Maureen Hall (vocals); Gavin Lee (clarinet, alto sax); Gordon Solomon (trombone); Alf Langthorne (keyboards); John Robinson (bass guitar); Scott Adair (drums, vocals)
A first visit to St Andrew's URC Church in something like eleven years for Maureen Hall's Rendezvous Jazz. Where has the time gone? In its 25th anniversary year (where has the time gone?), the band's return to the well-appointed church in leafy, sleepy Monkseaton attracted a large crowd there to listen to the band and, for some, to participate in a traditional brolly parade.
Is it True What They Say About Dixie? sang Maureen. Our bandleader has sung the song many times over the years, clearly it's a favourite number. Twelfth Street Rag hit the spot, Messrs Lee and Solomon nicely warmed up. A Hundred Years From Today, (steady, medium tempo), Careless Love (ditto), then onto the first of the evening's two 'second line' brolly parades: brightly coloured, twirling, some adorned with battery-powered lights. It was as if we in New Orleans!