Only 24 bars from The Bridge... Jazz Café Jam

Like Gene Pitney and Tulsa I was all set to head across town to The Bridge. The Jazz Café had been okay with Alan Law and Paul Grainger doing some nice things to Solar, Night In Tunisia, Blue Bossa along with a guitarist whom I met a few weeks back but whose name I didn't engrave on my tablet of stone - or maybe my pencil snapped. It was good stuff but, Legoland and Splinter @ The Bridge beckoned then, suddenly, there were more guitars and we were off down to some minor rue in Paris.

Django lives!

I hung about.

Drummer Ian Forbes arrived but, seemingly underwhelmed by the number of guitars present, promptly left!

Eventually, the stringed population was filtered down to Willie Duggan on mandolin and vocals and Paul Scott on guitar and vocals. Together they go out as Big Strings.

Paul sang I'll See You In My Dreams, approximating the lyric in a pleasing voice whilst Willie thrashed it out behind him. Shine followed a similar routine before Willie himself found stardom with It's Lonely At The Top Great number.

The duo are open for gigs so  check 'em out.
The house band returned augmented by Simon Stephenson on guitar and a Polish drummer, Marcin.. They did very acceptable versions of Fly Me To The Moon, Tenderly, and Cantaloupe Island. Paul Scott returned for Beautiful Love.
This is a lovely way to spend an evening.
Travelled home on the 27 bus with Neil Gutteridge, himself no mean pianist. One day we may yet see him at "The Caff".
Photos by Kaveh Emami.
Lance.