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).

Fete de la Musique at Souk Madinat Jumeirah

I don't think I've ever seen Souk Madinat Jumeirah as crowded as it was last Friday evening during Alliance Francaise's Fete de la Musique. It would have been great if it were held in the outdoors during the less sweaty season, because in whatever corridor of the souk the musicians were performing, one had to either take an alternative route, or squeeze past in single file. We saw some great local musicians, though, and a veritable buffet of genres.

The Hamami Brothers had an especially thick crowd around them, but pretty much any group or artist attracted a healthy number of onlookers. Genres included acoustic rock, saxophone, blues, and more, as well as a couple of groups performing in French.

I quickly headed for one of my favorite local bands, The Gypsy Swing Project, who were jamming with Johnny Miller at the time.

I also hung around these guys a lot. Hitherto unknown to me, this trio had a really good blues sound going.

One of the acts that was most popular and stayed on the longest was Gayamb & Jazz Zone, playing Creole music, bossa nova, and rearranged pop. It was also probably one of the most jam- acts, as the lineup sem to change each time I dropped by their spot. They had an especially good lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist as well.