Friday, January 27, 2012
SOUL REBELS BRASS BAND - LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL 2010
Oh, I love this video of the Soul Rebels marching and playing their way across the Golden Jubilee Bridge, a pedestrian bridge which crosses the River Thames, linking the Embankment with the Royal Festival Hall. Now if this group had been marching in New Orleans, a number of folks would have joined the band and made the march a parade. Ah, but the Londoners heading across the bridge were in a hurry to get on with their very important business. I can read their thoughts, 'Who are these black dudes on our bridge playing jazz and blocking our way?' What can I say? I kinda like it that the band 'took the bridge', so to speak, but then, I am from New Orleans, and I have the soul of a rebel. Since applause is audible at the end of the video, I gather some folks 'got it'. The comments at YouTube are...um...interesting.
Last summer I heard the Soul Rebels play at the music festival at the Sage in Newcastle upon Tyne, fronting for Soul Queen, Irma Thomas, and they were terrific, a taste of home upon the River Tyne.
When I was in London last summer, after a bit of difficulty in finding the stairs, with help from my friend Cathy by cell phone, I walked the London Millenium Footbridge from the Bankside to meet Cathy on the City side to view the Miró exhibit at the Tate Modern, which was fantastic.
Oh dear! I feel a wave of nostalgia coming on.
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Gentle correction, Grandmère. This is not the Millennium footbridge, but the bridge (whose name escapes me, perhaps they call it the Hungerford Bridge still) which connects the Embankment with the Royal Festival Hall. You can tell because of the railway bridge to the left, which is the line that terminates at Charing Cross, which you can see in the background. This makes sense as most of the London Jazz Festival happens at the Royal Festival Hall.
ReplyDeleteChris, Wiki says the Hungerford Bridge is a railway bridge. If I'd read more carefully at YouTube, I'd have seen that the filming was done at the Golden Jubilee Bridge. Is that the bridge which connects the Embankment with the Royal Festival Hall?
ReplyDeleteI'll need to rewrite quite a bit of my post, but I'm glad you pointed out my mistake.
Chris, I hope my information on the bridges is correct now. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Golden Jubilee Bridge is the name that escaped me. It was called that, but it didn't open until several years after the Golden Jubilee. Perhaps wisely, the Government isn't proposing a Diamond Jubilee anything for this year.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, when I used to regularly walk over that bridge (and its predecessor) on my way to and from work, there were often buskers playing jazz on it. So perhaps there's a tradition.
A tradition? Buskers, buskers everywhere. I've hear a few quite talented buskers. It's a bit sad that they have to make a living that way. One busker played the violin so beautifully that I wanted to cry. I could hear him for quite a long way through the Tube walkway.
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