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If you can't take a great photo, take a candid one

Hitchin's Jazz up! has always been delivered with a touch of humour and trombonist Dave Keech swigging a mug of tea between solos somehow sums it up.

Jazz if about people being themselves both as performers and audience and if that means swigging tea, then great.

Last night's gig also featured keyboard whizz Nikolaj Torp Larsen (The Specials, Adele, Sister Sledge etc etc), Aswad's Kenrick Rowe (who's just finished touring with PJ Harvey) on drums, bassist Neville Malcolm (Steve Williamson and Icognito among many others) and young sax supremo Tom Ridout.

This was a scratch band of people who know what they're doing. And do it well.

Standards sounded fresh and proved that if you put five talented musicians on stage with just a little rehearsal, they'll interpret tunes in their own way. There were backing stabs created by Keech/Ridout and Keech/Larsen to great effect and a genuine strong rhythm section feel between the experienced Rowe and Malcolm.

Club 85 and Dave Keech pull a few people together each month to perform and to organise Jazz Up!. What's great is the audience - who love what they're doing and are genuinely appreciative.

Jazz Up! takes a break in December but January promises a real treat with Laura Jurd appearing on 27/01/2017. I predict a sell-out.

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