After a month of little or no live jazz activity that interested me, I realised that Greg Abate was due to arrive in the UK on October 30 to begin his second tour of England and Wales this year starting at Swansea and ending at Newcastle on November 24.
I counted 19 gigs in his tour itinerary and I decided to attend the Cheltenham one, remembering that my only other visit to Cheltenham was to see Johnny Griffin and Jackie Mclean at a large theatre. That was way back in the day. I had a car then and the journey was so much easier. These days I use trains a lot and I was very lucky that, on this occasion by way of a change, I had minimal problems although, for many, the delays and cancellations continue.
The gig was well attended and the room was ideal for a jazz concert with plenty of seating and a well stocked bar at the back. There were plenty of CDs and jazz related items on offer including a table devoted solely to albums by Greg.
As you can see from the above line-up Greg works with some of the best musicians available and they have to be to match his energy and creativity. Greg likes to get the sound spot on and he spent a few minutes on a soundcheck before deciding to play the alto with the mic at a low level.
The opening tune was Solar by Miles Davis and was followed by a number I’ve not heard Greg do before Cole Porter's Love For Sale which contained a piano solo by Dave Newton that made me think of the great Kenny Drew who I heard play the same tune with Dexter Gordon at the Montmartre Club in Copenhagen.
I last saw Dave at one of the jazz house parties held at Malcolm Frazer's place in Cheadle.
This was a concert that I thought could not be bettered. I must thank the promoter Andrew Fuller for a great show, Dave Newton for giving me a lift back to my hotel and Greg Abate for all his assistance. I hope to see Greg again on Nov. 17 when he is in Belper, Derbyshire. Mike Farmer
Solar; Love For Sale; Ceora; Contemplation; Easy Living; Segment; J.A.G; Ornithology; 'Round Midnight; Afternoon in Paris; On The Road; Well You Needn’t.
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