Eight excellent performers of the main act, Mr Ott, on stage with a grand piano, an enormous baritone sax and an impressive double bass, plus the six sexy dancers on the floor added a spectacular visual dimension to the great music at the crowded Venue 505 on Saturday night.

Mr Ott provided fun and joyous music and they were ably supported by the more restrained and intriguing Slowpoke Rodriguez,
lead by Pat Harris on bass, with Carlos Adura, Ken Allars, Sandro Bueno, Daniel Pliner and Simon Relf, started with almost trance like rhythms before bringing in some avant garde trumpet playing and then releasing the full band on the very engaged audience. You have to love a band that has a song called Bavaria based on a fictitious German 80s cop show of the same name with all the catchy guitars and glorious clichés of the TV theme music genre. Their website is http://slowpokerodriguez.bandcamp.com/.

Mr Ott had a bigger sound with two saxophones and a trumpet up front and providing a tight and pulsating sound behind the three horns was some funky guitar, double bass, keyboards, drums and percussion. Band leader Matthew Ottignon provided some powerful sax and Ellen Kirkwood’s trumpet and Peter Farrar’s sax complemented his work. Daniel Pliner was outstanding on the grand piano and also added another dimension with his synthesiser and electric keyboard. Ben Panucci on guitar and Eden Ottignon on double bass and electric bass were excellent. The energy in the room was raised to another level when six young dancers, lead by Fenix Icatu, performed. Their skill, innovation and vitality drew lots of applause from the crowd.

Mr Ott derives inspiration from leading Ethiopian artist Mulatu Astatke and you can hear this in the world music influenced improvisation and syncopation in their songs. Mr Ott’s website is http://www.misterott.com/.

As always Venue 505 has delivered an entertaining, eclectic and intimate evening.