Have you ever wanted something so badly it totally consumes every waking thought. At least whenever you stop to pause between work, the kids, the next deadline, domestic chores, that is. Which of course I am totally relaxed about after beginning to apply Getting Things Done.
Anyway, I love discovering new music. A soulful, jazzy singer songwriter ticks a lot of boxes for me. Jazmine Sullivan ticked a lot of those boxes and has an exceptional voice to boot. Unfortunately for me, her profile has been fairly low key and she has done few live gigs in the UK. Imagine my child-like excitement when I get the Jazz Cafe e-flyer announcing a UK date. Yay!!!! The celebration was short-lived. By the time I went online to buy she was sold out - boo!!!! Gutted was not the word. I called up my music biz brother, who is friends with the supporting band, to see whether he could hook me up, as the youngsters say. No joy! Being a small venue, everything was tight, tight, tight. Damn. But, wait, apparently there might be another gig. Yay.
The tickets for the second gig went on sale on Aug 20th, the date I flew out on holiday at the crack of dawn. Needless to say, by the time I had even thought about anything remotely connected with home or work, like the internet, they were all sold out...again...damn...deja vu. Absolutely gutted, mortified. Anyway, long story short, by some fluke of luck, on Tuesday, 2 days before the gig, I received a call to say I had won 2 tickets in a competition I found online. Obviously, you've got to be in it to win it ;-)
So last night, I went to see the amazing Jazmine Sullivan. Bloomin brilliant. Even better than the album, and I believe she has more to give. One of the best performers I have seen for a long time. But I couldn't help wonder why only 2 dates, at such a small venue? Yes, I know it is the Jazz Cafe, which certainly used to have a reputation as an uber cool, intimate and exclusive haunt. But now? really? Surely not for an up and coming talent, who has been on the scene for a couple of years. Surely there is a lesson in here around promotion. That aside, due to the size of the club I was able to easily squeeze my way to a decent mid-section of the crowd. Even better, I was able to exploit my lifelong height disadvantage to full effect to get right to the front - the very front! There's nothing better than being 2 feet away from someone sharing their deepest thoughts and feelings with you in melodious tones, riffs, jazz scats - you name it, she can do it. And as a bonus, she was wearing amazing shoes.
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