“The blues will never die” (Koko Taylor (1928 – 2009)
Fola Dada, winner of the German Jazz Prize, and four of her friends indulge in the blues and trigger storms of enthusiasm. “Jazz in the Zehntscheuer” has finally arrived in the region.
The Schönaicher double bassist Judith Goldbach and the director of the Schönaicher music school Thomas Schnellbach planted the seed from which a respectable little plant has now grown.
Thanks to Goldbach’s contacts with musicians, renowned jazz musicians are always being pulled out of the lucky bag, which must have also spread in the region; because on Saturday evening 140 visitors made a pilgrimage to the Zehntscheuer to experience Fola Dada with her four accompanying musicians.
“Fola Dada & Friends play the Blues” was the motto. The jazz singer won the German Jazz Vocal Prize in 2022 and has long since established herself with the SWR Big Band, among others. made a name for themselves. Reason enough to listen to how they sing the blues.
At their side this evening was guitarist Jo Ambros. To get straight to the point: They can play the blues too; and how! After all, this genre is one of the roots of jazz, alongside work songs, spirituals and ragtime.
After the sunny Saturday afternoon, things got stormy on stage, if only musically. “Stormy Monday Blues” began with a goosebump-inducing intro and by “Stop This World” Ambros was unstoppable and his exciting guitar licks got under your skin.
The devotion with which the Berliner and ex-Böblinger made his 6 strings vibrate was quite surprising. His facial expressions and gestures revealed that he must be a bluesman at heart. In contrast to difficult jazz arrangements, the blues naturally offers even more freedom to “let loose” in a positive sense.
Time and again, Ambros showed that he doesn’t have to hide behind any world-famous blues guitarist.
Fola lives the blues – and Fola Dada? Full of praise for Ambros, as well as for the three other friends Martin Grünenwald (drums), Ulf Kleiner (piano) and Joscha Glass (bass), she showed off all facets of her vocal ability.
With wonderful dynamics and a remarkable vocal range, she “lives” the blues like no other. In addition, she seemed to want to demonstrate in one number that evening how long you can hold the note in a high position.
Just listening and watching probably made some of the audience gasp for air and rewarded this performance with frenetic applause. In jazz, as in blues, improvisations play a major role; in Schönaich, this was also evident in the verbal communication between the band members.
In addition to their exuberant enthusiasm for playing, they also showed scenic improvisation with a lot of fun and humor.
During the break, Judith Goldbach beamed: “I am totally happy. and I am pleased that the Schönaichers are in such a good mood and that this series is being so well received. We were already completely sold out two weeks ago!”.
In the second half, “Centerpiece” revealed what it means to play dynamically and add spice to even the quietest passages, while “Backlash Blues” became a first-class guitar playground.
“Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t (My Babe)”, a piece that Dada originally didn’t like that much, couldn’t have been sung better. The concert ended with “Everyday I Have The Blues” – for now. But the combo didn’t leave the stage without two encores. Standing ovations!
Among the audience was ex-“Dicke Fische” member Jürgen Ammann. He summed up: “Joy of playing, liveliness and spontaneity! The great Fola didn’t need any reverb on the microphone. Everything was harmoniously mixed and you felt like you were literally drawn into the music.”
Fola Dada (voc)
Jo Ambros (git)
Ulf Kleiner (piano)
Joscha Glass (bass)
Martin Grünenwald (drums)
