Laurie Holloway Trio @ Leeds College of Music.

Laurie Holloway (pno), Dave Olney (bs), Harold Fisher (dms).

We kicked off with short filmed clips of Laurie accompanying just about everybody who was anybody ...Garland, Ella, Sammy Khan, Grappelli, & many more. Then on stage they came, smartly dressed in dark suits, diagonally striped ties, crisp shirts, and we just knew we were in for a feast of great music.

This modest, unassuming smiling man , at the top of his profession, was simply the best. His musicians were an absolute knockout, the bass player just wowed us with talent & the drummer attacked & caressed with joy.

There was indeed something for everyone in this stylish venue at Leeds College of Music, and with Laurie confessing that they were big on medleys, on this occasion, medleys we got!! Lionel Bart - In earlier years, Laurie toured with Antony Newley doing Bart numbers - Burt Bacharach, being described by Laurie as a modern day George Gershwin, Beatles (yes he thought there was a place for them) and more. Yet again I was drawn to the Latin, & Jobim's " Wave" was to me the epitome of lush life on sandy beaches & romance, you could smell the ocean!!

We heard a spirited "Cute" and he encored with a touching mention of his "lovely Marion (Montgomery)" who would always, he said, end with the Saints...so he did.

Liz.

Afterthoughts; My God that bass player was something else...he looked a bit like Roy Castle by the way. Before the show, as we were early we got chatting to the manager of "The Venue", (LCM) Colin. He was a drummer as well, & had lived in Newcastle for some years. Naturally, we told him about "Bebop Spoken Here" - he seemed genuinely interested.