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Balagan Cafe Band  The Poly, Falmouth  19th April 2017



Christian Miller   guitar
Richard Jones   fiddle
Shirley Smart  cello

I think we stumbled on the best live cello jazz playing I have ever heard last night.  we went to the Poly in Falmouth ostensibly to see a new German movie....but the date was wrong so we went to see the band booked for the night ....the Balagan Cafe Band...instead.

Billed as a world music crossover band we did not know what to expect but as I walked into the auditorium I immediately brightened  up because there was a cello sitting in front of one of the three chairs.....so I thought I can learn something this evening....boy what a lesson it turned out to be.

We were two of a small audience augmented by the lead fiddle players' family celebrating the retirement of the Headteacher of Mylor Primary School

The band is a trio Richard Jones  - is a fluent folk-fiddler slick with the wah-wah peddle and enjoying Balkan` riffs - uses an IPAD only to manage his  music.   A very quick improviser and also an amazing plucker/strummer of the fiddle.   He riffed on rock Status Quo as a birthday honour to his relative.

As Christian Miller, the band leader and guitarist explains the music they play starts with  the jazz vibe of the Hot Club of France - Stephane Grappelli, Django Rheinhardt - but its heavily influenced by an Balkan - East European vibe.Christian plays finger picking guitar and has a penchant for the music of 17th century but plays Flow My Tears and fails to mention the composer's name John Dowland as if that is an uninteresting and boring piece of information.  So I have no idea whose Pavane he played..... possibly John Jenkins but we were never enlightened

No..... the real revelation was Shirley Smart played the most amazingly accurate and interesting jazz cello I have heard,   amazing technical skill and accuracy` and the intonation in thumb positions and chordal work excellent.  The sound bassy  balance was really good.  Cello miked up (see the attached photograph  ).  She had ten years  living in Jerusalem studying the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music genres and being highly involved in the jazz and improvised music scene.  I spoke to her briefly afterwards about where she learnt her skills "Studying what double bass players do" was one of her answers.  She is running courses in London which I must look up!


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