Zoë Gilby (vocals), Mark Williams (guitar), Andy
Champion (double bass) & Noel Dennis (trumpet & flugelhorn)
(Review by Russell/photos
courtesy of Mike Tilley)
It isn’t as though your reviewer hasn’t heard Zoë
Gilby and co. before. Familiarity breeds ...not a bit of it! Mark this down as
a serious contender for gig of the year. Some gigs just hit the spot and this
Jazz Café engagement was one of them. Familiar faces and the not so familiar –
a bloke from Preston happened to ‘stumble across the place’ and a couple from
Belgium wanted to hear some jazz, their search engine of choice suggested the
Jazz Café – listened intently from first note to last.
The Pink Lane venue was busy, but so very attentive –
no wonder with the calibre of jazz on offer. Noel Dennis was in town. The man
plays far too few gigs these days; this was a chance to hear him blow great
trumpet (and flugel). Dennis, guitarist Mark Williams and Andy Champion (double
bass) opened up with Solar* before
the star of the show Ms Zoë Gilby joined the boys to sing some jazz, then some!
Gilby scatted on Straight No Chaser,
Dennis’ growling trumpet into a reverb mic. Muted trumpet featured on Midnight Bell (an accomplished original
composition) with Gilby’s carefully enunciated lyric, juxtaposing a two-line
gem: drinks on me…pardon me, a touch of class.
Juan Tizol’s Caravan
flew with Dennis and Williams in overdrive and a fabulous first set had
something of That Old Black Magic. Time
for a break! Jeremy was impressed, so too Kathy and John, Pam and everyone else
on the premises. Another Prince Bishop, please!
Beautiful Love. Well, that was it, the gig went onto
Bebop Spoken Here’s Gig of the Year shortlist. Better still – if that were
possible – Gilby sang You Turned the Tables
on Me. Just great. The waltz-like original In It Together waltzed along, Red
City heard Gilby sing a lower register section to great effect, and, to top
the lot, a good-time take on Harry Edison’s Centrepiece,
with stellar soloing from Champion, called time on a memorable evening at the
Jazz Café.
Russell.
* Solar –
one for the musos…is the chord sequence based on How High the Moon?
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