Jazz at Cotleigh Brewery

We've enjoyed playing here more than a few times as part of Ivor's marvellous charity-supporting 'Wivey Has Jazz' series, but this time his mighty publicity machine excelled itself and packed every available space with bodies - lively ones, at that, who gave us a fabulous reception and were in no way inhibited by the extremely 'cosy' nature of this packed venue on a very warm evening! The band just about managed to fit into their allotted space - not without difficulty! - and the front line narrowly avoided having to sit on the laps of the eager occupants of the front row. It all added to the atmosphere, however, and we couldn't have asked for a better reception.

Faced with such a knowledgeable and supportive crowd we felt bold enough to dig out out a selection of our more obscure numbers, rarely heard from other bands - Morton's The Pearls went down well, as did Bechet's Ce Monsieur Qui Parle, Keppard's Stockyard Strut, and Ellington's Rockin' In Rhythm and Echoes Of Harlem, the latter a fine showcase for some virtuoso cornet from Steve Graham. Shake It And Break It also hit the spot, despite the evident front-line mirth at the (unintentional!) silent 'breaks' at one point - not for the first time, a band member had a fit of amnesia and failed to fill these breaks as intended, though audience members afterwards kindly claimed not to have spotted the omission! We're unsure as to whether the culprit has yet realised the error of his ways ...

Hamish Maxwell, of course, once again stole the show (and the ladies' hearts!) with his vocals, including his latest new one I Only Want It Once Or Twice, claiming total innocence of any double entendre ...

We love playing here - can't wait for our next visit!