Zoë Gilby
(vocals), Paul Edis (keyboards) & Andy Champion (double bass)
(Review by Russell)
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Village Vanguard.
Tonite, all the way from Newcastle
upon Tyne , England
A
sweltering early summer evening down in the village, the habitués of the West
End Terrace monthly jazz session were hearing Zoë Gilby for the first time.
It’s a long way
from Zoë Gilby’s Tyneside base to the Fox Inn way out west. It was only a
matter of time before the acclaimed vocalist would make her debut at this ace
jazz club. No $10.00 minimum at the bar here! Two sets, then downtown to take
the late nite subway home. It would be worth the journey.
In Walked Bud sang Gilby
with her trademark ‘Pann-on-ica’ enunciation
right on the money. Lyrics to most of tonite’s tunes were written by Jon
Hendricks, the piano playing was largely down to Paul Edis with a little help
from TS Monk. The bass player didn’t require any help. First call to all
out-of-towners, Andy Champion is the man. Ask
Me Now, Ugly Beauty (Gilby’s
observation that this was Monk’s one and only waltz) and Blue Monk with Abbey Lincoln’s lyrics, this was Ms Gilby sockin’ it
to the village faithful.
MC Michael
Cunningham commented on the first set: This
is the first time I’ve heard a pin drop in the Fox. Yes, Gilby, Edis and Champion
were wowing the West End Terrace crowd alright. Hey! Bartender …gimme another
Deuchar’s.
Brilliant Corners, Rhythm-a-ning (Champion’s
sit-up-and-take-notice solo), Think of
One, tomorrow morning’s New York
Times would surely acclaim Gilby’s NYC debut. An ‘in-the-palm-of-her-hand’ ‘Round Midnight nothing short of
sensational, Gilby was in the home straight. Straight No Chaser: a bit of
fun, said our vocalist. Hear that pin drop.
Hey! Wake up buddy, it’s the end of the line said the guard. Huh? Oh, yeah.
Zoë Gilby was singing down in the village.
NYC, you know? The guard was having
none of it. This ain’t New
York , buddy, you’re in Newcastle
Russell
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