Concert review: Jools Holland at Birmingham NIA
It was party night at the NIA when boogie woogie king Jools Holland came to town with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and guests.
Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
Birmingham NIA
Concert review by Deborah Stewart
It was party night at the NIA when boogie woogie king Jools Holland came to town with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and guests.
Jools dressed in dapper light grey check suit and snazzy black and red shoes, kicked off the show on Saturday with the orchestra's trademark boogie woogie tune. This was followed by a mixture of old and new orchestra favourites including Stranger Blues and the Muddy Waters hit Got My Mojo Workin'.
The concert in Birmingham featured sixties pop star Sandie Shaw, who reeled off hits Long Live Love, Always Something There To Remind Me and Puppet on a String to an appreciative audience.
Other highlights of the night were veteran ska and reggae trombonist Rico Rodriguez singing I'm in the Mood for Love, Jools playing a virtuoso medley of Bach and boogie and the audience sing-alongs.
But the icing on the cake was the appearance by Birmingham diva Ruby Turner, a perennial Jools guest, who brought the house down with her powerful jazz vocals which got many on their feet.
