Review: "Volupté
- Benoit Viellefon and his 20s/30s inspired jazz orchestra"
(LondonJazz.Blogspot.com - August
2010 review)
Wednesday 4th August. Review by
Jeanie Barton.
Volupté
is a relatively new venue tucked away neatly among the corporate
corridors of Chancery Lane. The layout of the subterranean
restaurant is cosy yet ample. Our reservation had requested
our attire be smart/glamorous and we take inspiration from
the 1920s-40s, duly I accessorised with heels and red lippy,
for this was indeed a burlesque venue and we were here to
see Benoit
Viellefon and his 20s/30s inspired jazz orchestra.
The sumptuous décor had artwork on the walls of glamorous
icons from the period and the grand piano, topped by a lamp
rich with dangly crystals was very Marlene Dietrich. The DJ
was playing the Jackson 5 which seemed somewhat unsympathetic
towards the night’s entertainment in store; however
a vodka Martini helped us overlook this blip.
The band were thankfully also dressed to impress; Benoit
cut a neat petite silhouette in his suit and cravat, Geoffrey
Threadgold, clad in braces at double bass and Hugo Simmonds,
suited and booted at the piano had the most genuine short
back and sides, Brylcreemed to perfection. They struck up
with a couple of rousing jazz favourites; All of Me swinging
fast with stride piano overlapping the bass made for an authentic
wall of sound enhanced incidentally by the slightly off kilter
tuning of the keyboard. Benoit’s soft voice just cut
over the accompaniment; his Reinhardt style guitar chopping
the chords complimented the fine percussive accompaniment
of Mark Huggett at the drums. Peter Horsfall too created space
for his trumpet solos around the ensemble, blasting out some
fine cascades and stabs. A band favourite was George Bruns’
I Wan'na Be Like You, the Disney classic clearly a winner
with the audience. Benoit encouraged interaction and even
invited an excited young lady up to sing a chorus with him
and although they had not met before they gelled beautifully.
Other songs took a more romantic and distinctly Parisian angle,
Sous le ciel de Paris was quite striking and perfect in our
setting, it all felt rather filmic.
Our waiter for the evening ensured our courses arrived timely
and our glasses were topped up. We enjoyed the soup, fish
cakes and duck between us along with a fine bottle of red.
In the interval there were two burlesque turns by Vicous Delicious
a svelte lady who executed with finesse a routine that involved
bursting balloons on her person to expose almost everything
beneath. Her second dance incorporated two enormous feathered
fans and her wonderfully expressive face provided a carry
on style comedy atmosphere (although she could probably have
done with a little more room to strut her stuff.) We ordered
our puddings and the band returned.
Caravan provided the perfect vehicle for their Latin/swing
dexterity, composed by Juan Tizol and first performed by Duke
Ellington in 1937 it sat solidly inside their remit. Mark
Huggett’s drumming was superb and could really have
benefited from a longer solo than just the first two A sections.
The rhythms were tight and hot. The show closed with the Russian
gypsy song Black Eyes the tempo rose from a stately walk to
break neck speed with the assistance of claps from the audience.
Benoit Viellefon and his small orchestra definitely reside
within the cabaret end of jazz but their combined individual
skill almost makes them a crossover ensemble. Volupté
is intimate and homely and is attracting increasingly well
known names in jazz notably Anthony Strong. I think they could
well go some way to filling the void left by the closure of
Pizza on the Park.
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