Upon arrival, Mint Club was filled to a quarter of its capacity, with house driven vibes and the expected crowd response. The environment reminded me of Lapalux, at Pitch Festival; whilst everyone else was at another venue this evening (in this case, Good Life), the intimate club setting in Mint was perfect; room to breathe, jazz-fusion that you’d be stretched to find elsewhere in Leeds. There were also big named artists to lead what will hopefully become one of the best-kept secrets in Leeds, I was fully expectant of a booty shake-a-thon.

One chap, at new levels of enlightenment, set the standard for the audience response, perhaps to the annoyance of some, however no one seemed unhappy with music created ambience. Dan Shake wasn’t able to fill Gilles Peterson’s boots, but he was a formidable replacement. I had Shazam on ‘auto’, till battery failure.

I had an engaging discussion with event organizer, George Hartshorn. I didn’t feel as though the boundaries of the Leeds clubbing scene were challenged but I did find out about their ethos and future for the event, with intentions of live performances, which could hold some interesting results for the audience.

https://soundcloud.com/gillespetersonworldwide/dan-shake-mix

Despite Gilles’ absence, those that chose to come seemingly had a great time, myself included. A rescheduled visit from Gilles is also likely in January.

Personally, I’m not a huge house fan, unless the ‘4×4’ is concealed behind a syncopated rhythm or other distractions from its direct drive. Would I return? Absolutely; jazz-fusion provides that perfect distraction, whilst keeping folks shuffling ‘n’ all that.

[Shaun Gaisie]