A win win situation for me and, I'm sure, the band. How could it not be? Recreating the music from Hank Mobley's Blue Note album Dippin' played by five of Tyneside's A-listers was the theme for the evening.
The Central Bar Quintet were well up to the daunting task. I'm not going to show any parochial favouritism and claim that the above five edged Messrs Mobley, Morgan, Mabern Jr., Riley and Higgins but after listening to the original when I got home I came to the conclusion that they ran them close and nobody got killed or was busted. Those things don't happen in Gateshead, at least not very often now that the Get Carter multi-story car park is long gone.
Opening with The Dip the numbers followed in the same order as on the album - Recorda Bossa Nova, The Break Through, The Vamp, I See Your Face Before me and Ballin'.
I See Your Face Before me not only had a lyrical flugel solo from Tanton but also inspired a couple of terpsichoreans to merge their body movements with the music. That they were 'of a certain age' bore witness to the theory that music is indeed the food of love and defies the years.
The album successfully mined, the second set didn't stray too far from the Mobley/Lee Morgan scenario although book-ended by a couple of Wayne Shorter tunes - My Echo and Yes and No - which isn't too distant.
Smack bang in the middle was Morgan's Sidewinder which, in my younger days, was often played in discos. The horns 'gave it one' propelled along by the pulsating rhythm section all three of whom were at the top of their game. Ceora, I Remember Clifford and a Cuban number rounded off the evening with the latter number bringing more feet to the dance floor.
The gig was well-attended so it came as something of a surprise when it was announced that the sessions were switching to a Sunday lunchtime (2:00pm) as of May 7. This could have an effect on the Sunday night sessions at the Globe and vice versa. At present Monday nights are usually unopposed. Watch this space. Lance
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