London Jazz Festival - Frank Holder

Event at a glance

Venue: PizzaExpress Jazz Club (10 Dean Street, London, W1D 3RW)

Date attended: 20, November 2015

Ticket Cost: Free (Sponsored by EFG)

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

My brief review: unbelievably fantastic, the oldest yet most spirited!

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Frank Holder is probably the oldest yet most spirited jazz musician invited to  this London Jazz Festival, celebrating his 90th birthday year and his 70 years in the music business!

Born in Guyana in 1925, Frank Holder is known as a jazz singer and percussionist. His instantly recognizable voice, prodigious scat singing and percussion skills have gain him a unique identity in jazz world. Highlights of his music career include an appearance at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall on the same bill as the jazz icon, Nat King Cole.

Frank Holder with his band

My favorite piece he performed in the jazz festival was “ day in day out”. He combined the introduction and the start of the singing smartly. “ The next one goes ‘ day in…’”. I thought he was just introducing the title, surprisingly he was singing already, with his “ Holderish” inimitable twist. The way he was so passionately into the singing and so briskly played the drum was absolutely misleading, as you probably was thinking aloud: Am I really listening to a 90 years old musician, or a possibly 30 years old energetic and enthusiastic lad? If he wasn’t right in front of my eyes, I would have never believed that this incredible performance was from a 90 years old jazz player!

Frank Holder with the pianist

When he finished the performance, I went up to congratulate him while he was sitting by a table next to mine. He even stood up and gave me a warm hug and kisses on cheeks. Again his amiable way of treating his fans probably explains another reason for his long lasting success in the jazz world!

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Learn English in the context of Global Traveler's posts

spirited: [ ˈspɪrɪtɪd ] ADJ-GRADED. A spirited person is very active, lively, and confident. (人)活泼的，生气勃勃的，自信的

Guyana: / ɡaiˈænə / Noun. a republic in northeastern South America; achieved independence from England in 1966.  圭亚那（拉丁美洲）

percussionist: [ pəˈkʌʃənɪst ] N-COUNT. A percussionist is a person who plays percussion instruments such as drums. 打击乐器演奏者

prodigious : [ prəˈdɪdʒəs ] adj. so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe; 惊人的,奇异的

scat: [ skæt ] N-UNCOUNT. Scat is a type of jazz singing in which the singer sings sounds rather than complete words. (爵士乐中不唱歌词的)拟声唱法

on the same bill as sb.: 和某人同台演出

icon [ ˈaɪkɒn ] N-COUNT. If you describe something or someone as an icon, you mean that they are important as a symbol of a particular thing. 偶像;代表人物

inimitable: [ ɪˈnɪmɪtəbl ] ADJ. You use inimitable to describe someone, especially a performer, when you like or admire them because of their special qualities. 不能模仿的;无与伦比的

amiable: [ ˈeɪmiəbl ] ADJ-GRADED. Someone who is amiable is friendly and pleasant to be with. 和蔼可亲的；令人愉悦的

References:

http://www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk

https://en.wikipedia.org

Collins Dictionary

London Jazz Festival -The Johanna Graham Jazz Quartet

Event at a glance

Venue: The Pheasantry (52-154 Kings Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 4UT)

Date attended: 18, November 2015

Ticket Cost: 20 GBP

Rating: ★★★ (3/5)

My brief review: authentic Italian food, cozy ambience, and classic jazz together with new album premiere

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A Jazz experimental experience at The Pheasantry theatre in the PizzaExpress, soaking up the London Jazz Festival atmosphere. The pizza was authentically tasty however it was served a bit lukewarm.

The jazz quartet started with the renowned pieces such as “ the way you look tonight” and “ nature boy”, and then Johanna sang a few pieces from her new album “ Rhyme and Reason”. I particularly like this title as it employs the rhetoric alliteration.   In the middle of the concert, she sang another classic piece “ black coffee”, followed with another few pieces from her new album, such as “ I carry a heart” etc. Most of the pieces are inspired by ancient poems or old movies. The last piece, again, she sang the classic piece “ summer time”, adding her “Johannaish” twist as usual. It seems that Johanna smartly sandwiched her a new album into the classic jazz frame, well done!

