Giving it welly

The final show of the summer this evening, starring old favourites the Santandrea jazz band, who thanks to Covid haven't given a concert here since 2019. They were given a warm welcome in a packed amphitheatre, more people than I've seen at a show for years. And it was a balmy, windless evening after a hot day.

They've changed the programme a bit, with less New Orleans and more jazz créole. New personnel too, with Jacques Adamo on trumpet and Michel Calvayrac on drums (and washboard). What hasn't changed is M. le Maire's show of reluctance before stepping onto the stage to give a rousing rendition of Les Feuilles Mortes, this time in a duo with the sound engineer. As a bonus he also duetted with Bruno (blip). Wild applause from the crowd, the tourists being particularly impressed (yes, Serge can genuinely sing, and he loves doing it). He claimed it was a spur of the moment thing, but I heard him rehearsing this afternoon ...

It was all over by quarter to twelve, after a few encores. And that's it for the summer! There's a small album here. Eva Cassidy's rendition of Autumn Leaves is untraditional but lovely ... listen and let yourself float away.