Last night was a special night at Acoustic rooms because it was jazz night, with Major Ruse, a Nottingham jazz trio, performing as the main event. Going into the night I didn’t know what to expect but organiser Laurie Illingworth was really excited and promised that if it was anything like the last time Major Ruse came to play back in August then it would be an incredible night.
Major Ruse started the night off with their own set which definitely didn’t disappoint. Even as somebody who knows nothing about jazz, it was easy to see that these three were talented musicians. The band consists of Joe Egan on “Gee-tar”, Jamie Sykes on drums and Marcus Joseph who switched between playing the saxophone and an aerophone. The music was chilled out but with mixes of hip-hop and catchy segments chucked in. You were kept guessing as to which directions the songs would go in next and their song “paradigm” got people moving around to the beat. It was all very cool stuff.
The night then had a short interlude of the usual open mic night, however, this week so very talented musicians had turned up to play. Josh Wheatley sent the room into silence as his voice captivated the audience. Josh has been supported by Janice Long from BBC radio 2 in the past and his talent is obvious. He also just announced that he will be supporting Larkins at The Bodega at the start of March so if you want to see for yourself, then get down there.
Next up was another Nottingham favourite- George Gadd. George has recently celebrated his ten years of performing and this was his first gig of 2019. He started with “Shake a Ghost” and also performed Blink 182 classic “Dammit” and ended with a medley of some classic sing-along songs such as “All Star” by Smash Mouth and “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus. George’s performance added a great energy into the room, and he is also playing Beat the Streets this Sunday at The Bodega at 2:30pm if you want to be involved in some of that energy too.
Next on were Crooked Lords who originally started out as a skiffle band which didn’t work out and now Henry and Tom are the two remaining members. They’re music was a mixture of rock/blues/groove and they used two guitars and a harmonica to create a country vibe. The pair were a good laugh and they’re playing at The Angel in Nottingham on February 1st for those interested in seeing them.
Brandon from last week then performed a few songs with his guitar which included “Another brick in the wall” and more classics which got the whole audience singing along. It was nice to see a returning face. The night then became really interesting when Major Ruse invited members of the audience to get up and jam with them. It threw up some incredibly talented musicians who had been hiding in the audience all night including Elias Diamantis who is an amazing singer, and also had some impressive dance moves too. A couple of rappers did an insane piece with the jazz music backing which sounded incredible and the whole of the venue was in awe of the performance and the talent. Saxophonist Elliot Labbate who works closely with Major Ruse also joined in and the night ended with him, a guitarist and Major Ruse finishing the night off in style.
The whole night was a great success, with some incredible musicians and some great jazz music filling the venue with funky rhythms and vibes. It was great to see some talented musicians from around Nottingham take part in the open mic sections and Major Ruse were great guys encouraging other people to come up and play with them and have a laugh. Major Ruse will be playing Beat the Streets on Sunday at Rough Trade at 7:45pm and are definitely worth a watch for those that haven’t seen them before, and for those that have then you already know how unmissable they are.
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