A pleasant experience indeed, however, for a truly wholly jazz experience, the essential instruments such as the piano and the saxophone were missing. A well-coordinated band indeed, The vocalist Johanna obviously is the one who wears the pants in the band, lol, ironically/ actually she was wearing an elegant glittering evening dress tonight.

Johanna Graham’s website presents a detailed introduction of this quartet:

Recently signed by the 33 Jazz label, the Johanna Graham Quartet comprises the elegant and hugely accomplished guitar phrasing of Martin Bowie, an exciting and vital drumming talent in Damian Rodd, brilliant and sensitive double bass from Tim Greenhalgh and Johanna herself on vocals. The journey began in 2005 when Johanna discovered Martin as he was completing his jazz degree and the pair began to work together as a duo. In 2008 Johanna incorporated Tim Greenhalgh on bass, with Damian Rodd completing the quartet two years ago, forming a tight and enthusiastic team. The band are extremely popular in Cornwall having entertained audiences in the south west for many years, and with the release of their new album, they have been venturing further afield. Johanna's captivating stage presence and emotive style puts a fresh spin on jazz standards, with original compositions and modern classics arranged in her own unique way, and together the group produce a passionate and exciting sound. The quartet won the ‘This Is Cornwall Best Jazz Act’ in 2012, and were nominated for Best Jazz Act in the South West Music Awards.

Johanna Graham is an emotive and accomplished singer and a dynamic performer. Originally training and working as an actress, her passion for jazz started with a love of old movies whilst growing up. Her Thespian background lends sincerity and a sense of drama to her live shows. Her sweet and mellow voice is influenced by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O’Day and Julie London, and her vocal interpretation makes every performance special and very personal.
Martin Bowie is a Bachelor of the Arts in Contemporary World Jazz. An accomplished guitarist with roots in blues, funk and acid-jazz and over 20 years experience, his influences include Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Tal Farlow and George Benson. Martin has worked with artists including New Orleans jazz ambassador Lillian Boutte, trumpet player Damon Brown and saxophonist Raphael Ravenscroft, flamenco guitarist Esteban Antonio and Marty Wilson-Piper (guitarist in The Church and All About Eve).

Tim Greenhalgh, At age 17 Tim discovered the music of Joni Mitchell and Jaco Pastorius, which inspired him to the fretless bass, During his 20’s he performed in a wide genre of music and worked extensively in both the festival and club scene. Tim has 25 years experience as a bassist, performing with renowned jazz artists including Damon Brown and Brandon Allen. He is strongly influenced by the work of John Taylor, Palle Danielsson, Dave Holland, Charlie Haden and Scott LaFaro.

Damian Rodd is son of pianist Viv Rodd. His musical career started at 14. Whilst a member of trip hop band Lowpass, Damian toured with Lamb and Tricky, refuelling his love for electronic music and crossover styles. Since moving to Cornwall, Damian has set up a production studio (Big Milk) and teaches jazz to degree level. He produced the album 8am (named album of the week in the London Evening Standard) with his father and vocalist Kris Gayle. Damian’s influences include Vinnie Colaiuta, Buddy Rich, Tony Williams & Jojo Mayer.

The Johanna Graham Quartet have performed at the Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho, 606 Club, Barbican International Jazz & Blues Festival, Birmingham International Jazz & Blues Festival, Bude Jazz Festival, Teignmouth Jazz Festival, St Ives Jazz Club, the Groucho Club, London, The National Trust, RNAS Culdrose - HMS Seahawk, the Headland Hotel, Newquay and the Daphne Du Maurier Festival as well as extensively across the South West of England.

