This has nothing to do with Bach apart from being the name of an Alec Templeton piece that Benny Goodman recorded back in the 1930's. George McDonald who, as former principle clarinetist with the Northern Sinfonia, is no stranger to the music of Bach showed tonight at Blaydon Sports Club that he is on equally good terms with Benny Goodman.It seems as though every concert these days has a BG connection and George lost nothing by comparision with forerunners Alan Barnes and Matthias Seuffert in this summer's surfeit of swing. Indeed tonewise, he was perhaps the nearest of the three pretenders to the crown.
It had been a long time since I'd heard Canadian George - it's been a good week for Canadians - in a jazz situation - and he didn't disappoint. Not that was it all Goodman; a touch of Artie Shaw on "Stardust" and a lot of George McDonald on "Here's That Rainy Day" and "Wave."
On guitar Jim Birkett also dazzled, slipping into Django mode for "It Don't Mean A Thing" and a super fast "After You've Gone." With virtuoso number three, Pete Stuart, on bass the result was a tightly knit group that delivered the goods without a sheet of manuscript between them.
That doesn't happen too often these days!
There are a lot of good gigs coming up at Blaydon over the next few months and Roly Veitch has to be commended for his efforts. Details can be found on his own website (see Link in sidebar).
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