brecker, Taylor Eigsti, Marcus Miller, Veronica Swift, Wycliffe Gordon, Sara Gazarek, Mohini Dey, Dave Weckl, Eric Marienthal, and Diego Figueiredo, amongst others.  She sings in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French, blending traditional American, French and Latin jazz flavours with a modern twist and a dash of pop to produce a charming performance.

The night began with Janet Evra, an international jazz vocalist, bassist, and bandleader, originally from England and now based in St. Louis. She was supported by her husband on guitar and a drummer from Essex, now based in Wales. It was in all regards a truly international set as their song choices also took us globetrotting through the USA, Latin America and Europe, she even sang in French and Spanish! Language is a passion of her, and she shared a beautiful anecdote about how she used to practice French with her mother. Moments like that made the show incredibly warm and intimate as she brought us not just into the world of her music, but her life entirely. She spoke about her delight in expecting twins, and her excitement at working with Grammy winning artists on her latest album - her 'musical crushes'. It was a joy being in her company.

The majority of the songs were originals, playful and cheeky numbers like It's Late... But Not Too Late... were beautifully crafted and could have easily slipped into The Great American Songbook.

Evra's playful, light voice which is consistently precise and clear. I especially enjoyed the fact that she sings with an English accent which is ever so gently tempered by her years living across the pond. Her husband‘s guitar playing was relaxed and laid-back, while the drummer provided a sturdy spine to the evenings proceedings.

Overall, a beautiful hour of easy listening café style jazz. I have never heard a sweeter, more pared back version of Bye Bye Blackbird; just her on voice and her husband on guitar. Perfection.

Next up was the Ilario Ferrari Trio featuring Ilario on piano, Charlie Pyne on bass and Katie Patterson on drums. They have long been Watford favourites. Although Ilario hails from Italy, he has made Watford his home and the town has taken him to its heart. The audience was filled with local fans who couldn’t wait to hear him perform some of their old favourites as well as some new work from his recently released album Above The Clouds.

His work can be quite conceptual, exploring ideas and emotions in a meditative and reflective way. He’s very good at bringing the audience into his confidence and into his mindset so that we have an understanding of what it was he was trying to achieve with each piece of music. Above The Clouds is a perfect example of that, a theme which allows him to explore ideas of perspective. He explained he was very interested in looking at what it means to see yourself as belonging but from different angles. He spoke about belonging at a local, national and international level, but beyond that at a cosmic level, exploring the theme of space travel, in particular the first journey to the moon and the opportunity it gave for human beings to look back at the earth for the first time, to see the earth rise, and to see ourselves as Earthians.

The music was captivating, full of interesting interesting harmonic choices and strange rhythmic shifts, moments of pauses and surprising movements between lyrical and angular sections of sound. He even began one of his songs with a thirty silence in which we will reflected on the importance of and hope for world peace before he began his piano playing.

The use of technology was impressive. The projector (once switched on!) provided a wonderful backdrop, firstly of a image of mountains poking through above the clouds in a dreamy heaven-scape, but also a sweet animation of an old man who releases a caged dove into the wild. 

Ilario encouraged audience participation, praising us for clapping on the 2 and 4 (we were a jazz audience after all!) and bringing on a local choir of children and adults to add colour to a couple of tunes. He closed on the ever popular Walking The Yellow Line, the closest he gets to a pop song, cheerful, optimistic and a wonderful end to another great evening of jazz from the Watford Jazz Junction festival.

Review: Vanessa Haynes presents Aretha Franklin + Harry T Pope

VANESSA HAYNES PRESENTS ARETHA FRANKLIN

10 MAY 2025

• WATFORD JAZZ JUNCTION FESTIVAL – OPENING NIGHT GALA SHOW

The Watford Junction festival returns for its fourth year and kicks off with a brilliant gala night as ever at the Watford Palace Theatre. The supporting act this year, opening up the festival, is local boy Harry T Pope and his funk band. Hailing from Croxley Green, Harry remarked on stage that it had long been his dream to play the Watford Palace Theatre stage, and you could tell he was delighted to be given this chance to realise that long held ambition. 

Mixing original songs like his debut single Stay Away with funk classics such as Stevie Wonder‘s Superstition, Harry plays like an established pro despite being only 23 years old. He has a showman‘s flare, magnetic charisma, and affable charm which makes him and his floppy hair utterly watchable from the moment he steps on the stage. On top of his stage presence, his musicality is marvellous. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing the piano with a fluidity and energy that captivates, and the guitar with a dextrous swagger. But most impressive is his vocal ability. He sweeps up and down the scale with such clarity and articulation. One of his original songs was effectively a patter song, stuffed full of so many words a minute it would rival Sondheim's famous Company number Not Getting Married Today! Indeed, despite his tender age, he is married, a revelation that drew a gentle gasp of surprise from the audience, and much eye dabbing when he dedicated his last song 11:11 to his wife.

His band are equally young; they all met at King’s College London and have been playing together ever since. This is their biggest gig to date but they were part of WJJ last year, playing at Jazz Steps around Oxhey Village. It’s great to see them graduate to this larger venue and be appreciated by such a responsive crowd.

Next up was the thrilling Vanessa Haynes, resplendent in gold with a red flower in her braided hair and a complete dominance of the stage. She prowled and stomped, two stepped and strutted until every inch was her territory. She treated us to a stunning array of Aretha Franklin classics, opening with the massive hit RESPECT and including iconic hits like Chain Of Fools, I Say A Little Prayer and (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman. On this last song, the trio of backing singers were able to show off their own truly phenomenal voices which added such texture and colour through the night. The ten-piece band as a whole were terrific, moving from funk and soul sounds to gospel with complete ease.

Haynes' voice is a powerhouse, rich, rough, and reminiscent of Aretha's in both tone and strength. Towards the end she brought Harry T Pope back out to join her on the 1987 Aretha and George Michael classic I Knew You Were Waiting For Me. Together their voices, riffing and melding through call and response, got everybody up on their feet dancing.

If this is a promise of what's to come across the week for WJJ, then we’re in for a treat. Listen to my What's On Watford episode featuring Ruth Fisher for a run down of forthcoming shows, and visit the WJJ website for tickets. Hope to see you there!

Band line up

Vanessa Haynes – vocals and Wurlitzer piano

Tom O’Grady – piano & Hammond

Tiago Coimbra – bass

Al Cherry – guitar

Martyn Kaine – drums

Sam Ewens – trumpet

Paul Booth – Tenor Sax & Flute

Mary Pearce, Chloe Du Pré and Belle Erskine – backing vocals