Jason Isaacs @ Hoochie Coochie.

Jason Isaacs (vcl/ten); Lewis Watson (ten/fl); Ray Dales (alt/fl); Don Fairley (tmb): Mark Webb, Darren Irwin (tpt); Stuart Collingwood (keys); Keith Peberdy (bs gtr); Simon Ferry (dms).

(Review by Lance).

Another super Sunday at Hoochie - hang on, am I at Hoochie Coochie, 54 Pilgrim St, Newcastle? Nah this ain't "The Toon" it's Vegas.  Peter S likened Paul Skerritt's gig at Ashington Jazz Club to Caesar's  Palace and The Sands. Well if Paul was at one of them then Jason was at the other and both have played Hoochie - indeed Paul was in the audience today and, just as Paul picked up the coveted January BSH Gig of the Month Award then Jason must be odds on for the February accolade - make space on the mantelpiece Sharon!

The bar was, hanging from the rafters, packed.and the air was filled with a delicious aroma of hairspray and the perfumes of Araby. The girls had also doused themselves liberally!

The music? what can I say? this wasn't a concert, more an experience!

Imagine hearing Sinatra, Elvis, Ray Charles and a few other legends at their best on a Sunday afternoon in Newcastle!

Jason plays good tenor too - he has to! it's a brave man who blows sax solos with Lewis and Ray in the section! He traded choruses with Lewis on Spandau Ballet's Your Indestructible and it went to a split decision!

Wonderful takes on standards such as Tramp; Come Fly With Me; Beyond the Sea; Bojangles; Ain't that a Kick in the Head?; That's Life; a poignant rendition of One for My Baby that brought the boisterous audience to near silence and, of course, New York, New York. start spreading the news don't miss THE MAN next time around...

In the meantime I've got a single and a CD to review - maybe they'll be CD of the month? Impossible, Shaz's mantelpiece won't be big enough!

Lance.

PS:One visitor who was impressed by the show was Swedish bass sax player Frans Sjöstrom who, after playing to a packed house with the NCRO the previous evening was astonished to witness yet another full house this afternoon. This maestro will surely return to Sweden and proclaim the north east of England as the jazz capital of the UK!

Great to meet you Frans.