It was so great to see and hear Sue Foley again. And even better to see her sell out the Slice for the Lethbridge Jazz Festival, June 18.
Foley, dressed simply in boots, jeans and t-shirt, was backed by an amazing band of Edmonton based bassist Chris Brzezicki and keyboardist Graham Guest plus Winnipeg based drummer Ken McMahon.
Rather than making the show all about her, the show was all about showing off her talented and tight band. When the musicians are that talented and in tune with each other, there was no need to try to show each other up so she was more often content to sit back and let her band mates solo especially Guest, who played a lot of impressive piano and keyboard solos. The music often evolved into extensive jams allowing everybody to solo.
The show was also an opportunity for Foley to road test some new songs which drew polite applause from the attentive audience.
“You Want Love You’ve Got It“ was an early highlight featuring a subtle solo from Foley, who sang with a smooth, sultry, jazz inflected voice.
They ended the first set with a long jam on “Where the Action Is,” which featured a fleet fingered piano solo from Graham Guest.
Set two was all about the energy and dancing. They had several people dancing from the beginning. Guest got more applause for his piano solos and Foley got to show off her talents more in the second set as well, taking a seat in the middle of the stage for some of her solos after hanging her jacket on the back of her chair.
She really showed how beautifully she plays on a long extended slower blues jam, which was a gem and during which she sang a capella for a few lines.
They picked up the tempo with “ We’ve Got a Good Thing,” which summarized the feel of the night.
The band showed they could think on their feet. Foley called out the key for Percy Mayfield’s “Please Send me Someone To Love,” she noted she discovered when she was 16 as they stepped right up. She sang it stunningly beautifully. She was a captivating presence. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
She wound things down by asking the crowd “Are you still with us,” and called it a night with “ Come To Me Baby.”
