Alan Barnes (alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet); Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums) + Harry Keeble (tenor sax)
A lunchtime concert over in Bishop Auckland drew a record crowd to the Town Hall. A few hours later Darlington's Opus 4 Jazz Club attracted its biggest audience in a while, there to hear Alan Barnes play his second gig of the day. Later in the evening the ever-popular Barnes, an alumnus of Leeds College of Music, would lock horns with a fellow Leeds graduate, albeit of more recent vintage. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder and Abbie Finn could be described as the region's 'go-to trio', they were with AB in Bishop Auckland and here they were, ready to do it all again.
The Traveller's Rest recently renewed its commitment to live jazz and the best possible way to celebrate the news was to invite the celebrated British jazz musician Alan Barnes to make an umpteenth visit to the West Auckland Road hostelry. AB announced he and the trio would 'Start with a little warm up thing'...It Could Happen to You. Suitably warmed-up, Chilli Pepper went from Latin to swing and back again with little more than a directorial nod from Barnes - pianist Stockdale, bassist Shoulder and drummer Finn more than up to the job. Ellington's Tonight I Shall Sleep with a Smile on My Face featured Barnes' cast iron baritone sax playing. Blues on the Beach signalled the end of a marvellous first set.
Raffle tickets (dud, as it transpired), another pint of the Ossett Brewery's Blonde, a natter and it was time to resume matters. And what a surprise opening to the second set, our Leeds graduate, Harry Keeble, unpacking his tenor ready to do battle with Barnes (alto sax) on Anthropology. Did HK's presence on the stand inspire Barnes to ever-greater heights? Possibly. One thing's for sure, the affable Keeble held his own. Similarly, Keeble counted in Moonlight in Vermont, again, unfazed by Barnes undoubted mastery. The Opus 4 crowd loved it, there'd be more later.
A swaggering Barnes on Cheese Cake (perhaps JazzMain's Nick Gould will cut himself a slice of Dexter Gordon's tasty number tomorrow evening during the band's Newcastle Jazz Co-op gig), Barnes and trio waltzed through Alice in Wonderland, it had been an excellent evening. Barnes thanked the trio, impressed by Dean Stockdale, as he should be, 'the superlative bass playing' of Mick Shoulder, and, of course, the other Leeds alumnus on the gig, the ever-excellent Abbie Finn. To close, Harry Keeble joined Barnes once again to go out all guns blazing on Straight No Chaser. Great stuff! Russell
Set list: It Could Happen to You; Chili Pepper; Tonight I Shall Sleep with a Smile on My Face; Close Your Eyes; ?; Blues on the Beach; Anthropology; Moonlight in Vermont; Cheese Cake; My One and Only Love; Alice in Wonderland; Straight No Chaser.
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