Wine and Jazz

California Dreaming…

wineandjazz — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:32:19 +0000

Just back from 2 weeks in LA with work, most of which was spend in the back of a van in the desert, so not a lot of opportunity for going out. I saw more of the local hospital than I did of the local jazz scene after an unfortunate accident on my first day and am typing this with one hand whist the other is in a sling. All in all an interesting trip…
However there were a few unexpected highlights.

This bottle of wine waiting my hotel room when I arrived. Lasted 48 hours before I desperately opened it after a long day. I wish I’d saved it for another day as it was unexpectedly delicious.

Last Sunday I made the most of a few hours off and wandered down to a local flea market. A huge market in a school car-park selling antiques, paintings, records, vintage clothes and jewellery. After picking up some musical-themed necklaces I was greeted by a fantastic jazz band playing next to the food stands. An old man singing and playing the snare drum with some impressive piano and bass accompaniment, I happily sat in the sun for an hour taking it all in.

We were shooting in the oldest house in Pasadena and I met the lovely owner, Craig. As well as a beautiful home he had a garage full of amazing classic cars including a beautiful black Bentley.

I got a tour of the house and at the end of the day Craig opened some Californian wines for us:

Star Lane Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Foxen Pinot Noir 2009
Parsonage Syrah 2009

I will be trying to track down the Sauvignon in the UK as it was amazing; medium bodied, smooth and lemony. The Pinot Noir was delicious too. I wish we had been able to stay longer and enjoy a few more glasses.

We made several trips to The Eveleigh on the Sunset Strip. A gorgeous French/Californian restaurant and bar with a boutique, rustic feel, quite unlike all the neighboring bars. There was an excellent cocktail bar and while the wine list was disappointing (mostly French) the food more than made up for it; we shared mussels with chorizo, fries with truffled aioli, the chicken schnitzel sandwich and olives and haloumi.

Would I go back to LA on holiday? Probably not, but from everything I heard North California is the place to go for wine and jazz so maybe I’ll head back another year for the Monterey Jazz Festival.

The Eveleigh, Sunset Boulevard http://www.theeveleigh.com/

Sherry and Tapas at José, Bermondsey Street

wineandjazz — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:46:06 +0000

Much has been blogged about the food at José and it is indeed excellent. I have been 3 times now and have tried pretty much everything on the menu. As a frequent visitor to Spain I can confirm that the croquetas are up there with the best I’ve ever eaten, the jamon literally melts in your mouth and the seafood is fresh, perfectly cooked and delicious.

In true Spanish style, you can’t book a table so you just turn up and hope for the best. This can be a little frustrating as during the week it gets exceptionally busy and José is, unfortunately, also exceptionally small. However the intimate dining room feels relaxed, with many people standing or perched at the bar overlooking the kitchen. Mr Pizarro himself can usually be found in the kitchen or out on the floor, I think he’s enjoying the fact that he has become something of a local celebrity!

It’s a mark of how good José is that I’ve been 3 times and left so drunk I’ve forgotten to write about it. However the excellent wine list, compiled by Tim Atkin and Jo Ahearne, is really rather special. I’ve only tackled the red so far and whilst not cheap (the house wine is £5.50 a glass) I can highly recommend the 2007 Decenio Tempranillo at £26 a bottle and the 2009 Pasion de Bobal at £29.
However it really came into its own with the sherry. I tend to steer clear of sherry as it either reminds me of Sunday lunch with my grandparents or the New Year’s eve I got horrifically drunk I passed out before midnight. However last night I opted for a glass of sweet sherry; the Moscatel Soleado, Gutierrez Colosia and WOW it didn’t disappoint. Amazingly sweet but with a slight saltiness it tasted like caramelised raisins; this was the perfect end to the bank holiday weekend. I’m looking forward to visiting again and working my way through the rest of the wine list.

José, 104 Bermondsey St, London, SE1 3UB

http://joserestaurant.co.uk/

Gypsy Jazz at Le QuecumBar

wineandjazz — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 14:44:47 +0000

The website for Le QuecumBar reads “Welcome to 1930s Parisien soul in the heart of Battersea, where Music, Mood, Wine and Food are the norm.”

Inside

On visiting for the first time on Friday night I’m not sure that this is entirely true; walking into Le QuecumBar feels a bit like walking onto the set of a Greek play; gold painted plants, bottles hanging over an old wooden bar, gilt photo frames, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a little harp perched in the corner. However I fell a little bit in love with this venue when the uber-friendly waiter ushered us into the beautiful tropical garden, promising to save us a good table for when the music started.

The Tropical Garden

We settled on a bottle of “Italian – Montepulciano” from the wonderfully nondescriptive wine list. At £17 it was perfectly drinkable and went down rather quickly after a long day at work. Sadly the August bank holiday weather let us down and we had to make a run for cover but as promised we’d been saved a seat near the little stage (they needn’t have bothered though, as there were only 13 people in the audience!).

Le QuecumBar specalises in Gypsy guitar music, made famous by the late Django Reinhardt. Tonight’s guitar duo of Stu Blagden and Steve Aston (with bass accompaniment) was perfect background music. A mixture of gypsy guitar classics and standards, they played well together; nothing spectacular but a great low-key accompaniment to dinner and drinks. We shared an antipasti plate consisting of olives, hummus, cold meats and bread. At £15 it felt a bit overpriced but the rest of the menu looked reasonable. The music was intimate but non-intrusive and we didn’t feel uncomfortable talking over it.

