The sublime duo of Kristin Berardi and James Sherlock launched their new album on an otherwise quiet Good Friday (18th April) evening.
A capacity crowd came to Jazz Upstairs, 199 Boundary Street West End (used to be Jazz In The Box), to hear a cover of ‘Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out’. This followed-on from ‘If Only You Were Here’. Queensland-grown musicians, singer Kristin and guitarist James are multi-award winners in their own right. Kristin's technical brilliance brings forth a clear, warm sweetness. James' exquisite playing and complex rhythms are easy to listen to. Long-time collaborators, they come together in a partnership that shares the musical journey. Their solos are stunning but do not outshine the whole song. The Berardi-Sherlock style is pure brilliance.
They bring engaging style to a collection of original songs and standards. Kristin's hauntingly beautiful ‘Embraced I’ laid half-done for some time until she re-discovered and polished it.
Another standout was James' instrumental piece, ‘The Bass’, with Kristin vocalising. The standards, which the duo makes sound like originals, included the Scarecrow's song from ‘The Wizard Of Oz’, ‘If I Only Had A Brain’. Like the Scarecrow, this duo is both clever and witty.
The pair seemed genuinely surprised that the audience wanted an encore. Maybe they don't fully appreciate their brilliance because they are there for the music and not themselves. They sent the audience away with 'Pennies From Heaven' which indeed, they were.
