An American band would certainly have been slicker and punchier, but then that is really not Jools Holland’s style. This was a very British evening of boogie and blues, the genial pianist doing his best to persuade his audience that they were having, as he put it in that breezy manner of his, a knees-up in their nan’s living room. He was so intent on creating the illusion that he temporarily swapped his concert grand for a humble upright.

“Has anybody here heard of Count Basie?” he asked earlier, before plunging into Blues Go Away! While big-band purists might have had their doubts about the brash guitar solo inserted in the middle of the number, Holland rightly concentrated on giving his admirers a raucous show. Besides, the solos were handled by some of the safest hands in the business, from the saxophonist Derek Nash to the Badbone jazz-funk showman Dennis Rollins. Ska and reggae enthusiasts would also have been cheered by the sight of the trombonist Rico Rodriguez, the Jamaican legend responsible for the cult Eighties album, That Man is Forward. His solo contributions were confined to a couple of good-humoured songs, but it was still a treat to see him on a concert stage.

Holland, meanwhile, was indulging in robust boogie-woogie and New Orleans funk workouts, along with a detour into Fats Waller-inspired stride. All good, foot-tapping fare. He is no singer, though, and the more contemporary pop material was a little anonymous, too. No matter. Holland is a winning host, the video screen at the rear of the stage supplying a cartoon accompaniment to a playful rendition of Flight of the Bumble Bee.

He also received sturdy support from three guest vocalists. The first of them, Louise Marshall, offered echoes of Dinah Washington in her brief slot, while the R&B specialist Ruby Turner turned up the heat with a raw, gospel-flavoured set that included a boogiefied treatment of Peace in the Valley. Not an easy act for Lulu to follow, yet the Sixties survivor – looking as kittenish as ever – held her own.

Where Have All the Good Guys Gone? – co-written with Holland and featured on his new album, Best of Friends – was a stylish sliver of Tina Turnerish pop, while Try a Little Tenderness exuded just the right hint of vulnerability. After Lulu’s old hit Shout had done the business, Holland led a spry encore that climaxed with the free-and-easy philosophising of Enjoy Yourself. An apt choice.

Tour continues: Sheffield City Hall, Wed 5 & Thur 6; Glasgow SECC, Fri 7 and Sat 8 Dec, 2007

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