Paul Skerritt (vocals); James Harrison (keys); Anth Ord (bass); Tom Chapman (drums).
(Review by John T/Photo from archives.)
Last night at the Elephant was unbelievable! 45 folks came out of the woodwork after an 18-month break - mostly due to word of mouth. The newly refurbish room is now very fit for the purpose and manager Kirsty running the bar did a first class job of looking after us all.
The Paul Skerritt band just gets better and better with the leader in great voice. Some numbers finishing at double tempo along with a whole lot of new sounds & settings on James Harrison’s latest keyboard.
A young chap who I did not know arrived during the first half. He paid to get in. During the second set he got up as a guest artist on trombone. He brought the house down in the final number (I think it was called Obsession.) I gave him his admission money back and something towards his petrol. This young trombonist was the very talented David Gray. I told David that he was stepping into the shoes of our first guest artist - Jim Birkett. Jim was the first guest with the River City Jazzmen when the club started over 30 years ago
It’s really topped up my jazz batteries and given me huge hope that the new club will be a success. I’m looking forward to getting some new bands to play at Ashington Jazz Club in the near future. Meanwhile, the Maine Street Jazzmen are booked for the 5th April with all the usual suspects on board including Ray Harley on trumpet.
John T.
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