Peter
Morgan musical director and patter.
Jill Brett, Elaine Willis Alan Marshall, Amber Reeve, Chris
Kaberry saxophones.
Toby Donnelly, Michael Lamb, Annette Butters, Gordon Marshall
trumpets.
Gareth Weaver, Chris Kurji Smith, Michael Fletcher, Peter
Morgan trombones.
Bill Brittain keyboard, Alan Smith bass guitar, Paul Wight
drums.
Ruth Lambert vocals.
(Review by Miles).
(Review by Miles).
Walking through the door
on a cold night we were greeted by the sound of Christmas carols
played by a big band. Thankfully, they were arranged by Stan Kenton
with harmonies that Hymns Ancient & Modern never dreamed
of, the screaming trumpets at the end of an un-Silent Night
was alone worth the journey.
The rehearsal set
continued with an Oscar Pettiford number, Tricotism the band
working well on what was originally a feature for double bass. The
set ended with The Way You Look Tonight.
The concert set started
with Basie's Straight Ahead, the original chart, not the
easier version that's normally played, then Ruth sang Cole Porter's
I'm Always True To You In My Fashion from Kiss Me Kate.
The band did a Sentimental Journey, at a tempo that would
have made Doris Day have kittens, Ruth followed with Night and Day
(not Doris). A little known piece by Lennie Niehaus called Fantasy
For Saxophones featured some lovely section work led by Jill
Brett on lead alto and Ruth's final number was Cheek To Cheek.
The band played out with the Basie version of April In Paris
complete with the Thad Jones' solo and the one more time coda.
This band maintains its
high standard even with the odd personnel changes and deps coming in,
I cannot praise Ruth too highly, everything that Lance has said in
the past still stands.
Finally big band lovers
should make the effort to see this band it is well worth it.
Miles.
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