On steering away from the standards

A fabulous gig from pianist Marco Marconi with bassist Mark Wade brought two jazz giants together at Hitchin's Benslow Music.
    The Italian Marconi melded beautifully with New Yorker Wade, who had only flown across the pond a few hours earlier.
    It would have been easy for them to launch into a set of standards, but instead they peppered the evening with their own stunning compositions: a mixture of jazz and classical influences, performed perfectly.
    This was a gig to remember and we're fortunate to have musicians of this calibre so close to home - during the week, the pair travelled across the country, including Chelsea's iconic 606 Club.