Sam Calvert (drums); Richie Emmerson (tenor sax); Andrew Meadowcroft (vocals/keys); Tony Wood (double bass).
Going by previous guest band appearances, the audience was fully expecting a night of well played, entertaining, mainly jazz standards and were certainly not disappointed. Andrew's fine vocals featured on all of the numbers striking just the right balance between vocals and instrumental work.
A Foggy Day showed from the start how tight an ensemble they were, Andrew's vocal and fine piano solo, Richie's vibrant sax along with great backing from Tony and Sam set the format for the night.
The lively Love me or Leave Me was followed by the Dorothy Fields/Jerome Kern classic The Way You Look Tonight - a number that never fails to please with Richie blending sax with Andrew's singing before playing a moving solo to finish.
After Have You Met Miss Jones?, came the popular ballad When Sunny Gets Blue with a nice bass intro from Tony before the tempo was raised again with a driving version of Is You is or is You Ain't My Baby?
An original composition by Andrew, the swinging Merry Go Round, preceded the
Bobby Darin version of More, probably played for the first time at Dorman's.
That Ole Devil Called Love was followed by Nat King Cole's version of Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter which were played before The Norah Jones version of Don't Know Why brought the first set to a close.
Starting the second set with the Tom Waits' New Coat Of Paint, which had a dramatic feel to it included a nice bass solo from Tony.
Sacha Distel's The Good Life was followed by Night And Day, Fly me to the Moon and Donald Fagen's Walk Between the Raindrops.
After the love song I Only Have Eyes For You, This Could be the Start of Something Big had the band really swinging with Sam showing his fine drumming skills.
The lovely ballad sensitively sung and played I Can't Remember Love taken from the Queen's Gambit (Netflix) was due to finish the night but after a request from the audience for Billy Joel's New York State Of Mind the band duly obliged.
It was a pleasure to listen to this band on such a cold winter's night and was clearly enjoyed by both themselves and the audience.
Thanks as usual go to the staff of Dorman's for their help and support with the jazz night. Ron Hampton
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