Reviewed by Ray Smith, Thursday 12thMarch 2015
Jacqui Yeo led a well-rehearsed band through some of the iconic songs of
Aretha Franklin with great authority, and an explosive voice very reminiscent of the great Diva herself, in
Respect! - Aretha Franklin Tribute.
The band played well but I would have loved to have had a more vocal biased mix as the backing vocalists became a little lost in the overall sound.
Yeo presented a good tribute to
Aretha Franklin in her choice of material, her amazing voice and fascinating titbits of "Aretha Facts" interspersed amongst the classic songs.
The band was a little less authentic in their instrument choices and some of their "interpretations" of the original tunes. The 5 string Yamaha bass looked a little out of place, but was very well played, as did the Fender Telecaster complete with Wah Pedal and Overdrive. The guitarists style seemed at first to be slightly incongruous to the general 'feel' of the music but when he started 'tapping' in a solo I realised that he was just in the wrong band.
The drum kit was a wide diameter rock kit played with great accuracy and sensitivity by a very skilled and empathetic player but a smaller "jazzier' kit would have offered more cut through.
The sax player looked very confident and relaxed which is hardly surprising since he was playing a beautiful old Selmer and he really knows how to play it. He had a ball!
The trumpet player was very young and seemed a little nervous in the first set but he didn't miss a beat, at least not one that I noticed. He visibly relaxed in the second set when he was joined by the trombone player who added, not only a settling influence on the young man but a rounding out of the sound of the wind section. The addition of a bass Sax would have made a very tight little unit.
The keyboard player using a Nord synthesiser to simulate Fender Rhodes piano and Hammond organ tones was faultless. Literally. He played each lick and solo perfectly on the beat which made the sound very mechanical and soul-less. He seemed to be sight reading bluesy licks and while the notes and timing were perfect the 'feel' was not there. You simply can't 'read' this stuff it has to come from within as improvisations around themes.
As I was busily finding fault with everything, the audience was loving every moment of it and, while a jaded old musician with his notebook gets to write the review, Yeo and her band packed a room with people and entertained them. That's the bottom line really. It was a very successful and enjoyable show.
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