Another full house. First Durham, then Newcastle and this evening in Hexham. The Vault is what you might call 'snug', some might say uncomfortably so. An ancient, stone built, former brewhouse standing on Hallgate, long before the down beat all advance purchase ticket holders had taken their seats. The Allendale Brewery's bottled beers are favourites along the Tyne Valley and a first bottle of Black Grouse duly arrived courtesy of the venue's efficient table service.
You and the Night and the Music opened the first of two sets. The Schwartz/Dietz standard currently finds a place in Dulcie May Moreno's set and her 'Northern Jazz Cats' (Messrs Williams, Shoulder and Bradford) purred nicely. This evening's concert, the third of four northern tour dates, featured a couple of our vocalist's original songs. One of them, Take Me to New York, is proving particularly effective, a 'jazz' song her audience can relate to, either in their dreams or recalling personal memories of the Big Apple and its many jazz greats.
The Bishop' Shoulder* is similarly the supreme accompanist, great tone, as always. And then there's John Bradford. In the cramped confines of the Hallgate venue the requirement is to reign it in, finesse the order of the day. It seems to come naturally to drum master Bradford with sticks largely idle, brushes and mallets the tools of his trade this evening.
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