REVIEW: Jazz up your evening with centre's open mic offering
IT HAS got to be the Howden Park Centre's best kept secret: top jazz musician Andy Mears' inspired monthly open jazz night where talented musicians are invited to come along and join in with a superb professional combo and simply make music.
Picture the scene, Euan Stevenson on piano, John Speirs on bass and Jim Drummond on drums tucked away in a corner of the elegant Muse Bistro with a backdrop of lawn and trees.
On a balmy early summer's evening it could almost be St Tropez or an evening in Paris because they launch the show with a hot up tempo Duke Ellington classic C jam blues and then follow that with a cool bossa nova Quiet Night.
Sheer magic, especially when we are later treated to a fabulous drum solo from Mr Drummond, which proved you can create a big sound with minimal equipment, while Mr Speirs proved his versatility by doubling on bass and guitar.
There were Errol Garner-inspired introductions from Mr Stevenson on piano and when this guy played the classic My Romance, the sound was sweet and, yes, romantic. A real class act.
But this was, after all, an open night, so step forward 16-year-old Christopher Box and his 14-year-old cousin Harrison Box who had brought along their electric guitars and were allowed two spots each to jam with the musicians.
An interesting aspect of attending this sort of evening is being allowed to eavesdrop on what musicians discuss before they select a piece to play, so when the pianist suggests they play in E flat, the others nod in agreement, and off they go into a tune which you know is unrehearsed and yet emerges as sheer perfection.
Well done to the two self-confessed Django Rheinhardt-inspired young Boxes who proved they contained the beginnings of real talent, and to Messrs Drummond, Speirs and Stevenson for arranging an impromptu and valuable tutorial for the boys who listened and learned.
The evening ended with a touch of bebop in a tune called Oleo, which once again showed the trio's virtuosity off beautifully.
Listen, the final open jazz evening of the season is on Monday, 14 June at 7:30pm. Incredibly, admission is free and if you happen to be a jazz musician of any age, then bring your instrument along.
As they say, the best things in life are free.
Incidentally there is a bar and you can have a tasty snack or soup and make a night of it. Highly recommended and deserving to be much better advertised.
Watch out for occasional jazz on a Sunday afternoon – concerts which do require payment, but money very well spent.
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Tuesday 07 February 2012
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