... True master of the anecdote Hornchurch/Touring Richard Digance--The Final Tour Richard Digance's half-apologetic initial appearance on stage is typical of this unpretentious master of the rambling anecdote. Explaining his reasons for giving up touring quite simply, I'm fed up he launches into a combination of old and new material, asking the 4pm Sunday afternoon Queen's Theatre audi ence: ...

... Girl Talk Pizza on the Park It is possible to see many of Britain's best jazz and easy listening vocalists perform at the Music Room, but to witness three such talents on stage at the same time is an added bonus. Indeed, the energy levels are certainly higher than normal when 'three queens of soul, jazz and cabaret', namely Mari Wilson, Claire Martin and Barb Jungr, offer their own ...

... Jimmy Webb Pizza on the Park To those of us who know Jimmy Webb only by his songs, and I happen to think that they are some of the best pop numbers ever written, it may come as a surprise to discover that he is a tall, hefty chap with a beard and ponytail and not the This is not to say that Webb's songs lack sensitivity. Of all the writers who came to prominence in the sixties, he is the ...

... London Jazz Festival Various venues This year's celebration of jazz not only brought a sparkling line-up--including international stars such as Courtney Pine--to the capital, but also branched wider than its title suggested to take in folk and traditional music from around the world. The Queen Elizabeth Hall opening event, however, was jazz in a pure and exhilarating form, paying lavish ...

... Willard White Sings Paul Robeson Queen Elizabeth Hall First, why, when Willard White possesses a voice capable of filling the Royal Opera House and the Coliseum with warm, molasses-dark tone, was it thought necessary to amplify it over loudspeakers? it was the one blot on White's profoundly moving and uplifting tribute to the great Paul Robeson, which otherwise cap tured his humanity, ...

... David Essex/The Swans Peterborough It is disconcerting after the traditional stage build-up and ecstatic welcome to find sombre-suited David Essex opening in untypical rap-style with new number I Still Believe. However, he quickly reassured the faithful gathered at The Cresset with a string of familiar romantic hits, and his second new song, She's Gone. But however much he wishes to break ...

... An Evening with Jim Davidson Basingstoke I must confess to not being an avid Jim Davidson fan and noticed that.it was a very laddish audience which watched his show at the Anvil Theatre. Groups of young to middle-aged men were obviously out for a few pints and a dirty laugh and a surprisingly large number of older couples loving every minute of the earthy adult humour made up the remainder ...

... Tuning in to bygone masters BY JOHN MARTLAND Although Radio 2 has for some years been attempting to shed its 'cardie and slippers' image and appeal more to the 35 to 40 age group, the station still provides an impressive cross-section of listening for most ages and musical tastes. Much of this output stems from independent production companies, which supplement the BBC's own in-house efforts ...

... Julie Reed-Asquith Batley Northern clubland is traditionally a great breeding ground for new talent, and one of the acts currently taking the eye of the great and the good in Yorkshire is Julie Reed-Asquith. After recently turning solo, this statuesque young singer is already attracting the interest of recording company executives. On her home turf at Batley's Working Men's Club, she turned in ...

... The Hollies Blackpool/Touring As lessons in longevity go, it must be hard to beat The Hollies. Some 36 years since the band's first single joined the ranks of the British beat boom, three of its original members still form the core. A fourth, Graham Nash, is once again part of the American supergroup that he formed with Dave Crosby and Stephen Stills. In their humbler way, Allan Clarke, Tony ...

... Farewell 20th Century Royal Festival Hall It was, of course, the Dankworths' night. Cleo Laine as principal singer, John conducting the specially assembled big band, in which son Alec was on bass, and Jacqueline proving that she is quite capable of following in her mother's footsteps. I And why not? John and Cleo I have been a leading part of this I country's music scene for half of I the ...

... Charming note of irreverence Peacock Hans Liberg: Live in London On the first night of his one-man show, Live in London, Emmy Award-winning musician and comedian Hans Liberg mentioned the Germans, but he definitely got away with it. After all, who could possibly take offence at this witty, charming Dutchman, who pokes irreverent fun at some of Europe's most infuriating idiosyncrasies, the ...