Customs House Big Band. Open Rehearsal @ New Crown, South Shields.

It may have been a cold night outside but inside the New Crown Hotel plenty of heat was generated as witnessed by a small but select audience.

In the first half the band, under the direction of Peter Morgan, took apart, honed, polished and re-assembled Flight of the Foo Birds, I've Found A New Baby and Witchcraft, all of which to the casual listener seemed good the first time through but were all improved appreciably by the end.

In concert mode in the second half they kicked off with Five Foot Two Eyes Of Blue (sans banjo) A beautiful Here's That Rainy Day arranged by ex Kenton arranger Dee Barton with some lovely chords and a sonorous trombone chorus. The exciting Jazz Police by Gordon Goodwin gave the band a good workout as did the final number Nasty Cat which they dedicated to to the late, great Ralph Stobart a founder member of the band and brother to the better known Kathy.

Interspersed with all the excitement Ruth Lambert sang Mambo Italiano, My Heart Belongs To Daddy, and Summertime with some down-home plunger trumpet growls from Paul Gledhill. I can't compete with the purple prose of Lance in describing Ruth but I will say that for my money there ain't many better, and the same goes for the Customs House Big Band. Catch them at Blaydon Jazz Club this month or at the Customs House in March and as a bonus the next open rehearsal at the New Crown on March 2nd.

Miles Watson

p.s. Listening to the rhyming of Finnan Haddie with Daddy I wonder how many surreal rhymes you bloggers can come up with. Midnight Sun's alabaster palace with aurora borealis, springs to mind.