Enrico Tomasso (tpt/vcl), Steve Andrews (ten/clt), Roly Veitch (gtr/vcl), Roy Cansdale (bs).The centre adjoining the church was crowded - surely the hippest congregation in town.
And deservedly so.
This was an evening of jazz that swung, and I use the word advisedly, from delicate chamber jazz to straight down the middle solid stompology.
The delicacy came from, no prizes for guessing, Roly Veitch. Using a lightly amped Epiphone Roly gave us chorded solos a la Carl Kress or Dick McDonough coupled with some nice single string, more modern, explorations. Add his vocals on "I Saw Stars", "I Wished on the Moon", "The Touch of Your Lips" and you had surely the perfect example of, let's call it, "Gentlemanly Jazz" and to hell with the sexists!
Roy Cansdale provided the perfect link, in the absence of a drummer, between guitar and front-line. He was there all the time, a tower of strength in both support and the occasional break or solo - chapeau!
Which brings us to the main event.
Steve and Enrico slugged it out like two heavyweights at Madison Square each alternatively complimenting and outdoing the other. Steve's moment of glory was surely his rendition of "Body and Soul" - he has the Hawkins' sound off to a tee, as well as the licks, yet still managed to make it his own - doubt if I've heard him blow better. Enrico came back counter-punching in the up-tempo section but I think Steve edged that one on points.
Enrico's piece de resistance was Berigan's "I Can't Get Started". I've often thought I never want to hear that tune again yet, when I do, I still love it and Signor Tomasso did it more than justice.
Honours even I guess. Steve played some great clarinet and introduced the numbers with more than a touch of humour whilst Enrico charmed us with his singing - "I've Got The World on a String" being but one delight - and his soaring flights of fantasy into the approaches to the stratosphere.
All this and a full house. Perhaps jazz should move out of the pubs and into the churches!
Lance.
Roly singing "I wished on the moon"
ReplyDeletesounds like my idea of Saturday night nostalgia...lovely stuff!
Liz
Thanks for the nice words about the Trinity gig Lance.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely enjoyed that and what a treat to play to a full room. Playing jazz is a labour of love with a lot of frustations along the way but then, once in a while, you are in a situation which makes you appreciate why you do it.
Re the Epiphone, it's not a semi-acoustic (that usually means acoustic body but with a pick up - a lot of archtop jazz guitars have built in or floating pick ups) - no, the Epi is a pure acoustic instrument. But although the old pre-elec dance band type guitars are built to be loud you still would hardly hear it in a group and that's why pick ups and amps took over in the 40s - Charlie Christian et al.
But to me, nothing touches the pure cutting acoustic rhythm sound, so miking up the gtr thru the PA using a condenser mike is often used by players who want to recreate that type of sound.
I must admit that although for years I've played electric archtop (latterly with Jim Hall being my idol) nevertheless I'm now just more and more drawn to pure acoustic guitar for the dynamic response and touch you can get. Electrification kinda of levels all that out. And to
me '4 to the bar' rhythm on elec archtop usually sounds naff (I've tried it for years and am rarely happy with the basic sound - mellow elec guitar and '4 to bar' rhythm just don't go together. Mind you good old Jim Hall made it work somehow but he would always find a way to make beautiful music.
The player who has turned me on to all this is Bucky Pizzarelli. Although he usually plays a 7 string amped semi acoustic in the Van Epps tradition you sometimes hear him on CD
(eg. I saw stars by Becky Kilgore) on an old acoustic (probably an Epiphone) and he is an absolute master at that '4 to bar' plus chorded solo style. Also Barry Galbraith was great at that.
Ah well, that's enough of my rambling. All interesting stuff.
Roly.