Hadleigh Jazz Club has long been the hottest ticket in town. Indeed, the demand for the latest show was so great, that Georgia Mancio and Mark Crooks' long-awaited return to the town hall sold out within a matter of hours.

As a consequence, the club's promoter George Double felt obliged to add a matinée show, which also quickly filled to capacity.

Recently voted Best Vocalist in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards, Georgia paid tribute to Antonio Carlos Jobim (aka Tom), who is mainly remembered for being a founder of Bossa Nova – the new trend.

In the opinion of many, he created some of the finest popular music which swept the world in the 1960s.

Super stylish and blessed with a pitch-perfect expressive voice, Georgia was easy on the eye and a delight to the ear.

An intriguing aspect of her multilingualism was that, mid-song, she would switch between singing in Portuguese and English. Her Latin heritage added authenticity to Jobim's Bossa beat, serene songs and aching ballads.

My table companions were similarly taken with her, Jayne enthusing: "Georgia is a class act, her singing is beautiful and her presentation is faultless."

Sharing the limelight was HJC favourite, the saxophone star Mark Crooks. Throughout both sets, his lyric tenor floated around and intertwined with Georgia's vocals. Before the show, to refresh my memory about Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, who were famously associated with the popularisation of Bossa, I spent time listening to classic recordings by them.

During the 1960s, Getz (who I saw perform in London) had been considered peerless at tenor sax fluency, control and lyricism, but I have to say that Mark is successfully challenging himself to play at the same level.

And what a brilliant catalogue of music Jobim left for the audience to be entertained by. Among the many numbers were the emotional Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars); the instrumental Desafinado (Slightly out of Tune); Favela, a song about the Rio shantytowns; the hypnotically catchy One Note Samba; and The Girl from Ipanema, one of the most recorded songs of all time.

Often a star performer in his own right, pianist Chris Ingham led his rhythm section trio to tight-knit support of the main duo. Fortunately, on several occasions, he was also able to show- off his dazzling technique during solo breaks.

Making an all too rare an appearance in Hadleigh was bassist Geoff Gascoyne. He is an accomplished musician, including recording with a host of stars. In addition, to keeping a strong rhythm going in the trio, he also accompanied Georgia on solo acoustic guitar, which he had learned to play during lockdown.

Not only did George Double have a full-on day spearheading the Club's organisation, but also performed two x two-hour shows. Despite the workload, he performed with his usual skill, enthusiasm and panache, in a style that seemed particularly suited to the Latino rhythms.

All in all, it was one of the best of nights. So, it's cheers to the memory of Tom Jobim.

Next up at Hadleigh Town Hall, on Saturday 18 December is Jazz at the Movies: A Swinging Christmas. This ever-popular annual show will feature the voice of Joanna Eden together with the Chris Ingham Trio. Tickets will be available from ticketsource.co.uk/hadleigh-jazz-club

If you want to get advance information about forthcoming HJC gigs, ask to be added to the club's mailing list. Simply contact George on [email protected] or via his website at www.georgedouble.com

Review by Robert Carr

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