Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Globe - Feb. 13.

Dean Stockdale (pno); James Birkett (gtr); Mick Shoulder (bs).
(Review by Lance/photo courtesy of Ken Drew.)

This was one of those eeny, meeny, miney, mo/spin a coin evenings. Two star studded pno/gtr/bass groups (one + drums) playing within a staggering distance of each other. In the end I opted for The Globe, HQ of the Jazz Co-op, although my resolution wavered as, when I made my way down those mean streets everything went black!

Friday the Thirteenth!

That good old British institution, the power cut, had struck! But, maintaining the spirit of The Blitz, we began drowning our sorrows and had almost reached the "We'll Meet Again" stage when the lights came back on in Railway Street and it was only 10 minutes past the 8pm start time.

Within 12 bars, power cuts were forgotten as Stockdale  went into Peterson's Blues Etude. After some piano foreplay Birkett and Shoulder joined in and it was game on!

Next up Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke's classic Like Someone in Love. Great solos all round and some fine interaction between piano and guitar.

Talking pianos, the Co-op's new Clavinova is without doubt as good as the real thing and streets ahead of the apology for a grand piano that Zoe Rahman had to fight with at the university on Thursday.

An unnamed bossa nova was followed by a super sensitive Over The Rainbow and more guitar/piano contrapuntal passages before the set concluded with a rousing Lady Be Good. Not surprisingly, Djangologists Birkett and Shoulder had plenty to say on this one!

Stockdale emoted musically on Alfie - as good a Bacharach song as any - then a Funky Mama had some slap bass from Mick.

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard All the Things You Are then my estate would be greater than Jerome Kern's but, it must be said, that this version could stand alongside any of them and above most. The evening drew to a close with Cheek to Cheek. There were extraneous noises intruding. Was it Oscar nodding his head and grunting approval? maybe Herb Ellis was tapping his foot and I'm sure Ray Brown was looking over Mick's Shoulder....

But no, it was actually the downstairs disco revving up!

You can never get a power cut when you need one!

Lance.

Much more to come at The Globe but make a note of Sunday March 15 - Dave Newton and Dean Stockdale two piano session!