Bill Watson,
Michael Lamb, Ken DeVere, Gordon Marshall: (trumpets);
Gareth Weaver, Chris Kurgi-Smith, Michael
Fletcher, Peter Morgan: (trombones); Jill Brett, Kim Webb, (alto); Alan Marshall, Peter Hepplewhite (tenor); Chris
Kaberry(baritone); Bill Brittain
(piano); Alan Smith (bass guitar); Barry Black (drums); Roy Willis (guitar)..
(Review and photo by Jerry)
7.15, and almost
dark; under the open-beamed roof, candles glimmer beside simple floral displays
and bowls of nibbles on each red-clothed table. The bar is well stocked with
bottled ales and the band is doing a quick sound-check - a hint of what is to
come. We are at Crook – my favourite venue bar none!
At 7.30 sharp we
were drummed into Love for Sale which
featured alto, trumpet and tenor – the first of many excellent solos this
evening – and a big, big finish. Indiana
We were urged to
dance, if we felt like it, and buy the soloists drinks! Next, aptly, was Straight No Chaser! For Sunny Side of the Street Peter Morgan suggested
that we sing (Ruth Lambert was absent, ill) and we did, rather shyly at first,
but feeling “rich as Rockefeller” nonetheless.
Next was “Not the
Stan Kenton Band (but we would like to be)” - trombones to the fore, on But Beautiful: full-throttle crescendos,
alto sax solo, hints of foghorn baritone and a high trumpet finish (Ooops! I’m
sounding like a wine-buff!) No dancers yet but the Latin rhythms of Storm Zone were clearly getting to the
guy who samba-ed to the bar ahead of me, and during The Way You Look Tonight, TWO couples were up and dancing!
Why Musicians Can’t Dance (THREE couples now could) was given the lie, by Peter Morgan, some
of whose moves while conducting had me expecting a moonwalk at any moment! A
nice guitar solo on this one, too.
April in Paris closed the
set with audience-participation (“One more time” we chanted)! So now he had us
singing, dancing and chanting: if there’s any snow to be sold to the Inuit,
here’s your man for the job!
The interval
passed with pizza slices and raffle then back to the music!
Specifically,
the music of Gordon Goodwin: the brilliant, cartoon inspired Hunting Wabbits. Its manic staccato
opening, all honking brass and clashing cymbals, had the dancers back in action
straight away and the melodic middle section featured more fine solos including
soprano sax and piano before the drums announced a return to madness. The
dancers needed to steer well clear of Mr Morgan’s windmill arms as he wound the
band up to a frenetic finale! Goodwin also provided the set-closer, Sing Sang Sung – an “interesting”
(understatement!) take on Sing Sing Sing
heard on Monday at The Cherry Tree. There the audience had been vocal, here
they were rowdily festive, dancing, clapping and hollering (someone near me was
doing a passable impersonation of a tawny owl)!
In between these
gems – all good, but I need to be brief – we had: Stardust (and an
explanation of the name “Hoagy”); Groovin’
High (which lived up to its name); Moonlight
in Vermont; Sister Sadie (bop bop
bop-baa) and C Jam Blues with at
least 10 solos to illustrate “What jazz bands are all about” (Peter Morgan’s
words, not mine). Great stuff: this is a band to follow, if not to the ends of
the earth, at least to Crook or South Shields
or anywhere else you can catch them! Did anyone buy a drink for the soloists, I
wonder?
Thanks to all at
St. Cuthbert’s for an excellent night: next
gig is Djangologie, keep an
eye on the listings for that. We’ll be there. – Jerry.
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