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| © Jeff Pritchard |
Cliff Ray (trumpet, flugelhorn); John Padfield (alto/tenor/soprano sax); Andrzej Baranek (keyboards); Steve Berry (bass); Gaz Hughes (drums).
I've seen Cliff Ray playing in the trumpet section of various big bands that operate in the Lancs/Cheshire area but tonight he brought his own quintet to the Moor Club and although there were a few empty seats to be seen in the first half, the opening number, Dialogue, went down well with the regular jazz fans. This contained a lively tenor solo by John Padfield who I remember first hearing at a pub in Neston that I used to go to that had some great jam sessions. John was very helpful after the gig in filling in some of the gaps in the setlist and also showing me the charts for one or two of them by the well-known brass man Bobby Shew.
Padfield was impressive on his ballad feature Take Me With You and in the second half the spotlight was on Cliff Ray's flugelhorn and his version of Johnny Mandel's Emily.
Gaz Hughes has played here many times and with Andrzej on keyboards and Steve Berry on bass it goes without saying the rhythm section was top notch. It's good to hear some unfamiliar material alongside more well-known standards and the number that the band closed the show with was new to me, Bobby Shew's I Never Knew Clifford Brown.
Next Sunday, March 16, tenorman Mike Hope and his quartet will be here. Mike Farmer
Dialogue; Tuesday Blues; What is This Thing Called Love?; A Night to Remember; Star Eyes; Take Me With You; Dearly Beloved; You Are the One; Emily; Secret Love; Jenny; Alone Together; I Never Knew Clifford Brown.
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