The fact that the stage of Manchester's Free Trade Hall was miked has resulted in numerous recordings by Miles, Dylan, The Sex Pistols and this welcome souvenir of Shelly's first UK visit. I attended both performances of this Manchester date and contrary to the accompanying notes, this is not the only CD from Shelly's Euro-tour. Cheekily, the compilers have added ‘Straight No Chaser’ and ‘Yesterdays’ which they lifted from Yesterdays – a five-track Jazz At The Philharmonic release which Pablo taped in Copenhagen. This was JATP's third sell-out UK tour and presented a format far removed from the usual jam session jousts. Here, Ella Fitzgerald headlined a show that included Roy Eldridge plus the self-contained Jimmy Giuffre Trio (with Jim Hall) and Shelly Manne & His Men. It was a truly monumental experience and all for under a quid a ticket! For this occasion, Shelly fronted, the same crack unit that six months earlier recorded the indispensable multi-disc Blackhawk session albeit with the group's regular pianist, the truly unique Russ Freeman taking over from his temporarily Blackhawk dep Victor Feldman. If the five Blackhawk CDs haven't sated your appetite, this straight-from-the-shoulder workout offers a further opportunity to savour Richie Kamuca's Zootish tenor along with the straight ahead trumpet of star-crossed Joe Gordon. The final reckoning, I'm just as impressed now as I was 50 years ago in Manchester and, yes, I still have the programme.