IAN CLARKE Sennowe Park

IAN CLARKE

It's been a massive summer of alfresco gigs in Norfolk featuring some of the best-known names in the music world.

After the likes of Bryan Ferry, Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, Donny Osmond and Sugababes had lured tens of thousands to picturesque venues around the county, could we have been be “partied out” as Jools and his entourage arrived?

Don't you believe it!

The normally tranquil rolling grounds of Sennowe Park were brought to life as the piano wizard – who can sing and strum the guitar a bit too – thrilled the 4500-strong crowd with his high-energy show.

From the moment the master showman shouted out: “Do you want to boogie-woogie?” the atmosphere remained electric.

The sight of music lovers, from youngsters to pensioners, stretched out across the lawn at a beautiful country home on a lovely summer evening enjoying a picnic and glass of vin rouge or three is becoming wonderfully regular in Norfolk.

Jools set up his 18-piece band almost 20 years ago but the appeal remains as strong as ever, and it easy to see why they perform to sell-out venues world wide.

His Later with Jools BBC series is in its 22nd series and remains one of the top music shows on TV.

On Saturday, guest singers were Sam Brown (best known for Stop) and Diva Ruby Brown.

Their singing styles and amazingly powerful voices complemented each other perfectly.

Sam's moody number Have Mercy was followed by Mess Around (track from Planes, Trains and Automobiles) which had everyone dancing.

Ruby's Nobody But You was something special.

Predictably Jools had no problem getting great interaction from the audience and they responded by demanding two encores.

The evening was completed with a fantastic fireworks 15-minute display into the starlit sky. “Wow – they are the best fireworks I have ever seen,” was the collective view of the masses.

A few minutes in jams trying to leave Sennowe Park merely allowed showgoers to reflect on a boogie-woogie-tastic evening.