I always find it such a thrill to have my doors blown off by musician I had never heard of before.
Last night my wife and I braved a snowstorm to attend a house concert west of Chicago - and were we ever glad we did! Performing in an acquaintance’s basement was Andy Statman backed by The Lucky Break. All we knew was that it was going to be a bluegrass group with a mando frontman.
All I can say is WOW! I’ve seen Dave Grisman, Sam Bush, Ronnie McCoury, and more - and Andy Statman can hold his own with any of them.
They’re playing at Martyrs on the N side of Chicago tonight - I STRONGLY recommend it to anyone who can be in the area. Whether you like bluegrass, klezmer, or just enjoy seeing someone doing something about as well as it can be done - you should give this guy a listen. And I can’t recall the last time I saw a worldclass musician with such a mild manner and appearance.
So - when is the last time you saw someone who unexpectedly knocked you out?
I don’t know what you consider a virtuoso, but the last two concerts the Philharmonic has done included the winners of some piano concerto contest. They were all under 18 and they absolutely knocked our socks off and made us feel we’ve been wasting our lives.
For the Christmas concert, the Philharmonic played with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. I think any single member of that group would be considered a virtuoso by almost any yardstick. It was amazing.
Well, I don’t think I’d quiobble with the use of the word virtuouso any time you end up with your socks knocked off.
And I’d agree, Bela Fleck is probably one of those guys who you could pretty much say anyone who has played with him qualifies. We saw a group of fiddling hotshots recently, and the one who stood out - Darrol Anger - put in his time…
Kirsty Newton is a singer/songwriter who gigs a lot around London and the rest of the UK. Sometimes, she just sits down at her electric piano and sings a few popular songs. Sometimes she appears in her band, Siskin. But sometimes, if she’s in the mood, she just asks the audience what song(s) they want her to play, and she plays whatever they want. If necessary, she can do this for hours. The audience run out of songs before she does. If it’s a song she’s ever heard, she can play it on her piano and sing it. Instantly. What’s more, she’s really, really good. She sings and plays superbly, but she also has tons of personality and knows how to entertain people.
There’s isn’t actually a Kirsty Newton website at the moment, although you can Google her name and find a few links, including MySpace and Facebook.