Jerry Bergonzi - Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho, London

A quick trip down to London to see the American saxophone legend Jerry Bergonzi at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho.

A straightforward run on the 16.12, arriving at 17.27.  South on the Victoria Line to Oxford Circus, after which some mooching along Oxford Street (Muji) and then down into Soho for a wander around to kill time.

At 18.20 we arrived at the club and I checked with the staff which entrance was to be used (in summer they sometimes open the gates to the fire escape staircase, and access is through there).  

Not tonight, though - a 10-minute wait outside and then through the restaurant and down the internal spiral stairs.

We were welcomed by the maitre d' and I noted that, once again, my name was at the top of the booking list, meaning that I was probably the first member who had booked a table for the gig (obsessive? moi?).  We were shown to our requested (and favourite) table - with great views of the stage and no punters in front of us to annoy me...

Obligatory selfie:

The only real disadvantage to our table is that, before the gig starts, it is illuminated by a ceiling spotlight which makes it a little difficult to get decent selfies - but the boss got around that at least partially by using a menu as a shade:

Food -  Olives, followed by a Tuna Niçoise Salad for Amanda and a Classic La Reine Pizza and salad for me:

which were then followed by a Biscoff Cheesecake and a flat white for Amanda and Lemon & Raspberry Cheesecake for me (consumed too quickly to be pictured...).

Sated, we sat back to people watch.  The gig (the second of two consecutive nights) was sold out (which was not a surprise), but what did come as a shock was the number of young(ish) women in attendance - including a number either in pairs or small groups.  I have grown accustomed to the females in the audience at most concerts I attend these days to be the long-suffering partners of greying, crop-haired, bespectacled old geezers - not unlike myself.  At 77, the silver-haired (and married) Bergonzi is not an obvious object for the affections of women easily 40 years or more his junior, so I was puzzled.  There seemed to be no clear single reason for the skewing of the demographic, but we did note that:

1. At least two tables of two women were clearly known to Bergonzi - before the show and during the interval he spent time sitting and chatting with them.
2. There was a high proportion of young musicians (many also known to Bergonzi) and there seemed a reasonable chance that they were accompanied by younger partners.
3. The pianist for the evening was Hyuna Park, and it seemed a reasonable assumption that at least some in the audience were there as much to see her as the bandleader.

The published start time of 20.00 came and went, and it soon became clear that Hyuna had temporarily misplaced her bag, and was desperate to find it, given that it contained her tablet, with the evening's music on it...

At around 20.10, the missing bag found, the band took to the stage - Park and Bergonzi accompanied by British bassist Mark Hodgson and Irish drummer Stephen Keogh.  Hodgson and Keogh seem to be a go-to rhythm section for many artists playing at the club.  We had seen both before - supporting Bergonzi when we had seen him at the Club in February 2023 and March 2024, and supporting American pianist Bruce Barth there in May 2023 and Spanish saxophonist Perico Sambeat in June 2023.  By coincidence, Hodgson was the bassist in drummer Bill Bruford's band Earthworks during our first visit to the Club in June 1999 (yes my scrapbooks and notes ARE that comprehensive...).  At one point in the evening Bergonzi noted that he is often asked "who are your dream rhythm players?", and that his "Zen" answer is always the same: "The ones that make me sound good" - which is why he so often plays with Hodgson and Keogh.

A fantastic first set of highly-entertaining jazz, with both the solos and the interplay being much appreciated by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic audience. 

Some inter-tune banter from Bergonzi, including some comments on the state of the world, and an assurance that not one of his acquaintances had voted for "ADT" (Asshole Donald Trump)...

It was difficult to get a decent shot of Mark, partly because he was standing towards the rear of the stage, and partly because the light on Jerry's music stand kept throwing my camera settings off:

During the interval between the two sets Jerry was kind enough to sign a CD I had taken with me:

after which he borrowed my Sharpie to sign what appeared to be a birthday card for someone:

After a slightly extended interval the band took to the stage again for a second superlative set.

Throughout the night, the vast majority of audients were well-behaved - with the exception, it must be said, of the short, dumpy, middle-aged matron sitting at the table to my right.  Upon arrival she had ordered a bottle of white wine - about 5 seconds before her partner ordered a bottle of red for himself...  The contents of both bottles disappeared over the next 90-odd minutes, with the end result that at around the 1m mark in the video of Hyuna below, said matron - now very obviously three sheets to the wind - started yakking loudly for a few seconds before her partner managed to shut her up. Listen carefully and you'll hear what I mean:

Generally speaking, it breaks my heart to have to leave a gig early, but by the end of the second set, the late start and extended interval had eaten sufficiently into the time I had allowed to catch our train home that we were faced with the very real prospect of missing it and having to shell out for an exorbitantly priced later service.  Accordingly, we slipped out before the almost certain encore(s) and walked swiftly up to Oxford Street, where we were were rewarded by being quickly able to flag down a cab to get us to St Pancras in time.

Part way home the conductor stopped at our seats to say that we might see an unexpected influx of passengers at the next stop, as the train before us (which should have been taking the more direct and quicker route) had been stopped from travelling any further by a track-adjacent residential fire.  Although that train could have been diverted onto our route, the driver of that train was not authorised to drive on that route, so the train was stuck where it was and the passengers decanted into ours...  I'm not quite sure why we were singled out for the special treatment of receiving a detailed explanation of events - perhaps the conductor was bored and we looked as if we might be interested.

We arrived at Leicester on time at 01.43, and were home and in bed by around 02.10 - tired but happy.

Set List 1

1. If I Were a Bell
2. Freedom From
3. La Mecha
4. Moment's Notice

Set List 2

1. Obama
2. Down
3. Ayaz
4. Soul Train
5. The Song Is You