Download PDF said the link. Er? At the last minute the penny dropped - open file! And there they were, Paul and Vasilis sitting in London's Rokit Studio. All the Things You Are opened the set, an all Jerome Kern special. Excellent! Online comments - 'critics' joked Paul - advised the studio piano was too low in the mix. Vasilis adjusted the sound. Good. However, our tenor sax star then forgot to talk into a mic! Such are the hazards of the live stream...
I'm Old Fashioned. Vasilis revealed that he first heard the tune on the first album he bought in his teens - John Coltrane's Blue Trane. This evening's version would be a first for Vasilis, playing it as a ballad. Yesterdays, from the musical Roberta, Vasilis was at pains to point out that learning a song's lyrics is good policy in order to get a feel for the piece. Many a musician would concur.
Dearly Beloved with lyrics by Johnny Mercer (Paul couldn't remember who the lyricist was, Wikipedia comes in useful!) was given a twist, not least Vasilis' commanding tenor playing. Long Ago and Far Away featured Vasilis in fine form matched by Paul's equally fine contribution. A ballad to close the set, a common bond between our two musicians, Eddie Harvey, tutor to both Vasilis and Paul, advised his student Mr. V. Xenopoulos that a musician can never know too many tunes. What good advice! The Folks Who Live on the Hill was one of them. Vasilis and Paul played it. Magnificent. One online comment from John Marlor (a great supporter of the north east jazz scene) said Eddie Harvey would have been proud of Vasilis and Paul. Quite.
Vasilis wanted to play one more. Look for the Silver Lining. Class playing, and, what's more, the plan is do this again. Perhaps on a monthly basis. Why not suggest a composer for next time? The GASbook alone is a rich seam waiting to be mined.
Russell
Set list: All the Things You Are; Nobody Else but Me; Yesterdays; Dearly Beloved; Long Ago and Far Away; The Folks Who Live on the Hill; Look for the Silver Lining
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