Droplets of rain danced off the glistening Parkway pavement, and just a stone’s throw away, a memory of scribbling ‘The Jamestown Road Blues’ sat outside the Arizona Diner, with a black coffee, a piece of cherry pie, and a satisfying Hav-A-Tampa.
That was a lifetime ago, and now in the present, the shelter from this storm is the iconic Jazz Cafe. Providing the blues tonight are Dom Glyn and Jack Broadbent.
Dom Glynn and his guitar took the stage at the Jazz café in an unassuming guise; jeans, a nice shirt and just a glimmer of his very-soon-to-be-shared charisma revealed by a glimpse of cowboy boots. And then he begins…
The sound is sweet and tender, forceful and loud"
Self-described as ‘Outlaw-Country-Blues’, Dom begins his honest, philosophical and at times, existentially-worded set with ‘Cain’s Blues’, his rich, powerful voice easily filling the space as he sings the familiar tale of a favourite son. The finger picking is fast and flawless and the sound his acoustic guitar makes for us as he caresses, plucks, picks and strums nothing short of miraculous. Dom has total control and is making this simple six stringed instrument into something of biblical proportions. The story in this first song is a metaphor for Dom’s style and set- a great narrative, a characterful voice with big emotive heart -integrity and pure talent.
There isn’t anything he can’t do on that guitar as he slides in and out of major and relative minor keys"
Capo on and off, strings tuned and re-tuned to suit each song, Dom sings and plays us through six more gorgeous numbers, his fingers moving speedily and effortlessly across the strings and frets. It is as if he and the guitar are synonymous- one being, inspirational to watch. The audience are quiet throughout (and it’s a restaurant here too) because we, the lucky audience, simply couldn’t talk through any of this- you don’t want to miss a second.
The melancholy of Blues is there as he sings to us that ‘It’s a hard life being a musician…and that he’s ‘singing to survive’, but there’s a self-deprecating humour there too- an honesty, as he tells us ‘I just want to be a cowboy…’ Dom loves what he does, what he is, here on stage for us, tonight.
Technically, Dom’s guitar playing is pretty pristine. It’s clever. There isn’t anything he can’t do on that guitar as he slides in and out of major and relative minor keys, adding harmonics, the traditional sevens, catchy riffs and bass notes but it is his penultimate number that shows the full range of what magic the simple six string can conjure.
Beautiful melody, string bending and sliding, chords modulating into weird and wonderful places, octave to an octave and a half slides, harmonics (fiendishly difficult as any guitarist worth their salt knows), some quartertones, vibrato, tremolo, chromatic chords all played through every dynamic possible. The sound is sweet and tender, forceful and loud. Reminiscent of a conservatoire composition, this might have been written to show the versatility of the instrument and the talent and skill of the musician
Dom Glynn once told a journalist, ‘I’m going to play my guitar forever’. We’ll be listening…
This is an optimal intro to the main draw tonight, Jack Broadbent, who is joined by his father, Mick, and many eclectic-looking guitars as they take their seats on the ambient, grandiose yet somehow intimate and cosy stage at the Jazz Café. Jack starts with On the Road (described by Don, his self-acclaimed biggest fan who is standing next to us, as his party piece).Guitar laid flat across Jack’s legs, he plays a mean slide guitar, the technique that made his name, with a silver hip flask. Jack and Mick are the quintessential duo on stage; effortlessly in sync, completely communicative, best mates. Next is Making my Way, and Jack’s skill is as polished, accomplished and virtuosic as always, both visually and musically exciting.
We guess they’ve had a lifetime of rehearsal to get this good"
Blues song She Said sees a change of guitar and Jack praising his dad’s excellent bass playing with, “Groovy, isn’t he?” They are so comfortable performing together you get the feeling they do this at home; they could be at home actually, jamming away together in their sitting room instead of on an iconic stage in Camden town. We guess they’ve had a lifetime of rehearsal to get this good…
Willin’ has Jack and Mick singing in harmony together, a pretty solo guitar melody making the crowd feel good, before they both start tapping the beat to a new track Ride, which features fast guitar riffs, speedy fingers a blur over the strings. Jack sends his dad off to have a ‘cigarette’ and he sings solo song Woman, vocals simultaneously intense, gravelly, mellow and sweet. Mick returns for Better Man; a soft, gentle and tender song which sees father and son clasp hands at the end- these two are adorable!
Jack moves his body with each chord, strum, pluck and beat- did we already mention the unrelenting perfection of rhythm in this set? The emotion in Hard Living begins with a slow, melancholy blues feel and builds around a narrative of love and loss. Jack communicates the heartbreak to his appreciative audience who are swaying in concurrence and empathy. Don’t be Lonesome sees the slide guitar played once more, Jack’s right hand holding the chord as he tremolos up and down the frets- he makes it look easy, such is his complete assurance and mastery.
Midnight Radio has a suitably late night feel with a jazzy start and a plea to “Give me a starry night- a starry sky,” before getting louder and more laid back- a fusion of blues, jazz and folk. His song Grace continues this amazingly versatile set of songs, with it spiritual thematic search for resolution punctuated by a blues-y harmonica break.
A storyteller taking us on a roller-coaster of emotions, rasping vocals, punchy bass lines played so smoothly by Mick and a night of perfect guitar playing by Jack Broadbent leaves us in no doubt that as the last song is played, the classic Hit the Road Jack, that this has been an evening of arguably unrivalled talent, connection, integrity and warmth.
Jack Broadbent played @The Jazz Café 12.04.23
Support from Dom Glynn
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