The leading session drummer Gaz Hughes led his trio through a series of his own compositions along with a number of staples from the jazz songbook when they appeared fat the Cathedral Hotel.
The group also featured the sterling talents of keyboard player Andre Baronet and double bass player Ed Harrison.
They started the set with Beboptical Illusion, a swing piece with plenty of swinging grooves, before Stomping at the Savoy showed that the trio could also work their way through a well known jazz piece.
The ballad, Sophisticated Lady by Duke Ellington, was an early showcase for the talents of Andre, and Have You Met Miss Jones? featured some fine playing from Ed.
The upbeat blues of To The Moon and Back closed the set, but proved they could build dynamics into a fairly straightforward theme.
The second set featured the lively Concorde, the tone-poem Edith which owed as much to Celtic music as it did to jazz, whilseBody and Soul saw some exemplary bass and keyboards.
The Message was written in the style of Art Blakey, with bustling rhythms and a catchy tune pushed to the foreground.
The morning of the show saw the funeral of Lichfield Arts president and Lichfield Jazz founder Brian Pretty, who did so much to promote music and musical talent throughout the city and beyond. It was fitting that a talented group of musicians played music of inventive verve – and showed that Brian’s legacy has been left in some very capable hands.
