The Crowds Came to The Wake but the Corpse Refused to Die. The Three 'B's @ The Sage

There was a buzz about The Sage tonight that has been missing at more recent jazz concerts. There was a sense of occasion about it and I spotted a few faces that I'd never seen at a jazz gig since say the 1970s at the New Orleans Club.

All three levels of Hall One were near full with the only empty seats being those poor souls snowbound and unable to face the bleak midwinter. This meant nigh on 1700 bums on seats!

First up was the Big Chris Barber Band - all eleven of them. The leader himself did the introductions in his bumbling indecipherable manner that left none of us any the wiser as to who was who! I will do my research. Details here.

As has been the bandleader's wont since King Oliver was a lad they kicked off with a swingy version of Bourbon Street Parade before going into a couple of early Ellington numbers - Rent Party Blues and Jungle Nights in Harlem.

For me this was the highlight of the evening apart from the later piece of early Duke - Merry-Go-Round.

In between we had some six piece trad including Petite Fleur a number associated with Monty Sunshine. I found it strange that Chris didn't mention Monty's death a week ago.

The set finished with all eleven going out firing on The Saints.

Set two brought Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band to the stage. They kicked off with Memphis Blues and That Da-Da Strain. Acker played in his distinctive full-toned vibrato keeping mainly to the chalumeau register of the clarinet. Stranger on the Shore (naturally) and That's My Home slotted inbetween various stories - some of them quite hilarious like the man and his dog in the desert without food.

He kills the dog and eats the meat until all that's left is the bones. The man says, "Poor Rover would have loved them"!

All in all, it was an enjoyable set with the only regret being that Acker didn't name the sidemen. The trumpet player did look a little like Enrico Tomasso.

I'm on the case.

Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen were a star studded band.

Bobby Worth on drums, Roy Williams, trombone, Hugh Ledigo (piano), long time Ball associate Andy Cooper (clarinet), Bill Coleman (bass) and Peter Woodruff (?) (trumpet). Kenny himself played mainly flugel. Ledigo impressed with his swingy version of Bach's Toccata in D Minor proving what Jacques Loussier, George Shearing and the Swingle Singers had already hinted at years earlier that JSB was possibly the first ever jazzman.

In truth, all three leaders are no longer the master craftsmen they once were yet, despite advancing senility(Joke!), they are still entertainers who can hold an audience and send a full Hall One home with a smile on their face.

We will probably ne'er see their like again.

Earlier, on The Concourse, Years One and Two of the Sage Youth Jazz Course played a set that reminded us that jazz is a living thing and whereas Barber, Bilk and Ball may be riding slowly off into the sunset there is a brand new group of youngsters coming over the horizon who won't be taking prisoners - hear their version of Mister PC .

Lance

PS: See comments for personel details.