03-October-2012
Ronnie Scott's 
London, England

Photos via Paolo

Mike reviews the 4 gigs over 2 days at Ronnie Scott's
So now that the haze has passed, here's my quick re-cap of a brilliant two night stand at Ronnie Scott's famed jazz club in London. This was a much anticipated return in the very intimate setting of this renowned venue, circa 1959 after around a 5 year absence.

Of course the event was quickly sold to Ronnie's "Premium" members - those who buy a membership and have the opportunity to partake in special events before the general public. Unfair that may be, the house was filled with jazz and music fans who appreciate a great artist and a great performance. They got both in the 2 night, 4 gig stand by VM.

Really, Van is very suited to this kind of environ these days. With a compact jazz band of really spectacular proportion --- the young Chris and Alistair White on horns, the great Paul Moran leading and playing piano and trumpet, percussion by Rod Quinn, great bass from Paul Moore, superior guitar work from Dave Kearny, Jeff Lardner magic on drums -- and Van moving from sax to piano to guitar, to harp, integrating jazz standards with brand new material and some long form Van classics -- each gig took on it's own personality and each was decidedly different. Much to the delight of many, even the expected was unexpected and some of the endless classics that appear and re-appear did just that.

And for some, the lack of a rousing Gloria may have been hoped for. My personal sense was that Van was playing to this room, a jazzy, quiet, hushed but then uproarious group, when the mood suited the audience. Gloria was perhaps too electric, too boisterous, too rousing. And Van likes the classics so what better venue than Ronnie Scott's to play That's Life, Who Can I Turn To, Bye Bye Blackbird, Foggy Day in London Town, St. James... and add a touch of blues....Take Your Hand Outta My Pocket, Help Me... and some well tested favorites like Into the Mystic (long extended), All in the Game (workshop version/then No Plan B, then Burning Ground -smoldering!), Jackie Wilson Said, Moondance of course but not every gig, BEG - a couple times to open and "get this out of the way", and a couple interspersed but lapped up by the audience, lovely Enlightenment, one revisit with Precious Time, and a couple times with Them (Baby Please Don't Go/Here Comes the Night).

But he did the new album right. Each gig, Open the Door, Mystic of the East, a couple Close Enough for Jazz (much lauded), and one Pagan Heart and the final closing number of the run was a lush and beautiful Ballerina....

It is notable that Van chatted more in these gigs than most any other --- A number of his "grumpiest gigs in town" commentaries but most notable was this just before Open the Door during one gig. Van said, "By way of explanation of this new material.... I had NO intention of releasing this. I had NO intention of EVER releasing another new album. But met Don Was - who is the President of Blue Note. Don liked this and said "I've got to release this" .... So you can thank Don Was for this...." And then he played Open the Door (To Your Heart) which is really a nice new "hit", getting good crowd response and lots of airplay. In fact, BTS is now in ALL Starbucks stores across the USA --- a very interesting and unexpected distribution for Van Morrison, which will give this new release tremendous exposure like no other previous release. Who knows whether that may cement in his mind the notion of future releases. He's got a wealth of material in the can as most of us know and there's really no reason not to let a record company take on the risk if they so choose. That would make we Van fans, very happy indeed. The album debuted in the UK at number 10 on the UK charts. Next week we will know how it enters the US market. But records don't sell like they used to and record companies are struggling. The real money for an artist in on tour. We know Van gets offers from all over the USA and elsewhere so it's up to him.... He seems very content and very comfortable staying close to home, playing gigs in environments he can control and this may be where he finds himself going forward. Expect some US dates eventually but until that time, there are a wealth of opportunities to see Van in Europe and he's back to touring again after a year sabbatical so we should be happy for him and happy to have him back, recording, singing, creating and memorizing us with his immense talent.

And what about that band? All-stars.
-Mike S.


Setlist (Early show) Thanks Mike S.
Bye Bye Blackbird
Only a Dream
Foggy Day in London Town/I Get a Kick Outta You
Into the Mystic
Open The Door (To Your Heart)
Mystic of the East
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
That's Life
Who Can I Turn To?
Brown Eyed Girl
Pagan Heart
Baby Please Don't Go
Take your Hand Out Of my Pocket
Moondance

Setlist
Bye Bye Blackbird
Only A Dream
I Get a Kick Outta You
Who Can I Turn To
Precious Time
Open The Door (To Your Heart)
Can't Stop Lovin You
Early In The Morning
Take your Hand Out Of my Pocket
Jackie Wilson Said
All In The Game/Burning Ground
Brown Eyed Girl
Ballerina