The Glasshouse's Sage One buzzed with the pizazz, the razzmatazz and all that (well a little bit) jazz - a sign that PMJ were back!
MC Douglas encouraged us to party and we did. Some had already begun - Brahms and Liszt were well represented in the near full three tiered auditorium albeit somewhat differently than at a concert by the Northern Sinfonia.
The formula was the same as on PMJ's previous visits - only the songs and a couple of faces had changed. As always, hoofer Demi Remick was sensational her tap dancing shoes delivering more beats per bar than a Buddy Rich drum solo or the thimble-fingered, washboard wizardry of Jack Amblin. Given his Welsh origin, it wasn't unusual for Amblin's chosen aria to be It's Not Unusual.
The three girls were outstanding either in their own individual spots or as a harmony group updating the Andrews Sisters, the Chi-Lites or the Supremes for today's musos.
Thor Jensen had an outstanding feature on the ridiculous Eleanor Rigby. However, without the words it isn't ridiculous at all but a tune with lots of harmonic possibilities that Jensen exploited to the full.
Andrew Cox may be Leeds based but his sax, flute and clarinet playing made him a citizen of the world. On trombone, J.P. Floyd displayed a flamboyant technique reminiscent of Al Grey. Pianist Tony, less flamboyant, was equally important whilst bassist Kubato shone on both acoustic and electric and it was literally All About the Bass for the encore/grand finale.
Quite a night - as it always is. Roll on next year.
Opening the show, locally based singer Rivkala accompanied by Ben Lawrence on keys primed the audience for what was to follow. The support act to a mega headliner is always a difficult spot to fill but, nevertheless, the singer/songwriter's 30 minutes suggested a promising future. Lance
No comments :
Post a Comment