I don’t like to see a gig go
unreported but I’m currently pressed for time so, apologies to all – this will
be brief indeed.
A good crowd at this lovely
theatre was entertained by 15 numbers including solo piano – English Country Garden, a quintet take
on Satin Doll and vocals on Moondance – with Alex Kennedy, the
drummer, at the mic’ while Paul Edis, the MD caressed the drums! Different!
Either side of these variations
we had a more typical big band selection with favourites such as The Power of Love, Gershwin’s Embraceable You and the tricky, frenetic
Catch as Catch Can, which the band
negotiated with aplomb!
In the second set we had All of Me, Come Sunday and back to back Glenn Miller with String of Pearls and Moonlight
Serenade. Apologies to the “jazz police” but we loved it. Back on safer
jazz ground, Lil’ Darlin’ was
followed by an up-tempo, up-volume finish with Mercy, Mercy, Mercy and, by way of an encore (we shouted loudly
enough!), One O’Clock Jump.
Seasoning the familiar were three
Edis’ originals, a slow ballad, When All
Is Said and Done (“Way sad”),
the stomping, vaguely rockish, Techtonic and a bossa nova entitled The Coast (which its composer liked to
think Jobim might have written had he lived in Tynemouth!). All very good.
The MD, rightly praising his
musicians, said that: “With every gig the standard gets better and better”.
No-one in the audience would disagree – nor would I and I have seen pretty much
all of their gigs since they were founded circa 2015. Great stuff!
Jerry.
2 comments :
'Ello!'Ello!Ello! PC Plod here. I 'ave reason to believe that on or about the 3rd May a big band in Durham played not one but two Glenn Miller tunes. Further more, it has been reported that a piano player atempted to play drums in a public place. It is an offence to impersonate a drummer and if you have any information about this incident please call the Jazz Police.
I ham advised by my brief to say: "no comment".
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