Mark Williams Plays Pat Metheny and Wins! Bridge Hotel, Newcastle.

Mark Williams (gtr); Paul Susans (bs gtr); Richard Brown (dms); Mark Jackson (pno); Lindsay Hannon (voice); Graeme Wilson (ten).

(Review by Lance).

This was a dream - a gig made in heaven. Take the guy whom many consider the World's Numero Uno, add the guy whom many consider the North-east's Numero Uno and the seeds are set for an evening of magic.

Mark didn't let his  idol down - if anything, had Metheny been present, the bossman would have realised there was a new kid (ish) on the block.

I didn't catch the names of many of the tunes - Clark Terry is no longer "Mr Mumbles" - but it didn't matter - the music spoke for itself.

Rich harmonic depths,wild thrashes, intricate angular lines, Mark encompassed them all. On six string bass guitar Susans kept the faith and strode the course without stumbling. On keys, Jackson, whose playing I was unfamiliar with, proved to be another player to look out for.

It had been such a long time since I'd heard Richard Brown that I'd almost forgotten what a class drummer he is - I won't forget again!

All this in itself would have been enough to make for an evening to remember however, it didn't stop there!

Enter Ms. Hannon who added wordless vocal lines giving the effect of another front line instrument. And so it went on - one gem after another - not least the solo number that Mark began the second set with. Usually, second sets are noisier with the booze-filled audience not always as respectful as they should be! Not tonight though - a pin dropped would have sounded like a drum solo! The icing on the cake came when the ensemble was enlarged by the addition of Graeme Wilson on tenor for A Song For Bilbao. This was the grand finale and what a finish! Anything after this would have been anticlimactic! 

Lance.