Thomas ‘Spats’ Langham (banjo, guitar, ukulele,
vocals, wearing spats); Danny Blyth (guitar, mandolin, clarinet, bass clarinet,
triangle, vocals); Malcolm Sked (bass, tuba, vocals)
(Review by Ann Alex)
What a fun night was enjoyed by all, including Lucy
(aged 7, I suppose) sitting at our table, when this band played to a full
house, giving us loads of tunes and songs from the 1920’s, many anecdotes from
Spats about the composers and performers of the past, and amusing crazy
lyrics in many of the songs.
They
certainly knew how to write a happy song way back then. I quote: ‘God
charges no rent’ (from the singing of Al Bowlly, in The Old Man Of The Mountains); robots mentioned for the first time in the song Persian Rug; from the song It All Belongs To Me (about a likeable
woman), ‘a disposition like a sugar bowl’.
From a 1925 song about a beautiful woman: ’she
could take a Scotsman out to shop’.
And of course, very skilled playing from the
band. Spats' banjo was wonderfully
tuneful with varied tones, the best banjo I’ve heard anywhere. Danny Blyth is a
skilled multi instrumentalist, blowing, plucking and tapping, and it was good
to see such an unusual instrument as the bass clarinet, which stands on a spike
like a cello. And I mustn’t forget the
triangle, you don’t see many of them at jazz do’s. Malcolm Sked was a faithful
anchor man, with the rude-sounding tuba and a steady bass which produced good
tunes. You had to be there to fully
appreciate the chat and humour, but if I mention some of the songs, you’ll get
the idea. We had Shanghai Shuffle; Change Partners; Leisure Town; Skirts (this was
recorded by Billy Cotton);The Harry Lime
Theme; A Russian Lullaby; In A Persian Market; Doux Ambience; Good Little Bad
Little You; Brother Can You Spare A Dime? (this was banned in the USA originally); You Can’t Get To Heaven That Way (the audience clapped along); Besame Mucho (the audience sang the
chorus); By A Waterfall; Nagasaki
The evening was rounded off with a well-deserved
encore I’ll See You In My Dreams.
Good all round jazz-based entertainment, which
could be enjoyed by non-jazzers as well, and would be an excellent introduction
to jazz for beginners.
Ann Alex
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