THE talented jazz pianist Joe Masterson and his trio played a set of rousing instrumentals alongside an appearance from guest singer Suzi Woods for a Valentine’s evening of jazz and swing standards.
With double bassist Simon Smith and drummer Miles Levin, the gig was kicked off with Joe Lander’s Restoration, which had two moods – a sadly reflective opener for solo piano and an upbeat gospel coda pushed along by the bustling drums.
They played a referential So Softly Love which featured in the Godfather. The Italian sound and minimalist piano tune suited the acoustics of The Hub.
Having worked with such names as Jools Holland, Elton John and Annie Lennox, the pedigree of singer Suzi Woods could not be questioned and she joined the band for a haunting reading of Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me To The End of Love.
She also performed Stevie Wonder’s My Cherie Amour, the standard My Funny Valentine and swinging upbeat Moondance by Van Morrison, which featured an extended piano break.
The second half of the concert featured music by Ahmed Jamal and a swinging reggae Later which showed another mood to the ensemble’s sound, with energetic piano vamping over a more laid back bass and drum pattern.
Suzie joined the group for Fly Me to the Moon, an audience participatory LOVE.
The highlights of this set were an emotional La Vie En Rose and All The Way. Her final song of the night was a swinging Can’t Buy Me Love, a new reading of one of Lennon and McCartney’s first songs.
An encore of St Thomas was a joyful piano study, full of gospel flourishes and some fine musical interplay between the three players.