Sandi Russell (vcl); Alan Barnes (alt/ten); John Horler (pno); Alec Dankworth (bs); Steve Brown (dms).Sandi Russell is to be commended for organising this, the first Musicon Durham Jazz Festival. The event took place at St Chad's College - a seat of learning only a wing and a prayer away from the cathedral, the castle and the prison.
Not that Ms Russell took any prisoners. Looking very svelte in a beige posh cardi with gold decorations and brown trousers - the epitome of cool - the Harlem born, Dunelmian resident, gave an exuberant, even astonishing, display of vocal pyrotechnics - this was Tina Turner meets Dee Dee Bridgewater with a touch of Ella and Sassy and a Covent Garden coloratura thrown in to the melting pot - an outré performance!
There were moments of sanity on The Nearness of You, Skylark, Send in the Clowns but mostly it was wild scatting that, whilst I found it a bit over the top, the bulk of her audience loved it.
Alan, John, Alec and the ever smiling Steve were in scintillating form. They opened up with Yardbird Suite with Alan on alto and John Horler playing some grand piano on the grand piano.
Steve and Alec made sure no one flagged - least of all them.
Alan blew tenor on a Cottontail that soared effortlessly - Ben Webster would have been impressed. Later they did I Thought About You and a bossa - O Grande Amor - the bass part of which was written on a piece of till roll from the pub - or so Alan/Alec said!
Sandi finished off with a nod to Ella on How High The Moon followed by That's All for an appropriately entitled encore.
Saturday afternoon (4pm) there's an open workshop for instrumentalists and vocalists and in the evening our old friend Vasilis Xenopoulos will be there having travelled to Durham from Blaydon via Saltburn.
Lance.
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