50 Shades of Blues in Abu Dhabi

Alivia and the Elite Blues Band kicked off my musical experience of 2015 in the sixth Rooftop Rhythms blues-centric musical venture, "50 Shades of Blues", at the Saadiyat Beach Club's De La Costa bar and lounge in Abu Dhabi. Blues being right up my musical alley, I was happy to find a dedicated local event for this genre (which seems to be even more rare here than jazz).

Alivia's powerful, broad-ranged vocals and engaging showmanship were backed by the Elite Blues Band's drummer Terrence and keyboardist Robert, the latter of whom also took over lead vocals now and then. Songs performed that night on the club's beachfront terrace ranged across blues, soul and R&B genres, beginning with some light, playful numbers like "Voodoo Woman" and "Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On". Later on, Robert showed us how it's done in Hammond mode when "Down Home Blues" came up in the playlist.

In the second set, audience participation began in earnest as Alivia took on a fan request and expertly rendered the Bobby Womack classic "Harry Hippie" -- a song that provided ample opportunities for a microphone pass-around. Closing a fun night of great musical performance with an enthusiastic crowd, the third and final set included popular hits like "I'll Be Around", progressively drawing people onto the dance floor, and pushing the night into the line dancing phase (obliging even bisinistrapedal me to give it a shot).

Emirates Jazz Collective plays at Saadiyat beach

Finding out, with barely a day's notice, that Monte Carlo Beach Club Abu Dhabi has a jazz night on the first Wednesday of every month fortunately coincided with a planned overnight stay in the city. That pretty much set the night's plans in stone.

The club, located near the northern tip of Saadiyat Island, hosts the jazz night at the Sea Lounge, on an outdoor stage that has the beach itself as a backdrop. While the weather's still pleasant, the outdoor portion is much preferable to the indoor seating. The selection of beers and spirits is good, but the wines (at least the white wines) left much to be desired. It's a good idea to book in advance, especially for the outdoor seats -- the place was quite busy when we got there.

More luck: it turned out to be a surprise opportunity to attend a performance by UAE-based jazz band, the Emirates Jazz Collective. That night's quartet configuration of the band, comprised of bassist Lakshmi Ramirez, saxophonist Artur Grigoryan, pianist Artie Poghosyan and drummer Douglas Caskie, played mainly upbeat, swinging jazz tunes, lending the place a very lively mood for the night, with some even taking to the dance floor. The artists for jazz night are booked ad hoc, so they may not necessarily play there next jazz night; given their performance that night, though, I certainly hope they do.

The Craig Perry Band rocks up The Fridge

Thanks to The Fridge, I finally got to hear the music of singer-songwriter Craig Perry, in the last concert of this season of the Fridge Concert Series.

I'd been hearing quite a bit of praise for his music, and I think it's entirely deserved. The band made music like nothing I've heard from a local group: a rock sound reminiscent of earlier decades, augmented with excellent inter-guitar and percussion composition (great drummer too), and some creative pacing and chords. While it's not my most preferred genre, it's clearly very good music.

Floetics spoken and sung at PizzaExpress JLT

Dana Dajani and Layla K

Dana Dajani's spoken word and Layla K's sung lyrics mingled under blue and red light, the Floetics duo's show ringing in venue PizzaExpress JLT's first weekend as a licensed establishment. With Jeremiah & The Lucky Strikes providing accompaniment, they combined poetic stanzas with refrains from pop hits like Wicked Game and Valerie in a pleasantly unique performance, and in what I believe is their first gig as headliners since they began performing a little over a year ago.

Pizza Calabrese

PizzaExpress JLT is a fairly easy place to get to. I was happy to return after good gastronomic and musical experiences during my first visit, which was on International Jazz Day this year, and which featured a casual string of jam sessions. We tried the Calabrese pizza this time, and enjoyed its delightful piquancy, fresh cheese and delicious sausage.

Floetics ended their show with their playful original "Arabian Boy", which makes for a great showcase of their respective skills. Video of it embedded here (not my own):