Pleasant Surprises at the Chilli Arms

The Sound of Surprise has never been better used to describe a jazz happening than when placed in the context of Take it to the Bridge's Wednesday night sessions at the Chilli Arms. Even the players don't know what to expect let alone the audience which sometimes outnumbers the band.

Tonight was no exception; there were surprises a-plenty. The opening "Lester Left Town" had Darren Grainger (alto) and a young guy called Tom (alto/tenor) alongside Dave Weisser in the front line. It was a good sound with both saxes stretching out. After a meandering take on Jobin's "How Insensitive", "Angel Eyes" gave a foretaste of things to come! Dave's vocal wasn't exactly à la Frank but it did have originality and the horns had a good blast on the final chorus.

The second half saw the frontline augmented by no less than three girl sax players! Nicola, a regular, on baritone plus another on alto and a third one on tenor. Unfortunately, I didn't catch their names so if they read this please let me know. They all blew well with the two newcomers having a good workout on Jaco Pastorious' "Chicken".

The surprises didn't end here. Mike Clark gave John Pope a spell on fretless and no less than Stu Collingwood sat in for Barry on Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island."

As usual, Eric kept the engine running smoothly (ish).