|
"I have never seen anyone explain the workings of a mandobass - essentially a cross between a mandolin and a double bass - to children before. Simon Mayor and Hilary James have the remarkable ability to do so, while putting across ideas about sound and rhythm in a way that very young children can understand. And they are entertaining with it.
The pair lead the audience smoothly into sing-a-longs, deftly dispelling any possible shyness or lack of confidence - particularly on the part of accompanying parents - with the help of large, colourfully decorated songsheets, pre-song run-throughs and plenty of jokes.
Animal noises, tuneful tongue-twisters, ludicrous limericks and timely jiggling of various body parts add to the fun as the duo run through their tour of musical styles from around the world, from swaying calypso odes to fruit, to thigh-slapping Russian [style] folk nonsense verse about fat flamingoes and their taste for fillets of fish.
Mayor and James are adept both at handling the interjections of enthusiastic audience members and at spinning out their curiosity. They slip in a few simple question and answer sessions and even allow youngsters to show off their strong-arm abilities by inviting volunteers to lift the mandobass.
The only worry for parents is that the children might want a mandobass of their own."
Katrina Dixon
Hilary James & Simon Mayor
c/o Acoustics Records
PO Box 350, Reading RG6 7DQ, England
+44 (0)118 926 8615
send an email
|
