A change of scene for the Mid Wales Rhythm & Blues Club this Friday, as we congregated in the light and airy surroundings of the Kensington Baptist Church, Brecon for a fine evening of old-time acoustic blues.
Jonathan Nicholas was a very welcome return visitor to the Club, having played for us before several years ago. In fact, he brought along another couple of other very welcome return visitors: his 1926 Gibson L-1 and his 1936 Kalamazoo… both precious guitars sounding truly wonderful in his hands.
The spirit of Robert Johnson was summoned up, both through the fine old vintage guitars, and through Jonathan’s pitch-perfect renditions of a range of Johnson’s finest classics: including “Kindhearted Woman Blues”, “Traveling Riverside Blues”, and “Preachin’ Blues – Up Jumped the Devil” – (which thankfully he didn’t, given the location).
Jonathan’s voice seems to have matured over the past years to become deeper, richer, more plaintively soulful – and his guitar playing was impressive and dexterous, making particularly effective use of slide on Robert Johnson’s “Ramblin’ On My Mind”.
Perhaps the most moving moment of his set was a beautifully poignant rendition of Blind Boy Fuller’s “Weeping Willow” – delivered with a kind of mournful delicacy that captured the audience’s attention fully.
After a short interval, it was time to hear from the legendary Dave Speight, who treated us to an eclectic masterclass in authentic old-time blues.
With complete mastery of his lovely 1910 Vega guitar (and a foray onto his remarkable 10-string Martin Tiple), he worked his way through a memorable set-list encompassing many of the greats in blues history: Mississippi Fred McDowell, Blind Willie McTell, Sleepy John Estes, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Big Bill Broonzy… due respect was paid to each of them in turn.
Dave is clearly steeped in the tradition of the blues, but one of his greatest strengths is the ability to deliver that music authentically, with all the power and commitment it deserves, whilst at the same time never resorting to imitation – always remaining true to his own individual style and personality, which shines through in his entertaining reminiscences between numbers. That’s a difficult balance to strike, but Dave gets it just right. As he said, the music has to matter to you, and you need to sing it from the heart – which he most certainly does.
It was a real treat to hear Dave perform in such intimate and friendly surroundings. It’s hard to pick favourites from such a mighty set-list, but a few stand-out moments included his gentle and sweetly played version of Blind Willie McTell’s “Don’t forget it”, some fine bluesy and slightly countrified string-bending during Lonnie Johnson’s “Tomorrow Night”, his gentle rhythmic guitar work on George Carter’s “Rising River Blues”, and his excellent interpretation of the Memphis Jug Band’s “Stealin Stealin”. Really it was a stream of superb and classic songs – far too many to list them all – it was a lifetime’s education in the blues, condensed into a single evening. Dave picks absolute gems from the dust of history, breathes new life into them, and presents them with his own characteristic charm and flair.
To round off the night, we had a lovely few impromptu numbers from Dave and Jonathan together (including a fine version of Mance Lipscomb’s “Goin’ Down Slow”), each musician clearly appreciating and respecting the other’s talents. And – as if from the heavens – they managed to inspire some angelic harmonica playing from one of the congregation: the Club’s own compere Paul Keddle.
Our grateful thanks to both Dave and Jonathan for a truly memorable evening. Many thanks also to the custodians of the Kensington Church for so generously allowing us access to their lovely space. And to everyone who contributed to making the evening such a success, by showing up and supporting these great musicians.
Photos by Barry Hill
Review by Jim Kerslake
