Fiona Finden (vocals,
soprano sax); Stu Finden (tenor sax); Andy Porritt (keys); James Archer (bass); Eric Stutt (drums)
(Review by Ann Alex)
The
band were straight in, no messing, with The
Message, piano chops followed by his solo, solos all round, fours between
drums and tenor, smart lively music, which we’ve come to expect from this
talented band. And so it continued, music towards the boppy end of the jazz
spectrum, playing to a smallish audience – where were you, you’ve all missed a
treat?
Lots
of choruses from Fiona, including Horace Silver’s Sister Sadie (‘Sister Sadie was a mean chick’), sung with a sense
of fun; the mellow Just Friends; a
very sensitively sung How Insensitive; and
Pretty Eyes, which was based on a
different song called Whispering.
Then came International Women’s Day,
original lyrics by Fiona, sung to a tune 4
on 6, with a drum solo; Bye Bye
Blackbird; You Don’t Know What Love Is, sung with feeling.
Instrumentals
without singing gave Fiona a chance to contribute her soprano sax skills
instead; so we had Dizzy Gillespie’s Groovin’
High; This I Dig Of You, as taught to the band by local lad Dean Stockdale,
besides, of course, the opening number. As I’ve said before in gig reviews,
it’s difficult to say anything which hasn’t been said before about a band which
is so reliably good to listen to.
Ann Alex
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