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Cornwall: a hilly county in southwestern England

Venture: [ ˈventʃə(r) ] VERB 冒险去（某处）If you venture somewhere, you go somewhere that might be dangerous.

Afield: [ əˈfi:ld ] PHRASE 在远处；在远方 Further afield or farther afield means in places or areas other than the nearest or most obvious one.

Thespian: [ 'θespɪən ] N-COUNT 演员 A thespian is an actor or actress.

Refueling: [ ri:f'ju:əlɪŋ ] V-ERG 加油;（给…）续燃料

fretless bass: 无品贝司

References:

http://www.johannagraham.co.uk/

Pantomine: Aladdin

Event at a glance

Venue: Greenwood Theatre, London Bridge, SE1 3RA 

Date attended: 14, November 2015

Ticket Cost: 10-35 GBP

Rating: ★★★★  (4/5)

 
My brief review: joyfully hilarious and light-heartedly enlightening

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This year's pantomime is a corker - written by our very own Kate Hannam (star of Addams Family, Sleeping Beauty and more) - the Quay Players gives a brand new take on classic pantomime story Aladdin.

This pantomime is set in a typical China town. It started with a song called “ Good morning Chinatown”, introducing the setting and various roles of the story. The stage is full of Chinese elements such as: lanterns, Chinese fans, Chinese costumes such as Qipao. This show is very engaging and interactive by eliciting responses and inviting the audiences to take part in. It’s joyfully hilarious and light-heartedly enlightening, which can be a great event for families, especially those with kids.

 

The Huge Chinese Fan, even bigger than me

This pantomime actually takes place at KCL

Wikipedia gives a detailed account of this fairy tale.

Aladdin, is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights ("The Arabian Nights"), and one of the best known.

Aladdin is an impoverished young ne'er-do-well in a Chinese town. He is recruited by a sorcerer from the Maghreb, who passes himself off as the brother of Aladdin's late father Mustapha the tailor, convincing Aladdin and his mother of his good will by apparently making arrangements to set up the lad as a wealthy merchant. The sorcerer's real motive is to persuade young Aladdin to retrieve a wonderful oil lamp from a booby-trapped magic cave. After the sorcerer attempts to double-cross him, Aladdin finds himself trapped in the magic cave. Fortunately, Aladdin retains a magic ring lent to him by the sorcerer as protection. When he rubs his hands in despair, he inadvertently rubs the ring and a jinnī (or "genie") appears who takes him home to his mother. Aladdin is still carrying the lamp. When his mother tries to clean it, a second far more powerful genie appears who is bound to do the bidding of the person holding the lamp.

With the aid of the genie of the lamp, Aladdin becomes rich and powerful and marries Princess Badroulbadour, the Emperor's daughter (after magically foiling her marriage to the vizier's son). The genie builds Aladdin a wonderful palace, a far more magnificent one than that of the Emperor himself.

The sorcerer returns and is able to get his hands on the lamp by tricking Aladdin's wife (who is unaware of the lamp's importance) by offering to exchange "new lamps for old". He orders the genie of the lamp to take the palace along with all its contents to his home in the Maghreb. Fortunately, Aladdin still has the magic ring and is able to summon the lesser genie. Although the genie of the ring cannot directly undo any of the magic of the genie of the lamp, he is able to transport Aladdin to the Maghreb where he recovers the lamp and kills the sorcerer in battle, returning the palace (complete with the princess) to its proper place.

The sorcerer's more powerful and evil brother tries to destroy Aladdin for killing his brother by disguising himself as an old woman known for her healing powers. Badroulbadour falls for his disguise and commands the "woman" to stay in her palace in case of any illnesses. Aladdin is warned of this danger by the genie of the lamp and slays the imposter. Everyone lives happily ever after, Aladdin eventually succeeding to his father-in-law's throne.

