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The JON LORD - CRY FREE RUSSIAN TOUR in retrospect17 May 2011, 23:01
Since it was already the second Jon Lord tour of Russia featuring Cry Free, the Russian audiences knew well enough what to expect: an absolute top quality act both in the professional and the musical sense. They may have even compared the shows of 2009 with the recent ones and found that the invisible (but all the more audible) bond between the musicians had become even stronger in the last one and a half years. The Jon Lord-Steve Balsamo-Kasia Laska-Cry Free team, which has worked together over a dozen times already is not only the most experienced of the various line-ups the Maestro tours with worldwide, but the most powerful as well. It will always keep the whole act together firmly even if the orchestras or their conductors, who often meet this kind of musical challenge for the first time, should lose it every now and then. Once again Jon Lord expressed his gratitude to his Hungarian musicians that even in these cases he could always count on them, and could build his act on their "rock hard foundation".
The general public might not know, although perhaps the smiles and shining eyes on stage and in the group photos give it away, that the above mentioned musicians are not only professional colleagues who cooperate always better and better, but also friends who enjoy each other's company more and more every time. The rather positive, very inspiring, and highly supportive spirit that's created by Jon and his musicians is now further fortified by the presence of lead violinist Anna Phoebe, who first joined the company in Krasnodar near the Black Sea. The successful solo artist now took on more of the role of a team player, positioning herself -perhaps surprisingly -within the rock band, and besides playing wonderful grace notes in the quiet pieces, also rocked out in the heavier numbers and jammed in the bluesier ones too, giving new inspiration to both Lord and Cry Free.
So far behind the former "iron curtain" the musical world of Deep Purple and Jon Lord with its extremely powerful emotions and its feeling of unlimited freedom still makes a huge impact on a lot of people. To some it's the only way to "fly away" from the devastating burden of everyday life. The increased enthusiasm and gratitude of the Russian fans, as well as the standing ovation after each show, and the neverending queues of autograph hunters all seemed to prove this statement.
The 12 days and 4 concerts spent together really electrified all participants, but luckily it seems that the members of Cry Free don't have to wait long for the next "electrification", as Lord happily said yes to their unofficial request of jamming with them at the Paks Gastroblues Festival in July, after the Maestro's concert with his recently founded "Jon Lord Blues Project". Although the idea is really fancied by the local organisers too, it must go through a line of official channels until it can actually be realised. If it manages to get through, however, the Lord of the Hammond and the Hungarian Deep Purple Cover Band can finally meet in the easy-going rock 'n roll world too, after having played together so many times in the more formal sympho-rock milieu. To get a glimpse at what you can expect in that environment, check out this video recording from Moscow featuring the only song performed without the orchestra, Deep Purple's Lazy.
We recommend you our Photos section as well, where you can follow the tour from venue to venue. The band also recorded a lot of video footage for a tour diary film, which is being edited currently. As soon as it's done, we'll share it with you, so watch this space.