Ukraine Fundraiser @ St James' and St Basil's Church - April 16

It's not often that I go to church on a  Saturday and, to be honest, I haven't shown my face much on Sundays either - we each have our own way... This Saturday, however, was rather special. We weren't thinking of the troops of Midian prowling around but those of Adolph (intentional) Putin's troops decimating a country.

With all this in mind I felt that it was important that we stood up and applauded the artists who gave their services free to appear as well as the jazz fraternity - some of whom showed their faces - and, hopefully, dug deep.

Zoë Gilby and Andy Champion got the ball rolling. This was particularly special for the duo as they'd played festivals in Ukraine and bonded with many of the folks they'd met. In the past I've bemoaned the acoustics of the church but, whether or not by divine intervention, they seemed to enhance all of the afternoon's performances. Loved our girl's take on Nice Work if You Can Get it with her semi-rap ending. Oh baby she's got it!

Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (bass); Tim Johnston (drums) + David Gray (trombone). For some obscure reason, Harry didn't use the mic. This was fine when he was blowing but left the audience playing 'guess the tune!' We did guess Have You Met Miss Jones? which brought David Gray on stage and, as ever, he blew up the proverbial, but the first and last numbers were mysteries although I did find out later that the last number was Steve Kuhn's oddly titled The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers. Alan Law set down the benchmark for any pianist to follow and, perhaps, the only one who could was Paul Edis.

Paul Edis, now domiciled down south (and making a name) played a solo set that revealed just why he is held in such high esteem. A complex, but logical take on Greensleeves, Brubeck's It's a Raggy Waltz, Lord of the Dance, an amazing One Note Samba and a strange Young at Heart were just some of the numbers in his set. Hallelujah I Just Love him So wasn't in the set but I'm sure it was in the hearts of many of the listeners.

We recharged our glasses albeit not without a feeling of guilt as I recalled the original JC kicking the money changers out of the Temple (John 2: 13-16).

Ruth Lambert (vocal); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (bass) Tim Johnston (drums) + Jim McBriarty (clarinet). With all due respect to every one, but Ruth really nailed this one. Maybe by only a short head but, her reading of But Beautiful was one of those rare, once in a lifetime moments.  Jim McBriarty blew fine clarinet on I'm Old Fashioned and How High the Moon, with Alan Law also shooting for the moon, just perfect.

Of course the aim of the game was to raise cash for the cause and no doubt a statement will be duly issued with a special mention of Ashington's John Taylor who donated a couple of books one one of which, William Claxton's Jazz Files, went to an anonymous buyer adding £20 to the kitty in the process - well done John.

It had been a long day and I reluctantly left before the jam session.

That such enjoyment comes from sadness makes one think and wonder why so many more of the jazz fraternity weren't present ... Lance (Photos © Ken Drew)