secret on Friday nights. Vijay Steede paid his first ever visit there recently. This is what he found.

OK, so dinner runs a little late and you don't get to the coolest jazz club in town until the show is well underway. You walk in at around 7.30 and already there are no decent seats left. Fashionably late? I think not! Because as soon as you walk in it hits you -- a sonic wall that makes you immediately (and practically involuntarily) close your eyes and think of warm summer breezes under starry skies. Now, there are certain words that most people associate with the image of a jazz club, so if I say cool or smooth too many times during this article, please forgive me, because a cliche m is nothing more than a standard response to a surprising discovery; and I was surprised - very surprised -- when I entered Hubie's Bar on Angle Street, and found a musical treasure! So after you find a seat and get settled, you start to absorb the atmosphere.

The crowd is a mature one and you sense a sophistication that betrays the laidback vibe they exude. You discover that the band playing calls itself Jazz, a simple yet apt title for a group of musicians that possess a very high level of talent. Soon you start to recognise songs and you feel like a very cool cat just because you're in the house. Meanwhile Jazz are tearing up the club with a blazing rendition of "Sideshow'' and the crowd is growing steadily, in both size and merriment. You get a drink and try to settle into the smoothness of the surroundings, but something stirs your interest and excites your lazy mind. That thing is Jade Minors on his fiery tenor sax. As he plays his solo evokes images of Coltrane live at the Village Vanguard, and your subconscious mind becomes his canvas. In fact, the entire band takes turns creating a masterpiece of melodic imagery inside your astral plane.

"Killing Me Softly'' is the next magnificent brush stroke, and you realise that this voodoo is working on everyone when the dancefloor appears from nowhere, as the band plays on. Stephan Ahknaton provides ice to alleviate the burn of Minors' fire when he tickles the Yamaha ivories into glorious submission, and Dayton Wharton keeps the toes tappin' and heads noddin' with his very cool jazz guitar. The spell is completed by the unsung heroes, Dennis Francis on Bass and Mike Stowe behind the Drums. These two are the consummate musicians, the heart and soul of the music, they let the other three shine with solos while they keep the beat, and keep it well! So well in fact, that by the time they finish the set, your over-stimulated mind is begging for mercy, and that's what you get! As if they know their own strength, Jazz closes the set with the golden classic Mercy Mercy and you are thankful. Now it's 9 p.m. and the crowd has filled out nicely. You've done some mingling, had a couple drinks, and you're feeling like a winner just for having `discovered' this magical place where the people are so warm. Then, as if reading your thoughts, Jazz return with the immediately recognisable "People Make The World Go `Round'.'' This is when the perspiration makes a not so surprising appearance -- oh yes -- it's getting hot! Well not so much hot as very warm and even (forgive me) fuzzy. Jazz keeps the cool vibes flowing while the dance floor starts screaming for mercy and even the night outside seems to want in as the whole scene ascends into a frenzy of joy and pain and Jazz.

If you haven't been there, get there soon, 'cause Hubie's is the new Vanguard! - Vejay Steede