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| (© Jeff Pritchard) |
Although a few of the regular jazz fans were absent tonight there was a good turnout for a Tuesday to see Huddersfield based saxophonist Rod Mason, a very experienced musician who has a high energy playing style on both alto and tenor saxes. He is also impressive on baritone sax but he left the larger horn behind on this occasion.When listening to Rod he sometimes makes me think of saxman Robin Kenyatta who nobody mentions these days. I used to have on LP Gypsy Man and Terra Nova both on the Atlantic label and well worth seeking out.
Rod opened the concert with Four and his powerful sound filled the room, no amplification needed. Paul only used a mic to announce numbers. Some of the tunes were chosen by Paul and some by Rod who played throughout in a sitting position on the right side of the bandstand.
Most of the ten tunes played were well known standards, five of which contained the word love, a fact that Paul remarked upon. Rod‘s version of You Don't Know What Love Is was done at a faster tempo than normal but it worked and another ballad that went down well with the audience was Darn That Dream - a tune that I’ve heard many times at jazz gigs recently. The Charlie Parker blues Now’s The Time was given a rocky beat which was spiced up by some spirited drumwork from Dave Walsh. The love theme continued with the final number which was a big hit for Doris Day, Secret Love, a good tune to end the evening and which contained a great bass solo from Ken Marley and more drumwork from Dave Walsh.
The next jazz night at the Railway is May 15 with Steve Pimlott -
Mike Farmer
1 comment :
I remember Rod Mason from John Warren's Voice of the North Jazz Orchestra. Excellent player.
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