百度百科对此童话故事给予了详细的讲解：

故事概要

故事叙述一名贫穷的年轻混混，名叫阿拉丁。他住在古代中国（尽管这个“中国”由于阿拉伯人对真正的中国缺乏了解而与真正的中国相差甚远），后来受一名来自马格里布的 魔法师之邀（他冒充为阿拉丁的叔叔），前往一个设有陷阱的洞穴中拿取一只神奇的油灯。魔法师正要进一步利用阿拉丁的时候，阿拉丁发现他被困在洞穴里。幸运 的是，阿拉丁还留着魔法师借给他的一只魔戒指。阿拉丁绝望地摩擦双手，正巧擦到了戒指，迸发出一个精灵。这个精灵还带他返家，而阿拉丁则带回了油灯。正当 他母亲要清理油灯的时候，突然间油灯迸发出一个威力更强大的精灵，随时等待主人的使唤。在精灵的帮助下，阿拉丁变得有钱有势，最后还娶了公主。精灵还为阿 拉丁建造一座美轮美奂的宫殿，甚至比皇帝的皇宫还要壮丽。

后来魔法师回到了中国，并且以诈术骗走了巴德罗巴朵尔的神灯。当时她没留意到那盏特别的油灯，交给了那个魔术师，以“旧灯换新灯”。魔术师命令精灵把阿拉丁的宫殿搬到马格里布。还好阿拉丁还保有那只魔戒指，因此还有威力较小的精灵可供使唤。虽然戒指精灵无法直接破解神灯精灵的法力，但他还是能够将阿拉丁带往马格里布，帮助他救回妻子并击败了魔法师。

故事来源与背景

阿拉丁的故事是法国翻译家安托万·加朗编入《一千零一夜》一书的。有一名来自叙利亚阿勒颇的阿拉伯说书者说了阿拉丁的故事，加朗在聆听之后加以吸收润色。加朗的日记（1709年3月25日）记录他遇见了名叫犹合那·狄亚卜（Hanna，汉那）的马龙派信徒，由知名法国旅行家保罗·卢卡斯从阿勒颇介绍至巴黎。加朗的日记还说，他的“阿拉丁”译本在1709–10期间完成，编排于《一千零一夜》第九和第十册，并于1710年出版。

约翰·佩恩所作的《阿拉丁和神奇神灯及其他故事》于1901年在伦敦出版，详细说明了加朗和他称为汉那的人的接触，又提到了法国国家图书馆中典藏着两份“阿拉丁”故事的阿拉伯语手稿（其中还有两个另外“插入”的故事）。其中一份手稿是18世纪晚期来自叙利亚的杂乱手稿。更有趣的是，另一份手稿为东方学者阿尔芒·皮埃尔·柯欣所拥有，那是1703年完成于巴格达的手稿。在19世纪末法国国家图书馆购买了此份手稿。

虽然阿拉丁实际上是中东的故事，但故事角色不是阿拉伯人也非波斯人，而是中国人。故事里所谓的“中国”是一个伊斯兰国度，大部分的人都是穆斯林，其中甚至还有一名向阿拉丁购买器皿的犹太商人（他 还敲诈了阿拉丁），然而没有提到过佛教徒或者儒士。每个人在这个国度里都拥有阿拉伯名字，其统治者更像波斯王而不是中国皇帝。这个国家是虚构的，路途遥 远，位于远东。但这个国家和“真正的”或历史上的中国并没有太大关系。这种故事背景在童话当中是很常见的——突显了故事不至于过于写实而失去意境，或者只 是一种匠心独运的编排技巧。

故事创作者并不知道美洲的存在，因此阿拉丁的“中国”代表的是“极东之地”，而魔法师的故乡摩洛哥则是“极西之地”。故事一开始就叙述了魔法师尽其所能地从远方来到中国，在创作者的世界观里那是最长的旅程，表现了魔法师试图获取无价神灯的决心。故事发展到最后时，精灵不费吹灰之力地帮助阿拉丁和魔法师瞬间往来于东西方之间，表现了精灵的强大威力。

