There have been few recent phenomena in British music as striking as the rise of The John Wilson Orchestra. This handpicked ensemble with its melange of symphony orchestra and big band seeks to replicate the sound of the great Broadway and Hollywood orchestras. At its heart is a high-gloss string sound of the greatest lushness. It was all put together and conducted with immense flair and attention to detail by the debonair figure of John Wilson. Here was light music informed by expert research and musicianship to create something very special.

On this occasion the evening celebrated the songs of Cole Porter and featured a quartet of vocalists. Unfortunately it is difficult to comment on their first half performances as the amplified sound in the hall reduced much of their singing to a semi-audible mush – not the first time that solo singers have suffered in this way at this venue. Someone obviously ' had a word' in the interval and things improved in the second half .

The music of Porter’s two best-known musicals, ’Kiss me Kate’ and ‘Anything Goes’, were at the centre of the evening and the familiar sequence of songs read like a tribute to the glamour of a bygone age and performers such as Astaire, Charisse and Merman. The performances were, in turn, witty, suave and characterful led by expert crooner Matt Ford -‘True Love’, ’Begin the beguine’, ’Blow Gabriel Blow’, ‘I’ve got you under my skin’ – this was the centre of the American Songbook.