The final Fourcroft Jazz Brunch of 2014 went out with an absolute bang in the form of a stunning performance by the South Midlands based Madi Stimpson Trio.

Consisting of Madi Stimson (lead guitar and vocals), Vo Fletcher (rhythm guitar, harmony and occasional vocals) and Paul Smith (double bass), this very simple combination were a joy to behold, performing some very unique versions of many old favourites.

Many a good performance has been spoiled by a simple lack of communication with the audience.

Larger than life character Vo Fletcher had them eating out of his hand from the moment the trio walked in the room. This was their first performance at the venue, but you could be forgiven for thinking that Vo knew everyone in the audience personally.

He immediately broke the ice and created the perfect atmosphere for a great session.

It always seems the better the performance, the quicker time passes. This gig flew by.

The trio have a fascinating ability to create atmospheric music and take the audience to a different place. It's hard to describe their musical genre because they did the lot.

From Jazz to Folk and Blues to Blue Grass and, believe it or not, they even threw in a bit of Mozart, all done in their own inimitable style of course. They just kept playing and I don't think they knew themselves what was coming next.

They and the 'Brunchers' were clearly enjoying every minute of this fine performance.

The highly-talented Madi often produced sounds from his guitar that seemed to linger in the mind for ages. His guitar combinations with the charasmatic Vo (no mean guitarist himself) were spellbinding; the lead and rhythm passing from one to the other with an almost telepathic understanding.

Meanwhile, Paul Smith kept it all together with a rock solid performance on double bass. This was a class act.

Madi has one of the most pleasantly unique voices I have ever heard.

He can switch from gravelly low tones to then reach notes that would stretch the talents of a boy soprano.

He puts as much passion into his singing as he does into guitar playing.

All appreciated by an audience who have seen many other excellent performances in the same venue. Rarely any better. The first half performance was excellent.

When they came out for the second session, they did what the All Blacks do (no not the Haka); they lifted their game to a different level and instead of breaking Welsh hearts like the All Blacks, this talented trio blew everyone away with great music.

Here's a snapshot of the diversity of numbers they performed.

'Jitterbug Waltz', 'Wedding Song', 'Dream a Little Dream', 'See you in my Dreams', an unbelievably good version of the Bee Gees' 'Staying Alive', a Blue Grass version of a 'Gypsy Waltz', the title music from 'Pot Black' and, believe it or not, the theme music of 'Captain Pugwash', and many more that no one was expecting.

Vo's delightful solo version of 'After you've gone' also went down well.

All of the numbers were delivered superbly. However, two in particular were sublime, stretching the vocal talents of Madi and the harmonising skills of Vo to the limit.

Their versions of John Martin's 'May you Never' and Van Morrison's 'Moondance' were worth the ticket price on their own.

This was their first performance at the Fourcroft; it certainly won't be their last. Jock's rating 9/10.

Hats off to Chris Osborne. I don't know where he finds them, but once again he has come up trumps, bringing yet another set of superb musicians to perform 'live' in front of a very appreciative audience at the Fourcroft.

Once again, a big thanks to Chris and his staff for looking after us all.

Allan Morris