AFTER a successful concert on Valentine’s Day, the talented Joe Masterson and his trio of musicians returned to The Hub at St Mary’s for another sterling set of instrumental and vocal jazz for a capacity audience.
With double bassist Mike Green and drummer Miles Levin, they played music that ranged from jazz to reggae and blues, with a swinging Autumn Leaves and a lively drum solo during a samba number being amongst the highlights of the first set.
The trio were joined by the acclaimed singer Suzy Woods, who added swing to Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me to the End of Love. Lullaby of Brydland and Sting’s An Englishman in New York were also presented, with the latter given a jazz treatment and featuring a dextrous piano solo.
The second half of the concert was kicked of with Charlie Chaplin’s Smile, first as a delicate reverie for piano, before the rhythm section began and it became a mid-tempo swing piece.
The Regulator was a lesson in both brevity and collected improvisation. The trio were joined once more by Suzy Woods for Can’t Buy Me Love and Almost Like Being In Love. Funky Mama was another exciting instrumental with a shuffle rhythm and interesting solos for all of the players.
The encore was a ballad version of Summertime which led into Van Morrison’s Moondance, with its insistent swing beat giving all of the musicians a chance to shine.