ROLLING Stone Charlie Watts was smiling like the proverbial Cheshire cat as he delivered some beautiful, brilliant and gloriously subtle drum work at the back of this astonishing band.

But then well he might. There's a certain joyous intimacy to the 500-seat Tivoli that you just don't get in a 100,000-seat stadium. There was also the added bonus that for once he didn't have to spend hours staring at Mick Jagger's backside.

Put together by Dorset's own boogie-woogie piano hero Ben Waters, the ABCD band - making a return visit to what is fast proving a favourite small town venue - delivered a masterclass deftly disguised as a rollicking great night out.

Charlie and Ben are the B and C of the title of course. The A is German boogie and blues keyboard giant Axel Zwingenberger while the D is veteran double bass player Dave Green.

Green has played with everyone from Humphrey Lyttelton and Stan Tracy to Roland Kirk and Sonny Rollins.

More astonishingly he grew up living right next door to Charlie Watts.

It was a great evening featuring stunning playing from all concerned and virtuoso piano from Waters and Zwingenberger.

As if two pianists weren't enough they also enlisted the help of Julian Phillips, founder of the UK Boogie Woogie Festival, who just happened to be in the audience.

Guest vocals were provided by Hamish Maxwell - a long-time associate of The Stones and, making her first ever visit to the UK, Lila Ammons, granddaughter of Albert Ammons, pioneering American boogie-woogie king of the '30s and '40s.