A beautiful late afternoon in April saw three very fine musicians playing on the terrace at Quod. Tim Dawes, an Oxfordshire based bass player, always manages to bring some of this countries finest jazz players to Oxford. Dave Lewis a very fine tenor saxophonist who never disappoints, has played in top London venues, such as Ronnie Scott's, was on his usual fine form, but the surprise to me was a very young pianist, also from London, called Carl Hudson. He played with great verve and swing, but also with sensitivity on the ballads. The trio were joined for a couple of numbers by a great harmonica player Julian Jackson, whose rendition of the great Henry Macini Johnny Mercer tune "Days of Wine And Roses" was wonderful. To hear music of this calibre while sitting in the sun enjoying a glass of wine is one of the many reasons why my wife and I choose to live in Oxford.

Based on information supplied by Howard Jackson.