I was looking forward to hearing guitarist Bim Williams who was the advertised artist tonight but unfortunately the Covid virus had forced him to isolate so his place was taken by Andrzej Baranek and his Roland keyboard. Alex Clarke was on board playing alto sax and no doubt she had a big say on which tunes were played. I thought it was a pity there was no mention on this month’s flyer of her appearance here as she has quite a few fans in this region. Even so the turnout was good for a Tuesday night and the music was well received by the audience most of whom stayed to the finish.
For some reason there was a delay of about 10 minutes but the gig got off to a great start with an uppish How Deep Is The Ocean? with Andrzej hitting a hard-bop groove and Alex playing a high energy solo. The rest of the programme we heard some Ellington, Parker, Rollins and a few standards, a well chosen selection in my opinion.
I enjoyed all of the numbers but if I had to pick out the ones I liked most I would choose Oleo and Polka Dots and Moonbeams the latter being a tune I’ve not heard for a long time.
The next jazz night at the Railway will be Feb 20 with the Helen Pillinger and Carole Williams Quintet - Mike Farmer
How Deep Is The Ocean?; In A Mellow Tone; Au Privave; Polka Dots And Moonbeams; Oleo; I'll Remember April; Just In Time; You Don’t Know What Love Is; It All Depends on You; Have You Met Miss Jones?
1 comment :
I can well imagine this gig was a cracker! Alex Clarke is a superb young talent - I've seen her a few times at different festivals and up here in Newcastle upon Tyne for a Lit & Phil gig. Andrzej is a pianist I'd love to hear 'for real' - many times virtually in livestreams, and on a keyboard. It'd be fantastic to see him playing a really good 'proper' piano!
Post a Comment