Paul Edis Trio @ Blaydon Jazz Club

Paul Edis (pno), Mick Shoulder (bs), Adam Sinclair (dms).

This was just about the perfect mix - standards peppered with originals. Indeed, with the passage of time, in a perfect world, the originals themselves would become standards in their own right.

Bill Evansish was how Roly described Paul earlier and certainly Bill Evans' influence could be felt - particularly on ballads such as Funny Valentine and Every Time We Say Goodbye. However, Paul is much more than a mere clone - he is very much his own man as he demonstrated throughout the evening.

Singing in the Rain was the 'non-dancing' version and it worked well. Cheek to Cheek had a few piano bars of counterpoint that could have changed the title to Bach to Bach.

On bass, Mick seemed to be more prominent than of yore taking a melody part in Emily and also featured on his own Song For Claire as well as a bowed/hummed solo a la Slam Stewart on Paul's Big Jug Blues.

Adam had some imaginative breaks when exchanging fours - he really does listen to what's going on around him - as well as providing the impetus behind the other two.

Taking the Dog for a Walk was a Paul original with a really catchy lilt to it and some stride-like piano thrown in for good measure and, even though he wasn't playing, Roly was acknowledged with one of his own compositions based on the enigmatic Job Shufflebottom - a person he encountered in his nine to five days.

Another enjoyable evening at a cosy little corner of the jazz world.

Lance.