Bird Plays Benny - Maine Street Jazzmen @ Rosie's.

Olive Rudd (vcl); Herbie Hudson (tmb/hca/vcl); Mike Bird (clt); George Richardson (pno); Alan Rudd (bs); Mike Humble (dms). Rosie's never fails to surprise and delight, not least in the cosmopolitan comings and goings on the band stand!

Herbie recently jetted in from Turkey, last week Joe Errington blew in from Denmark and this week Mike Bird made the Trans-Pennine crossing from Wakefield to play in an Irish bar! Become a jazzman and see the world!

Despite the lack of trumpet, and possibly inspired by the Goodmanesque clarinet of Mike Bird, the band played superbly - today was an absolute gem of a gig.

Bird - a Swallow rather than the Pouter Pigeon he was in his pre-diet days - soared like an Eagle in the ensembles whilst morphing into a Kestrel for his solos.

As Dave Shepherd was to Benny Goodman so Mike Bird is to Dave Shepherd. For any clarinet player to assimilate the Goodman idiom isn't easy. To do it so well is nigh impossible - no wonder Mike practices, I'm told, 2 hours a day. I'd love to hear Mike with a Roly Veitch type trio.

Apologies for concentrating on the guest! Herbie was in blistering form today. On sliphorn, chromo harp and vox humana he simply took every tune to the cleaners and brought them back dirtier than they were before they went!

Rhythm section sound as a pound with George Ricco playing piano that - converted to currency - would have let Greece off the hook!

And Olive! Singing It's You or No One whilst looking in my direction was as exciting as when, as a 14 year old, I heard Doris Day sing it in Romance on the High Seas a.k.a It's Magic back in the midst of time.

Apologies to big band fan Tony - didn't get a chance to chat - hope you enjoyed.

Photos.

Lance.