American talent has been banished from Ronnie Scott’s this fortnight by Britjazz09, a proud celebration of the best of British. Saturday’s full house gave an enthusiastic welcome to the first of these 15 one-night stands. A breezy town-and-country double bill, it co-starred singer Polly Gibbons, apple-cheeked daughter of a Suffolk pig farmer, and the Wandsworth whirlwind, pianist Julian Joseph.

Contrary to many of her rivals, Polly has a sunny disposition, an oversized voice and an undersized ego. Nominated for a prize at the now sadly defunct BBC jazz awards, she should be working much more frequently. Backed by James Pearson’s trio, she sang a blues-drenched Ray Charles medley and a rare Michael Jackson number prefaced with the comment, “Some of his early songs were all right.”

Stung by such damnation with faint praise, Joseph later hastened to correct it. “Jacko influenced jazz players both before and after his peak,” he stated firmly, noting that all Jackson albums were hard-swinging and meticulously produced. The same applied to Joseph’s trio with bassist Mark Hodgson and explosive drummer Mark Mondesir.

Their interplay was exhilarating and occasionally exhausting on Chick Corea’s La Fiesta and Gershwin’s Nice Work if You Can Get It. A hard act to follow.
Tonight: Gareth Lockrane Big Band & Ross Stanley organ trio. Information: 020 7439 0747.