JAZZ comes in many forms: Traditional, Modern, Mainstream, Bebop, Latin-American, Blues, Fusion, Free form. Everything has a handle. Paris-based Americans Joe Lee Wilson and Kirk Lightsey last night gave us pretty much a cross section of the lot.

I can't remember exactly who it was, or exactly how it went, but a jazz colossus once described the genre as: "A musical exercise in self-indulgence, hopefully to be enjoyed as much by the listeners as those performing it." I can vouch for the fact that Joe Lee, Kirk, Steve Watts (double bass) and Dave Wickins (drums) had a great time. They were doing something they are extraordinarily good at. I'm not too sure that the entire show was completely to everyone's taste.

One chap on my table, a jazz fan to his toes, lost the plot when Joe Lee embarked on a musical soliloquy to his Red Indian ancestors.

However, things got back to normal when he hit 'Route 66' and 'Where Or When', with scat versions of each that showcased his feel for mainstream jazz .

His CV reveals that he can handle just about everything: standards, modern ballads, blues, gospel and contemporary works. I wouldn't argue with that generalisation -- though I preferred the good old-fashioned, stonkin style he revealed in segments.

Kirk Lightsey is a phenomenal player. Steve Watts put down a faultless bass foundation while Dave Wilkins is one of the most inventive and tuneful percussionists it has ever been my pleasure to watch and hear.

Congratulations to music supremo Chris Wormald. His friendship with Joe Lee, forged in Tokyo where he performed 'live' with Mr Wormald's World Champion Smithills School Senior Band, led to the quartet's appearance in Bolton. It was a rare treat.

-- Fred Shawcross