The wine list

The cosy atmosphere and lovely attentive staff (we were persuaded very nicely to order more wine and a cheese plate) meant that we left very contented. Sadly the journey home to London Bridge in the rain – 2 buses and a walk – ruined this a bit. I’ll definitely come back again in the near future, maybe on a sunny day to take advantage of the garden. And there’s free entry to most gigs before 8pm, given you don’t get much for free in London that seems like a pretty good deal to me.

http://www.quecumbar.co.uk

Art Themen/John Critchinson Trio The Bull’s Head

wineandjazz — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:29:54 +0000

Yesterday was a good day. Lunch at Polpetto (delicious Italian food to share, washed down with a rather nice 2009 Valpolicella Mezzo) followed by drinks outside in the sun at Soho Square and finally Art Themen/John Critchinson trio at the Bull’s Head.

I love the Bull’s Head. It’s a proper no-frills jazz club with gigs 7 nights a week, always full of the same regulars who look like they’ve been there so long they’ve actually grown into the woodwork. The only problem is it’s in Barnes. However if you can be bothered to trek out to zone 3 it’s well worth the hassle. It’s the polar-opposite to somewhere like the Vortex in Dalston; no skinny jeans, leather jackets or trendy hair cuts in sight, in fact I think we were the youngest people there by about 20 years.

I was running typically late and worried about getting a good seat, as you can’t book ahead. We needn’t have worried though; doors opened at 8.30 and by the time the music started shortly after this we were 2 of only 5 people in the audience. And the other 3 were with the band. I hate watching concerts with no audience, it makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable for the musicians. They didn’t seem to care though, and we got the sense that they’d have been happy playing by themselves for themselves.

The house wine (best not discussed!)

Having seen all of these guys play before we knew what to expect; a classic jazz sax quartet played by a bunch of friends who’d forget we were there and have a little post-performance analysis after each piece. The standout stars of this gig were Critchinson on piano and Andy Cleyndert on Bass. Critchinson, who looks like an even older version of Richard Attenbourgh and at one point treated us to a stand-up comedy routine, plays effortlessly with the most amazing syncopated melodies. Cleyndert is easily one of the best bass players in London at the moment, and the group took full advantage of this. His numerous solos were absolutely mesmerizing.

Fortunately the venue filled up throughout the evening and I counted 36 people at one point. But in the week I found out the band One Direction have 600,000 Facebook fans before ever releasing a single, it’s sad that only a handful of people turned out to see such a brilliant live gig.

http://www.thebullshead.com/

Music Club

wineandjazz — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:58:44 +0000

I was very flattered to get an invite to Music Club. A group of London creative-types spending an evening sharing music over a few drinks, what’s not to like? Flattery then turned to terror when they sent me a link to previous playlists; these consisted almost entirely of funk/soul music, something I know almost nothing about!

The concept is simple, each person brings 5 tracks of their choosing and take it in turns to play and discuss them. This time there was a bonus round where we all had to pick a spiritual track. After much deliberation I decided to mix things up a bit and went for the following:

Paco De Lucia/John McLaughlin/Al Meola – Guardian Angel from Friday Night in San Francisco
Youngblood Brass Band – Brooklyn
Kenneth Leighton – Sanctus from the choral Mass (spiritual track)
Shostakovich – Dance from 2nd Jazz Suite
Chet Baker – There Will Never be Another You

I don’t think Shostakovich has ever preceded Aretha Franklin…That said I had a great time and listened to a load of new music, including lots of 70s soul. I’m definitely going to listen to this Danish/Chinese track again:

And the stand-out highlight – Ifan Dafydd’s remix of Amy Winehouse’s “No Good”.

Arranged with her permission and featuring poignant shots of Winehouse in the video (we watched it on YouTube) It would have been pretty spine tingling even without the events of the last few weeks but the lyrics now took on a new meaning; What did you do? I cheated myself. Amazing.

Music Club: http://itsmusicclub.com/

The Best Wine Bar in London?

wineandjazz — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:34:03 +0000

I’ve been to a lot of wine bars in London but most never seem to get it quite right; either too busy, too pretentious or with only 10 wines on the menu (take note The Ebury). So the one place I always come back to is Cork and Bottle on Cranbourn Street.

The entrance

Nestled just off Leicester Square between a theatre ticket stall and a take-away pizza stand, you’d be forgiven for missing the inconspicuous entrance completely. But wander down the old iron staircase and you’re greeted by a proper old-fashioned wine bar, everything you hope a wine bar should be; old wooden tables, cosy decor, little grottos hollowed into the rock (for parties of 4 or more), an eclectic clientele and a huge bar with racks, bins and buckets of wine. The wine list is an epic booklet with hundreds of wines categorised by country and there’s a good selection of cheaper wines (under £30). The atmosphere is unpretentious and relaxed and you can usually turn up, order at the bar and grab a table with minimal waiting time.

Inside

We visited last night and were very excited by a new addition to the menu – half bottle carafes of all their wines by the glass! Perfect if you want to try several different wines or want something nicer on a budget. We went for the 2004 Gran Feudo Reserva Navarra (£13 carafe) which, when left to open up a bit, was a perfect accompaniment to some of their “nibbles”; a delicious goats cheese and red onion bruchetta (£5.95) and humous with crudites (£6.50).

Then I decided to indulge my current obsession with dessert wine with two muscats; a 2008 Quady’s orange muscat (£5.70) and a 2007 Rhone Beaume de Ven (£5.70). Hard to be critical as I’d drink almost any half-decent muscat but the Rhone edged it for me.

The Orange Muscat and Rhone Muscat

The food menu is classic French/British and full of good quality, hearty dishes like sausages and mash and there’s a cheese counter where you can create your own cheese board.
My only criticism would be that with all those wines on offer a really great sommelier to help with your selection would be a bonus. However I’ll keep coming back to Cork and Bottle for it’s extensive wine list, laid-back atmosphere and central location.

The Cork and Bottle
44-46 Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square, London WC2H 7AN
http://www.thecorkandbottle.co.uk/