With his spirited mix of jazz styles on a cool Saturday, the incredible virtuoso violinist Ben Holder warmed the spellbound Hadleigh Jazz Club audience like never before. 

Before the matinee performance commenced, he told me: "I loved playing in Hadleigh for the first time in 2019, and I'm thrilled to be back for two shows this time. It's always a pleasure to play with these wonderful musicians and I think these will be very fun shows, indeed" - and with that, he then set about demonstrating what exciting fun jazz can be.

Energetically leading from the front, Ben was ably supported by the Chris Ingham Quartet, with Chris on piano, Simon Hurley on guitar, and Joe Pettitt on bass, with club promotor George Double on drums.

Ben Holder - energetic (Picture: Jayne Tann)

Setting the tone for his tour de force performance, Ben launched into Gershwin's Lady Be Good. More high-tempo numbers followed including Duke Ellington's compositions It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing and Caravan, played in beautifully rhythmic Gypsy Jazz style. 

Other dynamically performed numbers included Benny Goodman's Air Mail Special, Irving Berlin's Puttin' On The Ritz, and the splendid I Wan'na Be Like You, originally sung by Louis Prima in the Disney film The Jungle Book.

The Quintette du Hot Club de France founders, swing and gypsy jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli and guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt, were homaged by Ben and Simon. Combining on acoustic duets, some of the show's best moments, for me, were the slower and reflective pieces - Django's compositions Minor Swing and Nuages. Apparently, the latter was one of the anthems of the WW2 French Resistance.

Ben Holder and Simon Hurley (Picture: Jayne Tann)

In addition to his gifts on violin, Ben entertained with a nice line of comedy and surprised me with his vocals. I particularly appreciated his swinging version of Kurt Weill's Mack The Knife: an early vinyl purchase of mine was Bobby Darin's hit cover.

A lot of the time, Ben exhorted the quartet to equal his frenzied tempo. None more so than Joe having to pluck his bass at lightning pace. Belatedly revealing his keyboard talent, Ben ended the show by duetting with Chris for a four-handed boogie encore of Louis Jourdan's Let The Good Times Roll. On several occasions, George let rip with extravagant drum solos; while Simon glided serenely along whilst perched on his stool – absolutely wonderful stuff, guys.

Being multitalented, blessed with charisma, and the ability to arouse an audience's warmth, I wonder how long it will be before Ben hits the really big time and plays the UK's major venues? If and when he does, I hope that he'll remember his fans in Hadleigh.

For this show, the Hadleigh Jazz Club seemingly metamorphosed into the Hot Club de Hadleigh – and didn't the audience just love it?  At the finale, the applause was boisterous, with several audience members commenting to me that they felt exhausted from simply being in attendance. 

Ben at Hadleigh Jazz Club with Chris Ingham Quartet (Picture: Kathleen Carr)

With the energy expended by the five musicians during the afternoon, I departed the Town Hall hoping that they had enough left in the tank to do it all over again in the evening show – later on, I was told that they did.

Next up at the Club on 8th April is the super-talented jazz pianist James Pearson. Tickets will be available from ticketsource.co.uk/hadleigh -jazz-club  

Advance information about HJC shows can be obtained by asking to be added to the Club's mailing list. Contact George Double at [email protected] or via his website georgedouble.com