Nothing will stop our Mystery Chelsea Shopper in her search for a good time out on the London jazz scene. Here goes MCS, from a wild night in Covent Garden catching the new band at the Dragon Hall….to a sur le vif review for the pages of LondonJazz ….without so much as pausing for catch a breath in between.

A new season of Jazz on the last Sunday of the month at The Dragon Hall, Stukeley St, WC2 has got off to a good start, with a new young band The Sax Pastilles. This is a a five peice aggregation trumpet, bass, drums and reeds with a particularly fine pianist, Holly Roberts. Led by the clarinet/sax of Hugo Simmonds, the band plays from the standard repetoire with a recognisable chorus before taking off to some imaginative interpretations. C-Jam Blues to Dinah by way of Sweet Georgia Brown. Last night they were augmented by Tom Monahan on trombone – when he wasn’t dancing his sox off. Next appearance at the Dragon Hall on Sunday 29th November and if you want to catch them before they have a regular gig at Wax Jambu, 144- 5 Upper Street (Angel Tube) on Wednesdays.

Dragon Hall : Follow this link