Jazz Café Jam Session - January 17.

 (Review by Lance).

The first Jazz Café jam of 2017 began low key with guitarist Mark Williams at the helm in place of the, so we thought, still cruising Pete Gilligan. Lovingly caressing his recently acquired Heritage guitar, Mark set the mood with Out of Nowhere, I Love You and I Remember Clifford. With Morgan and Grainger providing solid support, the scene was set for the big hitters in the room to stand up and be counted.

First to show was Pete Tanton of SSBB and the Riviera Quartet. Pete, blowing open horn, did justice to Four and Bye Bye Blackbird. But, why have one trumpet when you can have two? Ray Johnson came down from the hills and the two brassmen had a friendly joust on There Will Never be Another You.

Time for a change. Nick Gould, the big sounding tenor player from Edinburgh, paired up with Johnson, young Matt Mackellar took over on drums and Pete Gilligan who, it would appear, was no longer cruising in the Antipodes occupied the piano stool for Johnny Mercer's Tangerine and somebody else's On Green Dolphin Street. The evening was just getting better and better!

Stu Finden joined Nick for a two tenor workout on Stella by Starlight before Pete Tanton added his weight to the front line for Billie's Bounce. John Pope had also appeared and Mark returned.

Like Someone in Love featured the two tenors with some scintillating interplay between them.

And still the troops kept on arriving!

This time it was Don Forbes, trumpet loaded and in the firing line. It was one of those boppy numbers that I can never remember the title of - it may have been Au Privave. Outstanding was Mackellar's solo on brushes.

There hadn't been any vocalists so far.

There was now!

Minnie Fraser gave outstanding performances of That Old Devil Moon and Stardust.

Pete was back on piano, Paul on bass and James Anderson, over from Ireland, on drums.

So, in the course of the evening, we'd had an American, a Scotsman, two Irishmen and an assortment of Englanders for a truly cosmopolitan night's jazz.

Next jam is on St. Valentine's Day.

Photos.

Lance.

Mark Williams (guitar); Paul Grainger (bass); Russ Morgan (drums) + Pete Tanton, Ray Johnson (trumpets); Nick Gould, Stu Finden (tenors); Pete Gilligan (piano); John Pope (bass); Matthew Mackellar, James Anderson (drums); Minnie Fraser (vocal).