AUTUMN DAWN LEADER/RAY GARNER
Duffys Bar 11th January 2024
First up was a new name to me... RAY GARNER. Ray is a hugely talented guitar player, covering a range of jazz styles. The set was very low key and relaxed but i felt an injection of light and shade would have helped. No doubt about the quality of his playing, but for me not being a jazz buff, i found it all a bit samey...
Ray was received enthusiastically by the appreciative audience and I am certain that with as much ability as this guy has, with a bit more experience/confidence and maybe a more up-tempo piece added he will step up from a really great guitarist to a great performer. Not a set to thrill me, but Ray has so much talent i'd love to see him again
After a short turn round up stepped the maverick... the wonderful Autumn Dawn Leader: Songmistress. Autumn started with her medieval 10 string lyre with "Taste of the Wild"... it was clear from the first that she was in great voice!
Autumn is a trained contralto and sings with so much power, emotion and control and can hold a note until the audience gets breathless!!
The set continued with a selection of songs from the awesome "A Soft-Centre Melting" album, particularly the sapphic pride anthem "Just Be" and "An Untamed World". We also heard some older pieces and a cover of a song associated with Bowie (originally from Nina Simone), "Wild is the Wind" (Apologies if I have that title wrong!).
Tonights set was maybe a bit lighter than usual, with a bit less of the angst but remained a beautifully balanced set delivered by an exceptional artist on top of her game.
Autumn encored with "Radioactive", which is also from the album and received a very well merited and raucous response to her set.
If you haven't seen Autumn, go see her next opportunity and invest in the "Soft Centre Melting" album (preferably from Bandcamp!)
This was a great evening at Duffy's, two very different artists, and superb sound
Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues
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