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| (© Jeff Pritchard) |
The room was full of jazz fans looking forward to the long awaited return of the hugely popular Dean Masser who has been absent through illness but has bounced back and seems to have made a full recovery. Dean has always had a big sound on tenor sax but tonight it seemed even bigger than usual especially in the lower register.
Dean has played many gigs with the rhythm section of Hughes, Baranek, and Harrison and I’m sure he was well pleased with the backing they provided. They did a first class job and tonight it got me back to thinking back to nights at the Montmartre in Copenhagen listening to Dexter Gordon with the Kenny Drew Trio.
Like myself, Dean is a big fan of Dexter and he did a great version of Gordon's Fried Bananas which went down well with the audience. I liked all of the numbers and none less than when Dean slowed things down a bit with Lover Man and In a Sentimental Mood. The latter, a tune that is getting a lot of plays lately, found Dean’s rendition to be a good one He also introduced three of his own compositions tonight: Well Red; Sticks and Stones; and Back Chat.
Gaz Hughes was on fire tonight and I find I am running out of superlatives to describe the bass playing of Ed Harrison who, like Dean, is based in the Wigan area. Regarding Andrzej Baranek; a guitarist friend said to me that he gets better every time he hears him and I didn't argue!
The next jazz night at the Railway is on May 31 with The West Coast Jazz Octet -
Mike Farmer
On Green Dolphin Street; Well Red; Loverman; Billie’s Bounce; Sticks and Stones; I Thought About You; Fried Bananas; The Jamfs Are Coming; In a Sentimental Mood; Back Chat.
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