John Hallam @ Blaydon Jazz Club

John Hallam (clt/ten/bar), Roly Veitch (gtr), Jeremy McMurray (pno), Neil Harland (bs), John Hirst (dms).

Having modestly imbibed at Rosie's during the afternoon I was reluctant to drive to Blaydon. It is a tortuous drive in the early evening as the city's workforce head for home whilst testing their Formula One skills in the process.

I opted for public transport - I've got a pass having lied about my age (that's two lies) - and Metro-ed to Gateshead where I boarded a number 49 bus.

It was a scenic route through a multitude of housing estates each one trying to outdo the other in the number of satellite dishes and flags of St George.

The World Cup approacheth. It wasn't all positive - one household already had the flag at half-mast...

However, I digress, this isn't about football it's about a far more beautiful game - the game of jazz.

John Hallam was superb tonight blowing tenor on Just Friends, a Victor Young tune, Was I to Blame For Falling in Love With You? and a belting Blues in the Closet.

On clarinet we enjoyed Where or When? and Putting on the Ritz before John donned the baritone for a sumptuous Dream a Little Dream of me followed by Ellington's I Let a Song Go Out of my Heart.

This brought us up to the interval where I hit for a bottle of Chianti in the raffle. Coincidentally, earlier in the day I had received a postcard from Colin Aitchison with a drawing of Raffles Hotel in Singapore - was that an omen or was that an omen?

My joys were not over.

After What is This Thing Called Love and Out of Nowhere on tenor came a clarinet feature - I Would Do Anything For You - a Claude Hopkins tune from way back that I picked up again on a Harry Allen CD.

It's been one of my favourite tunes ever since and this was the first time I recall hearing it played live although I'm sure I must have - superb.

It goes without saying the other guys too were great. Roly, I thought, excelled and the sound he got was my kind of guitar sound - nice round tone - he was worried about playing through the PA but he needn't have it was good.

Jeremy, John and Neil were all first class.

It occurred to me that on another night any one of the quartet could be the headline star.

At this point my bus was due so with apologies all round I bounced off into the night still humming I would swim the ocean wide, I would cross the great divide, I would do most anything for you... I love the tune although I'm not sure of the line - I would do most anything for you - most anything? Hardly total commitment. Still I always say total commitment is overrated.

Splendid evening.

Photos.

Lance.