The Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman's Jazz Club, Middlesbrough - Jan. 9

Mark Toomey (alto sax); Jeremy McMurray (piano); Peter Ayton (bass); Mark Robertson (drums).

The jazz club's first meeting of the year was well attended with the audience giving  a warm welcome on a bitterly cold winter night to this quartet, comprising as it does with some of the best jazz musicians of the area and thus with high expectations of a night of interesting and exciting jazz. This also gave Mark the opportunity to demonstrate his considerable skills as a talented composer and arranger with a good number of his own compositions.

The Happiest Blues was a fine example of Mark's compositional skills, a lively swinging number with excellent sax and piano solos from Mark and Jeremy respectively coupled  with the solid backing of Peter on bass and Mark Robertson on drums showed how tight an ensemble they were and we were in for a great night of jazz.

The Charlie Parker influenced If I Should Lose You was beautifully played before a lively Latin based  composition of Mark's One More Try. 

In complete contrast, an exciting Dexter Gordon up tempo version of It's You or no One was followed with a moving ballad of Mark's, One Fine Day.

A nicely played version of Jimmy Van Heusen's It Could Happen To You that included a fine bass solo from Peter and the band finished the first set with Mark's up tempo number Those Rainy Summer Days with its fast intoxicating Latin rhythm.

A pleasant surprise came in the second set when from the audience  Bridget Metcalfe was invited to sing two numbers, Autumn Leaves and How High The Moon. A lovely ballad composed by Mark Only Say it When it's True included solos all round.

A swinger came next when Mark's Hold My Hand was played with nice improvised sax and piano solos.

Another original composition of Mark's Do You Have The Time? finally brought the evening to a close, a swinging blues with a fine alto intro and solo, excellent piano work from Jeremy who seamlessly included several different melodies, great bass from Peter and Mark showing his drumming expertise before they all came together for a terrific finish.

Thanks to the enthusiasm and professionalism of these four talented jazz musicians this first jazz night of the new year was highly successful and greatly enjoyed by the audience.

Many thanks as usual go to the staff of Dorman's Club for continuing to support this jazz night.   Ron Hampton