DAVID WAKEFIELD Norwich Arts Centre

DAVID WAKEFIELD

> Norwich Arts Centre

There can be few Norfolk folk of a musical bent who have not, over the last 40 or so years, listened at some time to Albert Cooper's singing.

The good news is that the Cooper musical dynasty is in good hands, via Albert's pianist son, Chris, who showed at this gig that the steady flow of fine jazz talent in Norfolk shows no signs of abating. For such a young man, his playing is remarkably mature. He has a fine, attacking style, and it is not difficult to see the influences of artists like Keith Jarrett.

With fine support from Dave Pullin (double bass) and Neil Kane (drums), Chris did the business on old favourites like Autumn Leaves and Thelonius Monk's Blue Monk. The highlight, though, was a remarkable version of Jerome Kern's All The Things You Are, which is a real challenge. Chris took it on at a remarkably quick tempo and proceeded to wring every last nuance from the tune.

Albert Cooper is known for his blues singing, but showed that he can also handle a ballad with tenderness and affection - as in his very slow version of Stella by Starlight.