Bernie Ranson (tenor sax, alto sax, violin, vocals); Barbara Wilcox (keys, vocals); Nick Bagnall (5 string electric bass); Alan Wann (drums)
It used to be relatively easy to get a seat on a Sunday afternoon at The Exchange but the word has spread and at 3:00 pm all tables were taken. However (and luckily) The Exchange is the kind of venue where strangers soon become table-sharing friends, all with the same expectations of an afternoon of good feet-tapping music. You are promised blues, bossas, straight ahead jazz and a smattering of bebop and that’s what you get.
Today the chair usually taken by Jude Murphy on upright bass (booked for a wedding gig) was filled by Nick Bagnall on 5 string electric bass who was obviously no stranger to the material. The band kicked off with Beatrice and then Mr Bagnall set out his stall with a solo on Night and Day that drew admiration not only from the audience but also from his band mates and we were off!
Highlights included vocals from Bernie on Autumn Leaves (in French) and Everything Happens to Me. Barbara sang Just When We’re Falling in Love and Alan Wann showed his credentials as a drummer on Wayne Shorter’s Footprints. What better way to spend a dark winter’s Sunday afternoon?
Unfortunately I had to leave before the end but just as I headed out into the dark of Howard Street I heard Polka Dots and Moonbeams in the background and it made me feel that, despite everything, all is well in the world. Sylvia
The set list included Beatrice, Night and Day, I’m Old Fashioned, It Always Happens to Me, Autumn Leaves, Alone Together, Stella by Starlight, Polka Dots and Moonbeams, Just When We’re Falling in Love, Footprints, There Will Never Be Another You, Girl of My Dreams and Saturday Morning.
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