(Review by Russell)
The Vieux Carré
Jazzmen’s regular Thursday lunchtime session in Holystone sees the band set up
at one end of the bar, the band’s regular supporters occupying front rows
seats, and the seen-and-heard-it-all-before veterans sitting in the cheap seats
with a pint of Deuchar’s. The Holystone pub’s lunchtime trade devours generous-sized
portions of food from its busy kitchen…the jazz comes as a free-of-charge side
platter.
On a blue sky
day a local business elected to hold a staff meeting in the Holystone’s beer
garden… someone’s got to do it!
Discussions on balance sheets and KPIs were
soon forgotten as the Buddy Bolden Blues caught their ear. Canal Street Blues, Christopher Columbus, Bourbon
Street Parade, the Vieux Carré were in fine form; principal vocalist Fred
Thompson, recent recruit Bob Wade with his Bixian look blowing muted and open
horn alongside the band’s evergreen Laurence McBriarty.
The beer garden
staff meeting contributed to the interval raffle (there was much blue sky
drinking if not blue sky thinking), the
band topped-up their tans, and before long bandleader Brain Bennett set about
rounding-up the ‘gentlemen of the orchestra’ to play a second set. Up a Lazy River (the lazily crooned vocals
fitting on such a blue sky drinking day), On
the Sunny Side of the Street (no shade) and a frantic Runnin’ Wild entertained up ’til three o’clock when Bennett sent us
on our way as he’s done for many a year with a chorus of Goin’ Home. Russell.
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