What does one do at Easter? The options are many: a) Church. b) Parade. c) Spend the 'holiday' weekend in queues at airports and ferry terminals in the hope of reaching somewhere Easter the sun and west of the Toon (old joke). d) Paint eggs. e) Eat eggs. f) Endure time with distant relations. g) Go to a jazz gig and hear a great organ trio.
I opted for option g which was actually west of the Toon and you didn't need a passport. Sadly, most people went for the other options.
This was, in a sense, both good and bad. Good because it enabled me to put my thumbs in my (virtual) waistcoat and smugly chant 'Na-Na-Na-Na-Na' to those who plumped for the alternatives but bad because there were few of a similar mind at the Globe and, with an organ trio, to recreate that Philly feel you need a crowd with maybe a few dancers to create the ambience.
Nevertheless, I knew I'd made the right decision when they hit the deck with Jerome Richardson's Groove Merchant. This was good. Stu may not be pedalling a B3 but the Nord C1 certainly sounded like one. Harry, perhaps spurred on by some strange and totally unjustified criticism on Facebook, paint-stripped the ceiling - just as well he wasn't in the Sistine Chapel - whilst Abbie kept the roller coasting along.
Hallelujah I Just Love Her so brought Stu's vocal talents to the fore as well as some forceful fours twixt all three. A Stu original, Cool Blue, apart from the solos had him vocalising the out chorus in unison with Harry's tenor. They later did something similar on The Chicken. Harry worked out on Bemsha Swing to the extent the tenor almost exploded resulting in a question to the audience "Is there a screwdriver in the house?"
Repairs effected, Stu sang I Wish I Knew How it Felt to be Free and the set closed with Chick Corea's Gotta Match? This had an amazing unison head between organ and tenor. Taken at speed, this had to be spot on or else you'd be applauded for a gallant failure. They were applauded but failure didn't come into the equation.
Refreshed by a pint brewed in the Firebrick Brewery just up the road in Blaydon, I settled down for the second set which opened with another vocal - the Yellowjacket's Revelation, a Stu original, The Tank, I Thought About You, I Hear a Rhapsody and another original called simply Touch. Well named as Abbie applied her own touches to a dynamic solo that deservedly drew the applause.
An uptempo Devil May Care and Stu's Nautical brought my evening to a close - transport etc. It had been a pleasure and a privilege to hear three fine musician playing as one. Lance
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