Sophisticated, composed, well versed and rehearsed – that’s
what I call the George Cole Quintet! On a cold night in January they delivered
a peerless show at One Longfellow Square. Oh, you poor silly heads who stayed
home, what were you thinking? Peter and I got to sit in the front row, right in
the middle, only a couple of feet from George, who has an incredible set of
fingers attached to the ends of his arms, that luxuriously traveled up and down
the neck of his vintage Selmer guitar all evening with delightful dexterity and
aplomb.
The Quintet played songs that were all written by George but
they sounded familiar – sort of like old standards that you’ve never heard
before. The lively “Eurocana” jazz style they play is similar to the uplifting
style of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli, but I also heard traces of
composers such as Michel Le Grande or Henry Mancini in the compositions. George’s
lyrics were as inevitable as Johnny Mercer’s, and the entire show was a sunny balm
for the winter blahs.
They played most of the cuts from their new album, Riverside
Drive, including the title track of the same name, “Valentino”, “You Got a Glow”, “Sheila’s Waltz”, “Tell Me What’s On Your Mind”, “I’m Not the
Wandering Kind”, “I Miss New York”, as well as songs from previous albums; “Lucky
Day”, “The Crooner” and “The One that Got Away”. I’m listing them here because
even though they may not be well known now, they probably will be. A few of the
songs almost ventured into Dan Hick’s style of playful tunes and lyrics.
I could imagine others being recorded by Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra if they had
been written in their era.
Pretty, pretty, pretty vocalist, Molly Mary Mahoney, (is
that a great name or what!?) sang with a delivery as cool as a strawberry smoothie;
just enough ice and just enough color; and glossy as a well-groomed cat. Her
body language was appealing and feminine and a lovely contrast to the
good-looking, well dressed men of the band. Ms. Mahoney is also a mezzo-soprano
and has performed roles such as the lead in her university’s production of Carmen.
To me, her voice contained elements of jazz singers Marilyn Maye, Keely Smith
and Julie London.
George Cole presented himself with easy, unassuming warmth,
a pleasant baritone voice and indefatigable fingers that played like lightning
and fire all evening. The other band members consisted of bassist Kenan O’Brien,
who sported a Pancho Villa mustache and poker-faced expression, and boldly
played bass like no other bassists have played before, or at least, he played
excellently well. I would have liked to see more smiles though as he was very
cute! Young and handsome Jimmy Grant aced on rhythm guitar and even alternated
lead with George on a song while they sat side by side on high stools. The elegant, Julian Smedley, called affectionately by George the Great One or the Silver Fox, was
incomparable on the violin. He did us in over and over again with his flawless
execution of note and soul.
Prior to their tour in Maine, Cole performed in San
Francisco with jazz great Keely Smith, who at eighty years old is still
singing
swing tunes. At one time George was guitar teacher to two members of the
band,
Green Day, and played guitar on the Chris Isaak album, Forever Blue, as
well as New
Sirens of Song: Sultry Singers (2003) – with Norah Jones, Diana
Krall and
Lavay Smith.
The George Cole Quintet was good enough to play with the
best and it was a genuine treat to be in their midst. Check out their website
at georgecole.net
(Note: Violinist Julian Smedley was not pictured in their press photo. We will update the photo as one becomes available)
