King Bee @ Hoochie Coochie - Dec. 23

David Wilde (ten/fl/vcl); Chris Jelly (vbs/vcl); Richard Burns (tpt/vcl); Mark Hand (keys/vcl); Steve Glendinning (gfr/vcl); Dan Brady (bs gtr/vcl)); Jonathan Marriot (dms/vcl); Brendan Murphy (perc/vcl).

(Review by Lance).

We've had parties and we've had parties this Christmas, but this one! This was the party to end all parties! When King Bee decide to party they do it in style!

Each player dressed in biblical fashion eg: Murphy and Marriot were the two wise men (they couldn't find a third one). Brady, an angel (complete with halo). Glendinning (wore a coat of many colours), Jelly (not sure if he was King Herod or some other Bethlehem bigwig).  Mark Hand, dep keyboard man down from Glasgow, wore a crown of some sort (I really should have paid more attention in my Sunday School years). Richard Burns, the tallest member of the band, portrayed the infant Jesus (complete with straw from the manger around his neck). However, David Wilde, as the saxophone playing Virgin Mary, may have been miscast!

It was all good blasphemous fun and the music was great!

Lots of new material - Christmas based but none the worse for that. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman has become as much a jazz standard as Night in Tunisia.

The packed house loved every minute of it, dancing, shaking, applauding vociferously. The band responded by playing out of their skulls. Each and every one making this the Jazz Nativity of the Year.

The Magi had brought gold, frankincense and myrrh along with Tesco vouchers and a free night at the Cumberland Arms which were duly raffled although there seemed to be some confusion about the tickets - I didn't know there was a raffle until it was actually drawn!

Best gig of the last two thousand and fifteen years!
More pics.
Lance.