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Jazz in the Crypt
Thursday 7th March 2013 | sana
Wednesday March 27th showed a dazzling performance called TJ Johnson’s Bourbon Kick in Trafalgar Square’s Café in the Crypt. On entering the café in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral, one instantly notices the 18th century architecture of the arching sand colored bricks animating the place from top to bottom. TJ Johnson is considered to be one of the UK’s most accomplished Jazz and Blues musicians inspired by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and Louis Armstrong. As he walked onto stage accompanied by his band, the crowd went silent. A quick hello and a flash of a smile to the crowd he picked up his drum sticks and counted the band in where they broke the silence with I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter. The instruments used throughout the night included a saxophone, a stand up bass, a trombone, a trumpet, a drum set, a clarinet, a violin, and a banjo. The atmosphere was instantly replaced from the present, to the past. To the left of the stage a few elderly couples stood up and started to dance like it was 1930. The charm of the café intertwined with the live music transported this modern age back in time to a different era. Following this, the band decided to step up the tempo with Frank Sinatra’s The Curse of an Aching Heart and Jelly Roll Morton’s Hello Central Give Me Dr. Jazz. By this time left, right, and center around the stage were surrounded by couples, friends, and people of all ages were subservient to the music and dancing the night away like there was no tomorrow. TJ Johnson finished the night with Travelling Rooms, which the crowd applauded requesting an encore and the band complied with Help Me Make it Through the Night.
