STOP PRESS: UK JAZZ VENUE GETS IT ALL RIGHT (OR PEGGY’S MAGIC ELIXIR FOR ALL KNOWN ILLS)
What would you say if I told you that there’s a jazz venue right here in the UK that can on a Saturday night (a Saturday night, for Gawd’s sake!) present a no-holds barred, unapologetically ‘old school’ acoustic quartet, playing straight-ahead bop-based stuff AND attract a full house of over 100, largely comprising people under FIFTY, not all of them die-hard jazz fans but each unashamedly enthusiastic about what they’re hearing?
And what would you say if I told you the club has fabulous acoustics, a well-planned out stage, a great sound system, a beautifully upkept grand piano, serves delicious food, has friendly, personable staff and, best of all, is run by a jazz-playing, musically-eclectic and highly affable host?
Peggy’s is a positive breath of fresh air, a place in which performers, policy, public and proprietor all magically coalesce to create something long overdue and well worth shouting about.