由此可见，百度百科的讲解更侧重于故事的起源， 而维基百科的介绍则更详细的展现了故事本身。

So what's the moral of this folk tale? Shall I say 家有“仙”妻并不是最重要的， 重要的是家有“聪”妻， 才不会至于让阿拉丁两次家中失火之事件发生。所以阿拉丁在此告诫大家：打江山容易，守江山难。这江山守得牢不牢，关键得看你娶回家的女人聪不聪， 😄。

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Learn English in the context of Global Traveler's blog

Corker: [ ˈkɔ:kə(r) ] N-COUNT 杰出的人;出类拔萃的事物 If you say that someone or something is a corker, you mean that they are very good.

pantomime : [ ˈpæntəmaɪm ] N-COUNT 圣诞童话剧 A pantomime is a funny musical play for children. Pantomimes are usually based on fairy stories and are performed at Christmas.

ne'er-do-well: [ ˈneədu:wel ] n. 没用的人，饭桶; 不成材; 不成器; 乏货

an idle worthless person.

sorcerer: [ ˈsɔ:sərə(r) ] N-COUNT 巫师;

In fairy stories, a sorcerer is a person who performs magic by using the power of evil spirits

 Maghreb: the region of northwest Africa comprising the Atlas Mountains and the coastlands of Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia. 公元702年阿拉伯人征服了整个马格里布.

passes himself off as: 冒充

lad: [ læd ] N-COUNT; A lad is a young man or boy 小伙子；年轻人；少年；男孩.

Retrieve: [ rɪˈtri:v ] VERB If you retrieve something, you get it back from the place where you left it. 取回;找回

booby-trapped: VERB  A booby-trap is something such as a bomb which is hidden or disguised and which causes death or injury when it is touched. If something is booby-trapped, a booby-trap is placed in it or on it. 设置陷阱；布下饵雷；安放炸弹

double-cross: [ 'dʌbl krɒs ] VERB. If someone you trust double-crosses you, they do something which harms you instead of doing something they had promised to do. 欺骗;阳奉阴违;出卖

retain: [ rɪˈteɪn ] VERB. To retain something means to continue to have that thing.

保留;保持;保存

inadvertently: [ ˌɪnədˈvɜ:təntli ] ADJ. An inadvertent action is one that you do without realizing what you are doing. 无意的;并非故意的;因疏忽造成的

genie: [ ˈdʒi:ni ] N-COUNT. In stories from Arabia and Persia, a genie is a spirit which appears and disappears by magic and obeys the person who controls it. (阿拉伯和波斯神话故事中的）精灵，魔仆

If you say that the genie is out of the bottle or that someone has let the genie out of the bottle, you mean that something has happened which has made a great and permanent change in people's lives, especially a bad change.

Bidding: [ ˈbɪdɪŋ ] PHRASE. If you say that someone does another person's bidding, you disapprove of the fact that they do exactly what the other person asks them to do, even when they do not want to ; 对…唯命是从

Foil: [ fɔɪl ] VERB. If you foil someone's plan or attempt to do something, for example to commit a crime, you succeed in stopping them from doing what they want.  阻止;挫败

Vizier: [ vɪˈzɪə(r) ] Noun. a high official in a Muslim government (especially in the Ottoman Empire) (伊斯兰国家的）高官，大臣, 宰相

Grand Vizier: 大宰相

Lesser: [ ˈlesə(r) ] ADJ-COMPAR. N-IN-NAMES. Lesser is used in the names of some species of birds, animals, and plants. (用在鸟类、哺乳动物、植物等名称中）小

Slay: [ sleɪ ] VERB. murder 残杀

Imposter: [ ɪm'pɑstɚ ] Noun. a person who makes deceitful pretenses

冒名顶替者，江湖骗子

References:

 http://www.quayplayers.org.uk

www.wikipedia.org

http://baike.baidu.com/