Sunday 10th November 2024
Review, photos and videos by Keith Belcher
Sunday 10th November 2024. The debut appearance of Joachim Cooder at The Live Room. Accompanied by virtuoso old time fiddler Rayna Gellert. I hadn’t seen Joachim before but had seen Rayna a few times many years back when she was playing in the late lamented Uncle Earl band.
Rayna played fiddle and viola tonight as well as backing vocals and harmonies. Joachim was playing an electric Mbira and main vocals (photo below). A very interesting and intriguing, infectious sound in that the Mbira, an upsizing and adaptation of an African instrument obviously imparted an African vibe to the sound, this merged with Joachim’s self penned songs and several songs from the catalogue of Uncle Dave Macon (David Harrison Macon October 7, 1870 – March 22, 1952), known professionally as Uncle Dave Macon an American old-time banjo player and singer.
The banjo was originally an African instrument also so in many ways the adaptation of another African instrument continues a logical pairing (Darrell Scott’s Banjo Clark tells the story of the banjo in music-that’s today’s trivia!) Rayna contributed to the old timey vibe with her playing and 2 solo fiddle tunes. This was a rapidly sold out gig, well received by a very enthusiastic audience, some solid eclectic rhythms and sound, ably narrated throughout by Joachim. The tour and albums have been getting very good reviews.
