(Review by Russell)
DU Jazz Soc = Durham University Jazz Society. Organised by and for students there is a range of activities across the city of Durham with, perhaps, a weekly jam session the most prominent event.
This academic year jam sessions are being promoted in Fabio's Bar, a third-floor space on Saddler Street. It's the sort of place where you might expect Bogie or Alan Ladd to push past you, looking behind them as they flee the scene of some noirish felony. Stairs dimly lit, wrought iron balustrades, a dizzying ascent (no elevator). Listen, that's a horn player.
An exit/entry technician (aka bouncer) greeted punters at the door, not that it mattered, but there wasn't a door. The proprietor perhaps decided to remove the door rather than risk an irate guest taking it off its hinges.
The joint was jumpin'. Durham's Bright Young Things were looking cool. The coolest toted an alto or tenor, standing cool in the shadows, waiting their turn. Someone had written down a list, a long list, of names, these were the hopeful sitters-in. And still they arrived...horns, guitarists, pianists, drummers, vocalists.
Zach Fox led the line, this evening tenor sax his chosen instrument. Others blew alto, Rob Singleton suggested Come Fly with Me, singing with as much Rat Pack cool as he could muster with iPhone in hand (lyrics on a screen)! Juliane Deil played some good jazz piano in the din...this was a student gig, you know!
The Chronotic Brass trumpet boys Alex Flanders and Louis Clayden livened up proceedings, guitarist Tom Burgess impressed just as he had done last year playing alongside Dan Garel. And still they arrived, instrument cases strewn across the floor. The tunes were familiar - The Lady is a Tramp, Misty, some Jobim, All the Things You Are, All of Me, and the tune of the night, Footprints with excellent work from one of the new kids on the block, bass player Isaac. Bebop Spoken Here is on the case and will catch up with Isaac.
Fabio's jam session is open to the public, it's free admission, seven thirty start. If you want a seat, best of luck, they're at a premium!
Russell.
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