Jools Holland, Eastnor Castle

10:07am Friday 11th July 2008

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A POWER cut in the opening few minutes on stage was perhaps not the start Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra were expecting.

The band valiantly plugged away with their boogie-woogie opener as the brass section turned red in the face trying to reach the concert goers at the back.

Perhaps looking back, it would have occurred to them to send out guest vocalist Ruby Turner - a woman for whom a microphone seems a frivolous accessory - to blast away any doubts that this was one of the sharpest live acts performing today.

As the Carte D'Or Summer Proms and Smooth Series concert shuddered back into life a roar went up from the appreciative crowd, some of whom had brought along enough garden furniture to rival Homebase, and the concert was back on.

After the initial hiccup the 18-piece group slipped easily into a well-rehearsed routine, guaranteed to get people on their feet and shuffling along.

Feel-good hits were the order of the day with out host Jools knowing when to ramp it up for maximum effect before winding it down for the slow numbers.

A mixture of ska, soul and the aforementioned boogie-woogie ensured few tastes were left out and by the time the band returned for the first encore, there were precious few people seated.

Special mention goes to legendary trombonist and guest vocalist Rico Rodriguez who managed to bring a little piece of Jamaican sunshine to a damp field in rural Herefordshire.