Graham Hardy (trumpet/flugelhorn), Paul Edis (piano), Mick Shoulder (bass), Adam Sinclair (drums).
A very busy restaurant was introduced to the trio by Miss Jones, then Graham joined them, on trumpet, for Long Ago and Far Away. How Insensitive was quite the reverse with bags of feeling and mellow flugelhorn. Some Day and my starter started simultaneously: pan-fried squid glissando with percussive pak choi, bass-notes of tomato and spicy trumpet with chick-peas. Delicious!
There was more soulful flugel on Body and Soul which was a delight from piano intro to bowed bass finish. To finish on a high and with much applause, Watermelon Man brought the best out of everyone with its driving rhythm, “wake-up” trumpet and a booming bass solo.
My main course was a high, too – pan-fried hake. Now hake can be heavenly or it can – especially abroad (merlu, merluza) – cover a multitude of fins! This was the heavenly kind – flaky, flavoursome and perfectly cooked!
The band kept cooking in the second set, their opener, Soul Train? (excuse me I’m vague about many of the titles as the mic’ wasn’t clear above the hubbub of diners) grabbing the attention again with a “paint-stripping” solo. More flugel followed (title unknown) and then a request for Moon River on which we had (wider than a mile) dreamy trumpet rather than flugelhorn and during which I “drifted” and missed the title of the next one on the set-list. The words “love” and “in” may have featured in the title, suffice to say that the audience (although still noisy) were “lovin’” it!
To a Sunderland fan, rice-pudding with new-season rhubarb, sounded disturbingly like the Stadium in August, but apart from being red-and-white there was no further resemblance – my dessert was creamy-smooth with a vital sharpness in midfield. A guaranteed winner!
In a Sentimental Mood and My Funny Valentine followed, leading up to the (planned) closing number, a blues, which my strained ears heard as “Um..blah”! It featured some rocking piano and blazing trumpet which ideally suited tonight’s atmosphere, just as Watermelon Man did in the first set. Normally things quieten down once the diners have dined, but tonight was so busy that the buzz remained constant. It was a good atmosphere, and it’s great to see both the jazz and the venue being so well attended, but it was hard at times to hear the nuances of the slower, more sensitive compositions/arrangements. Charlie Parker's Au Privave was a title I had difficulty in identifying.
The request which became the final offering was When You Wish Upon a Star which transported us happily car-wards with its bell-clear flugel notes still echoing up Osborne Road.
Cherry Tree photos.
Jerry.
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