Let’s cut to the chase. Tonight’s performance by John Etheridge’s Blues Spirit Trio was nothing short of spellbinding – a masterclass in musicianship, communication and sheer love for the blues. From the first note to the final encore, the trio delivered a set that felt both deeply rooted in tradition and thrillingly alive in the moment.
John Etheridge, long celebrated for his work with the legendary jazz fusion group Soft Machine and for decades as one of the UK’s most versatile guitarists, proved once again why he is held in such high esteem. But this was no exercise in reputation. This was a living, breathing celebration of the blues in all its forms – from Delta-inflected laments to swinging, jazz-tinged grooves and soulful slow burners that seemed to suspend time itself.
Etheridge’s tone was a revelation. Clean, warm and articulate one moment; biting and raw the next, his guitar sang with a vocal quality that felt intensely personal. He has that rare ability to make every phrase feel inevitable yet freshly discovered. In the quieter passages, you could hear a pin drop as he coaxed shimmering harmonics and delicately bent notes from the instrument. When he leaned into a solo, however, the sound blossomed into something fierce and joyful.
Opening the set with what the man himself describes as “being from 1962. A vintage year for naff pop music” the track “Sealed With A Kiss”, a hit for Brian Hyland (no….. me neither!!), is a soulful introduction to a 75 minute musical delight that takes in the works of several great artists and composers from Kurt Weill to Ray Charles and Jeff Beck to Hank Williams.
Highlights of the evening included a stunning version of Ray Charles’ “You Don’t Know Me” a slow blues number that unfolded like a story told by firelight. Etheridge’s phrasing here was particularly exquisite: long, singing lines interspersed with subtle pauses that made each note resonate with emotional weight. Smiles were exchanged on stage as themes were passed around, twisted, reharmonised and brought back home with a flourish.
Of course the trio is nothing without the shifting, lilting and subtly dynamic drumming of George Double and the elegance and style of organist Pete Whittaker who back up Etheridge’s wonderful guitar play but also given time to explore and shine on their own and what makes the Blue Spirits Trio so compelling is the sense of conversation between the players. There was no grandstanding, no ego—just three musicians listening and responding with total commitment. The rhythm section provided a supple, elastic foundation, shifting effortlessly between smoky shuffle, rolling swing and more contemporary grooves.
There was also a wonderful sense of history threaded through the performance. Without ever lapsing into imitation, the trio nodded to the great blues and jazz traditions that inform their sound. You could hear echoes of the American masters, filtered through Etheridge’s distinctly British sensibility and decades of cross-genre exploration. It felt less like a tribute and more like a continuation of an ongoing musical conversation. Never was this more evident than in the beautifully haunting Jeff Beck classic “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”.
Perhaps most striking was the emotional range on display. The blues can be melancholic, of course, but in the hands of this trio it was also witty, exuberant and life-affirming. Etheridge introduced pieces with gentle humour and understated charm, even at one point declaring to the audience that he had broken a plectrum!! In thirty-five years or more of going to see live music that was a new one on me!!
In a musical landscape often dominated by volume and spectacle, John Etheridge’s Blues Spirit Trio offered something far more powerful: authenticity. This was music played for the right reasons, by artists at the height of their expressive powers. It was sophisticated without being showy, heartfelt without being sentimental, and virtuosic without ever losing sight of the song.
They finished the set with one of Etheridge’s own magnificent compositions “A Distant Voice”. The voice may have been distant but everyone in attendance heard every single unspoken word.
