(Review by Russell)
On Tuesday evening,
for no good reason, it was the 'Old Peculier' jam session. This evening's
monthly Dun Cow jam session could be called the 'Rivet Catcher' session if, for
no other reason, to draw attention to the pub's new real ale loyalty card
scheme - the discount card is no more, in its place is a stamper card. As the
card was being stamped, the house trio opened with Lady Be Good.
Basie, bossa, the
trio - the ebullient Mr James Harrison, the man who has a beer named after him,
Mr Paul Grainger, and the quiet man behind the traps, Mr Tom Chapman - laid
down the foundations for a cracking first Wednesday in the month session in
Brandling Village. Mr PG invited the first of the brass men to join the trio on
a couple of numbers. Ray Johnson suggested Dizzy's Tour de Force.
Our trumpeter played it his own sweet way, switching to flugelhorn for a
terrific take on Oliver Nelson's masterpiece Stolen Moments. The
breathing alone on this one looks difficult yet RJ expertly negotiated his way
through the tune's many twists and turns.
The
soon-to-depart-these-shores Abbie Finn and Harry Keeble put in an appearance
following their inestimable contribution at the first of the week's jam
sessions down at the Black Swan. Recorda Me found the recent
Leeds College of Music graduate Keeble picking up where he left off by blowing
yet more superb tenor sax. Abbie? How about Abbie 'First Call' Finn? That'll
do. 
Lerner and
Loewe's On the Street Where You Live introduced pianist
Harrison's mate Paul Skerritt. Our man from South Tyneside could be thought of
as the singer's equivalent of trombonist David Gray - i.e. a true 'Showtime'
performer. Abbie and Harry hung around to pick up some Pennies from
Heaven, things were going well. 
Ben Helm was in the
house - good! - and sat in, without pickup, on Blue Bossa with
Poppy in the wings, flute in hand. Hey! Look who's here! José Gonçalves and
daughter Inês dropped by to play and sing some real, proper bossa. Dindi (ah,
this is how it should sound!) and was that Corcovado into Felicidade?
José, bass, Inês, vocals, excellent. 
Paul Skerritt hung
around to tell us he Don't Get Around Much Anymore with
SSBB MD Michael Lamb blowing some Cat Anderson(ish) trumpet into the bargain.
We were getting to the heart of tonight's session - with the house trio once
more in place, Lamb shared the spotlight with guitarist Helm and the absolutely
fabulous Alice Grace on a fun (Mr Harrison was in on it) I Can't Give
You Anything But Love (wait for it)...Baby! Ray Johnson, flugelhorn,
couldn't resist any longer, joining the assembled talent on Yes, Sir
That's My Baby.
At Abbie Finn's
request the Dun Cow merry go round parked up to allow Abbie to drive a Caravan out
of Jesmond which was last seen heading east at a rate of knots with Harry
Keeble blowing and blowing followed hot on his heels by a tightly-muted Michael
Lamb. Terrific! To close the evening James Harrison (earlier heard entertaining
the crowd with some expert accordion - multi talented is JH!) called 'Mr Bublé
to the stand. Paul 'Mr Bublé' Skerritt's party piece never fails - Let
the Good Times Roll did the job, then some! Mid-tune Finn gave way to
Chapman (they didn't miss a beat) with Skerritt winding up to his trade mark,
one-shot leap into the air. Good night!
Russell
James Harrison
(piano, accordion); Paul Grainger (double bass); Tom Chapman (drums) + Ray
Johnson (trumpet, flugelhorn); Abbie Finn (drums); Harry Keeble (tenor sax);
Paul Skerritt (vocals); Ben Helm (guitar); Poppy Pagan (flute, vocals); Inês
Gonçalves (vocals); José Gonçalves (double bass); Michael Lamb (trumpet); Alice
Grace (vocals).
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