Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall - March 31

Lewis Watson (tenor saxophone); Mark Williams (guitar); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums)

In recent times tenor saxophonist Lewis Watson has been working with three of the finest musicians around - guitarist Mark Williams, bassist Mick Shoulder and drummer John Bradford. Such was the interest in this lunchtime concert, the Town Hall's management decided to relocate the event from the first floor cafe to the adjoining, larger theatre space. The one hour performance would be book-ended by Blue Note classics courtesy of two of the great modern tenor saxophonists.

The recently departed Wayne Shorter's Yes or No, from the mid-sixties' album JuJu, opened the set and, right from the off, Watson took command. Assured, fluent, inventive, this is what the audience had come to hear and no one, but no one, was to be disappointed. Mark Williams' choice chordal accompaniment the perfect foil to Watson's solo excursions, the Irishman's own solo spots in themselves worth the the price of admission. On home turf here in Bishop Auckland, Mick Shoulder anchored the set, periodically soloing with great facility, and then there was John Bradford, sensitive as always, upping it as and when required.

Watson dusted off an old chart - Song for Keith (the late Keith Morris), which was given a suitably sensitive reading, and Out of Step (a nod to Coltrane's Giant Steps in 3/4 time) were numbers new to the set, let's hope we hear them again before too long. Trane's The Promise demanded much from the quartet, from Bradford's intro through to stellar solos from the bandleader and, to his left, masterful guitar playing by Williams. Lewis Watson remarked the hour had flown by. Indeed it had, a sure sign of a great gig. The Lewis Watson Quartet signed off with another classic from the Blue Note stable, Joe Henderson's Inner Urge. Russell 

            

Set list: Yes or No; Autumn Song; Song for Keith; Out of Step; The Promise; Inner Urge