Walking into the Lincoln Drill Hall the atmosphere was mellow and relaxed. Remembering last weeks flawless performance of baroque music, courtesy of Duo Piccolo e Grande, I couldn’t wait to see what this week had to offer.
People were chatting amongst themselves at small wooden tables, or sat in squashy armchairs with a good book in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other. A ripple of applause broke the dull murmur of friendly chatter as jazz guitar duo John Illingworth and Steve Rodda took their places, and began to play their opening number.
Their repertoire consisted of many jazz standards, each played seamlessly in their own, dual-guitar arrangement. The jazz-lovers in the audience may well have picked up on a few well selected Miles Davis tunes that interspersed their set. Combining the differing sounds of John’s electric guitar and Steve’s acoustic guitar, the two played on throughout the afternoon – the lead guitar sections may have been heavy with improvisation, but it was artfully done and they swapped rhythm and lead duties effortlessly from start to finish.
John and Steve have been playing together for eleven years, and later told Mikey that they’ve been playing the Drill Hall on the first Saturday of every month since these intimate gigs began – five or six years in total, John recounted.
“We actually met in a music shop all those years ago, and he (Steve) just came in to buy some strings when I was working there. We just had a little jam then, and we just started doing a few gigs.”
Both musicians regard their Drill Hall jazz gigs as a lighter, jam session as opposed to a serious gig situation – a chance to relax and play a few of the classic jazz numbers. They are both currently playing in bands as well as their combined musical exploits. Finally, the conversation moved to jazz itself.
“It’s got to be the sound of surprise – and usually we’re more surprised that most people” Steve says, sharing a chuckle with John.
Surprising or not, the music was brilliant.
Let us know what you think, did you see Double Take or will you be heading down to The Drill Hall to watch a performance? @alternativelincoln #AltMusic