A BLUNT CHISEL AND A LUMP OF ROCK

Jam session review of 17th Nov

It would seem, on reflection, that the beating heart of the nation, and a computer so antediluvian that it would almost be quicker to use a blunt chisel and a lump of rock, do not, as a rule, make the writing of the Weekly Drivel any easier.

I do, of course, digress..

Last week’s manglefest was a small one, but of some quality. Such assessment will, naturally, strike fear in the hearts of the regulars, on the grounds that (a) we didn’t mean it to be that good, (b) it is most unlikely that it will be that good again, and (c) can we return to the standards above which we would prefer not to rise..

We started with the obligatory bebop charts, four saxophonists, and contemplation of the fact that no drummer, bass player or pianist has, ever, called a tune, and expected others to play it. That is the exclusive preserve of said saxophonists, aided and abetted by guitarists and singers who, laughingly, think of themselves as the front line and struggle to play one note at a time.

Whatever, pick of the day was Kay Young, whose take on Take the A Train, It Don’t Mean a Thing, et al. really bopped along. Kay has an alarming habit of launching into a ridiculously complicated coda in the belief that this will rescue whatever tune we are mangling at the time. It never has, of course, but this session, she elected not to do that, and was rewarded with a full and classy chorus, complete with scatting, and an audience who, for once, surely clapped when they stopped, rather than just because they stopped.

Then, some neat work from Ivan on bass, a couple of sophisticated solos from Neville, whose guitar gets better and better, and a return to some hot drumming from The Hirsch. His take on The Sunny Side of the Street was pretty good too.

And before we knew it, time to rattle up the stairs, truss the piano, finish the chicken wings and depart, slowly, into the warm evening twilight, suitably primed for another week in the salt mines. And the beating heart of the nation? Don’t ask.

See ya Sunday!​​​​​