Pipkin-Turner Thriller

Your blog now operates in glorious technicolour, and to prove it here are a couple of pix, including the Boss, who has just had his bass fiddle glued back together, which may account for his serious expression as he tries to get his fingers unstuck from the instrument.

Well, we promised you a night of treats, and that's how it turned out. With Tony Pipkin (tpt) and Mike Turner (reeds) both in top form, we got an evening that combined classic favourites like That's a Plenty with smooth ballads. And it was great to see a full clubroom after the foul weather of the last few days.

From inside the rhythm section, you always get a feeling from the first number whether the line-up is going to click. And that's how it was this time. The session was fun to play from start to finish, with some real highlights. My favourites - Tony and Ken Jones (pno) giving us She's Funny That Way as a duo, and a demonstration of how to impress with understated elegance and taste. And Mike Turner giving us I Wish You Love, not only in impeccable French but, as the Italians would say, con alma.

We also had the pleasure of a new talent emerging from the audience, in the form of John Ripper on tenor sax. John moved to Malvern last year and has been a regular member of the audience at Spring Lane. He turned up with his sax last night and gave us plenty to remember him by. I'm sure we will see him again.

Thanks again to everyone (including Ken Wright on drums). And a final mention to the secret dancers, who were jigging in the corridor during the last number, where they thought nobody could see them. Good to see that a bunch of aging musicians can still get the crowd on its feet!

TTFN.