(Review by Lance.)
Well, with the help of the Metro and the number 309 - and, of course, that Good Old Wagon the number 27 for the final leg of the return trip I made it.
The Whitley Bay Jazz Party is something special and well worth the problems non-drivers or reluctant drivers (myself) sometimes face.
If the worst came to the worst I'd walk!
The sets I caught today were; Trumbology - a wonderful tribute to Frankie Trumbauer, Miss Lil and Lady Blanche - Cecile McLorin Salvant remembering Lil Armstrong and Blanche Calloway, and Save it Pretty Mama - Bent Persson taking a look at the 1928 recordings Louis Armstrong made with Earl Hines.
This latter concert had the multi-faceted Martin Litton in the role of Earl Hines. On Saturday he was Mary Lou Williams and on Thursday Teddy Wilson. He was also himself at several other concerts! Persson and Enrico Tomasso shared the role of Louis.
Cecile didn't disappoint, laying down the same high quality that mesmerised us at The Sage on Thursday, but surprising me at least, by the number of fine, yet little known, tunes associated with both her chosen artists. From pianist Lil Armstrong came It's Murder, Bluer Than Blue, Just For a Thrill - perhaps the best known tune and one which has a well deserved place in many singer's repertoire - and Harlem on a Saturday Night. For this part of her set, Tomasso (cornet) and Jean-Francoise Bonnel (ten/clt), made up the front line whilst "down in the engine room" we had Martin Seck (pno); Malcolm Sked (bs/sousa); Nick Ward (dms) and of course Roly Veitch on guitar.
Blanche Calloway, sister of Cab, provided Cecile with a little known Cole Porter tune, I'm Getting Myself Ready For You followed by Misery, You Ain't Living Right, Blue Memories and Growling Dad. This part of the statuesque lady's set saw the band augmented by Persson, the amazing young trombone player Alistair Allan and saxists Rene Hagmann and Thomas Winteler. The sound was good and the solos superb. As for the vocals - perfection!
Yesterday Josh Duffee was a Cottonpicker, today he was Chauncey Moorhouse clip-clopping along behind some Bix and Tram classics. Ostrich Walk from 1927 opened it up. Andy Schumm could have been born in Davenport so authentic was his Bixian solo (transcribed I guess but so what? Who's going to better it?) The three saxes - Michael McQuaid, Matthias Seuffert and Stéphane Gillot - had a lovely 3 alto chorus. Norman Field doubled on C melody sax and alto with Franz Sjostrom on bass sax. Duke Heitger augmented or replaced Schumm on some numbers, Kristoffer Kompen blew trombone like Miff Mole and Emma Fisk, compared elsewhere to Joe Venuti, was a one woman string section. Keith Nicholls (pno), Martin Wheatley (bjo/gtr) along with Duffee on drums made up the rhythm section and the whole shebang chugged along like a souped-up Stanley Steamer.Way Down Yonder in New Orleans, Cryin' All Day, Turn on the Heat (vocal by Spats Langham), I'm Comin' Virginia, Three Blind Mice, Borneo (more Spats), Singin' The Blues and the wonderful Wringing and Twisting made this a most enjoyable set.
These concerts that I've looked at represent but the tip of a weekend that ran each day from noon, sometimes earlier, through to early hours jam sessions in the Victory Pub.
Mike and Patti Durham and their helpers certainly put on an inspired and impressive programme which explains why so many folk have already booked up for 2013!
Lance.
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