Mark Lockheart (ten); Finn Peters (alt/fl.); James Allsopp (clts); Emma Smith (vln);Liam Noble (pno); Tom Herbert (bs); Seb Rochford (dms).
(Review by Lance).
This is not your run of the mill chunk of Ellingtonia rather it's an almost contemporary classical delve into the Ducal domain. The arrangements, and the four non Ellington pieces, are all by Lockheart and he shows a rare insight into the art of making someone else's work sound like his own.
It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing belies the title by being in 3/4 time! Yet, in its own gentle way it does have a sort of lilting swing to it helped along by the hypnotic rhythmic pulse of Rochford's drums.
The combination of reeds and violin in the front line make for some rich pastel tones that, I feel, would have become unbalanced by the addition of even one brass instrument.
Overall, it is a delicate, almost fragile, work that comes across almost as a suite in eleven movements rather than eleven individual tracks. The solos blend in with the arrangements so well they are living testimony to Lockheart's ability to emulate Duke and write for the individual rather than the instrument. The results are sometimes quirky but always effective.
Tracks: It Don't Mean a Thing; My Caravan; Come Sunday; Jungle Lady; Take the A Train; Azure; Uptown; Creole Love Call; Beautiful Man; Mood Indigo; Indian Summer.
Lance.
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