Freddie King and his Quartet ****
The Jazz Bar

THE man known as "the King of Scat" bebopped last night away, much to the delight of a full house at the Jazz Bar.

One of Scotland's premier jazz singers, Freddie King – along with his quartet – gave the crowd a treat. Although the Chamber Street basement bar was packed full, the mood was intimate and relaxed with small candlelit tables and dim lighting adding to the atmosphere.

The Jazz Bar is famous for its unique style and good music and certainly did not let the reputation slide with last night's performance.

The band began with a fast, uplifting instrumental number with some remarkable sax work by veteran Glasgow player Bobby Wishart.

After the instrumental, Freddie King was introduced and wasted no time living up to his nickname, launching into the first of many scat improvisations.

Boston-born bassist, Sean Pentland also impressed with some fantastic solos.

After about 15 minutes of the music, London-born King took a breather by introducing fellow band members.

Although it is clear that he takes his music seriously, he managed to earn a few laughs when struggling to remember names by muttering to himself, "your brain's going tonight."

Continuing with a samba number, the band kept its pace and soon had the crowd toe-tapping and finger-snapping along.

King has a unique way of using his voice. In true scat style he used nonsense words and syllables to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo. His ability to move from scat singing to lyrics effortlessly while simultaneously changing the pitch and tone of his voice was extraordinary.

When mentioning his new album, Diggin' Deep, it became clear that King's speaking voice is almost as melodic as his singing voice as he spoke with a smooth, deep accent.

With the uptempo jazzy tunes, it was easy to imagine a 1920's New York cocktail party from a black and white film. The music, begged to be danced to, although the venue didn't really allow for it.

For his take on Rex Harrison's 1956 hit I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face, from the musical My Fair Lady, the pace slowed down slightly. A lesser-known jazz instrument, the flute, was played in this number to help create softer sounds, but it still had that spontaneous edge.

Swing with Freddie King at the Auld Toll Bar