Robin Nolan’s unique and imaginative guitar technique was displayed in all its formats at the Apex in Bury St Edmunds last night.
Think of Django Reinhardt...add a mix of George Benson and Hank Williams and you have the dynamic and incredible sounds of Robin Nolan.
Simply put, The Robin Nolan Trio is one of the world’s best known and most admired Gypsy Jazz acts of the last 20 years.
Robin has been lauded for his musical genius and sensibilities by the late Beatle George Harrison, Willie Nelson and Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman.
Legendary in the Django Reinhardt world, Nolan has played with every major Gypsy Jazz artist and headlined every major Gypsy Jazz festival across the globe.
Amsterdam-based Robin and his trio, which features top Dutch double bassist Arnoud Van Den Berg and UK guitar virtuoso Chris Quinn on rhythm, are one of the tightest rhythm sections in the business.
His spell-binding 90-minute set featured a host of numbers including his tribute to Harrison with “And I Love Her”, Fats Waller’s “Honeysuckle Rose”, Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender”, Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” and Sacha Distel’s “My First Guitar”.
But there was also a string of original material the trio performed in the 90-minute acoustic set, which featured “Swing As You Can”, “Minor Swing and “Wild West Blues”.
Reinhardt has been a massive influence on Nolan’s career and he told the audience of his encounter with Harrison after the former Beatles’ gardener spotted him busking on the streets in Amsterdam.
He managed to tell Harrison about the music and he said “bring ‘em up and let’s have a party”. So they turned up at his home in Henley-on-Thames and just played around the pool.
This was just the start of a long and beautiful relationship between Nolan and the Harrisons with some of the guests including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Damon Hill.
Nolan promised to make a return to The Apex following The Milkmaid Club promotional gig and if so look out for tickets at the earliest opportunity.
“Yee Haa!!” as they say during the “Wild West Blues”.
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