The return to Bonn of one of my favourite Jazz guitarists had a special twist this week. Torsten Goods was celebrating, not just his return to Dottendorfer Jazznacht, but also his 44th Birthday. The George Benson-inspired son of an Irish mother and German father was in good spirits and top form for his show.
I haven’t been to the Jazznight in Dottendorf in a while and so was taken totally by surprise when I saw how many seats were already ‘reserved’ when I got there at around 7:15 pm for the 8 pm start. Maybe it was because of the super previous appearance of Torsten Goods here. More likely though it’s because the Jazznight is now very highly regarded – and rightly so. Hats off to Herbert Kaupert and co for their musical taste (and photographic taste – as pictures from 3songsbonn hang in the bar!). There is, as they say, magic in the air tonight. An atmosphere of something special.
Most of the evening’s set comes from Good’s latest ‘Soul Searching’ release and the disc is recommended listening for lovers of funky jazz guitar mixed in with a splash of emotional sentimentality. The music is delivered in a quartet formation tonight, which will limit the full power of the disc in some ways for sure, but on the positive side its always a pleasure to hear how top-class musicians ‘fill in the gaps’ created by a CD that includes string orchestra, flutes and saxophones. A true measure of musicianship.
There is certainly a solid rhythm fundament courtesy of Felix Lehrmann on drums and Thomas Stieger’s bass. The true power of this band onstage though lives through the interplay between Goods and his band, especially long-time keyboard player Jan Miserre. I could happily listen to this duo all night exchanging riffs and bouncing ideas off of one another. Wonderful stuff! From the opening ‘Ain’t Gotta Do It’ onwards the interplay was a joy.
Goods himself is really at his musical best when going on long, finger-picked solos. Fast runs of notes rattled off of the fretboard as on ‘Moonlight’. A close second best to his flying fingers is Good’s scat-singing over the said flyng notes. He’s also quite an excellent singer, as shown on ‘Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong’, a song about marriage troubles; as he points out, before asking if anyone in the audience here this evening is on a first date?. When no hands go up he smilingly concludes “No worries. I wouldn’t go to a Torsten Goods concert on a first date either!” I’m taking to this guy more with every song and with every in-between bit of banter.
Torsten Goods is having fun tonight. I love the way he does a ZZ Top style bit of synchronized guitar dancing with bassist Thomas Stieger. I love too the way he selflessly motions to the soundman to hone in on band members taking solos. Small things that say a lot about bandleaders. Listening to, and clearly enjoying, what others are laying down. Enjoying the moment as much as the sold-out audience is enjoying it.
It’s not all fun and games though. In 2005 Torsten Goods went to Washington as one of ten semi-finalists in the Thelonius Monk Jazz Guitar competition. The only European amongst them. His star was on the rise. It appeared to come crashing down in 2016 as he was touring and working as musical director in Sarah Connor’s band. Fame was around the corner, and his hair was falling out! It was a devastating thing to happen, and threw the career of Torsten Goods a large curveball. Until O’connor helped put him back on track and work through the shock. The result is a track on the latest disc with it’s telling lyric:
“Instead of wondering if it was fair. I Had To Learn Not To Care”
Goods was diagnosed with the rare illness ‘Alopecia Universalis‘ and devastated. It might be argued that looking a little different is no bad thing publicity-wise. It’s clear though that even today it’s something he has trouble embracing. A baseball cap and thick-rimmed glasses have become a part of the image.
Also a part of the Torsten Goods image is his signature green guitar from Alphonse J. Keller (a luthier from Torsten’s Erlangen hometown). Not quite in the Rory Gallagher Strat league it has, nonetheless, been its owners go-to guitar for a long time – some 20 years. It looks big and unwieldy and I would not want to carry such a weight on my shoulder all evening – but it sounds wonderful.
Given how unpretentious and friendly Torsten Goods is onstage it was no surprise that someone, during the second set, started to sing “Happy Birthday to You!” and even less surprising that the single vocal quickly became a choir filling the hall. It was a fitting reaction to such a pleasant and brilliant musician and he was clearly moved by it. His version of ‘When Love Comes To Town’ wasn’t quite up there with the best version I’ve ever heard – but we’re talking the late legendary BB King as a comparison here. It was a joyous and perfect song for the occasion though. There was clearly and deservedly a lot of love for Torsten Goods and his band on this October evening in Dottendorf. If Torsten Goods is playing down your way, I heartily recommend going along. If not, the album ‘Soul Searching’ sees Goods at his most mature to date and reaching down into his soul he’s brought out a cracker of a disc.
Still to come from Dottendorfer Jazznacht in 2024 are Miu (15 November) and a Christmas Concert from Silje Nergaard on 6 December DETAILS . Make sure of a ticket in good time – but please leave a seat for me!
