Harry Baker
You can’t beat being out in good old Norwich on a summer evening. Add a beautiful venue like the Cathedral and a profusion of jazz and poetry and well, that’s just magic. Doors opened a good hour before the performance begun, allowing guests to enjoy drinks out in the cloisters, before filtering into the sun-washed room that was to be our location for the evening.
First up was spoken word poet Harry Baker, winning over the audience immediately with poems ‘22’ and ‘A love poem for lonely prime numbers’ that seamlessly wove together comedy, intertextuality and the sincerity of emotional insight that makes for great poetry. A personal favourite of mine was ‘Scaffolding’, a poem about accepting the hodgepodge works in progress that are our lives. The distinctiveness of Baker’s voice and his understanding of rhythm felt deeply intuitive and impressive for such a young artist - the evening was off to a great start.
Baker then introduced his friend, Chris Read, who picked up the easy rapport with the audience right where it had been left off. Read’s musical talent was blazingly obvious from the very start as he delivered song after song of mellow jazz accompanied by syrupy vocals that lulled the audience further into their state of tranquil ease. I Know My Joy Will Come, a track from Read’s recent record If I Knew was a definite highlight, its gorgeous lyrics ringing out clearly and faultlessly.
After some more poems from Baker and an interval, the pair took to the stage together for what became the standout leg of the evening – The Harry and Chris Show. The friends have been performing together in some dimension for a decade, and are now joining forces to take on the Edinburgh Fringe this summer. Their show epitomises silliness in the best possible way, with Harry’s spoken word cleverly combined with Chris’ musicality to produce a fun and innovative set involving jokes, a song about monopoly, and even a freestyle about Pokémon, octopi and weaving. The warm atmosphere that they create is enough to cajole even the most awkward audience member into singing along, and the show culminates in smiles all round.
