How can you put into words the music and the atmosphere of this wonderful weekend? Every session is themed - a player or a scenario of jazz and hot dance music as played between the first and second world wars. To call music such as this 'Dated' is to call Schubert, Chopin or Mozart 'Dated'. Good music is timeless.
The sessions I took in during the afternoon of my first day's tenure included a look at those contemporaries of Louis Armstrong who aimed to challenge or even 'cut' Louis Armstrong with Menno Daams and Bent Persson adopting the roles of Jabbo Smith/Roy Eldridge and Johnny Dunn/George Mitchell respectively. Both trumpet players combined on Red Allen. This may suggest the Red got the nod!
The New York Gang, or, as Frans Sjöström announced it, The Scandinavian Gang. Five of the seven musicians were from 'Up there'. Kris Kompen has as smooth a trombone sound as you'll find anywhere - superb intonation.
Spat's Little Mystery Band had the guitarist/banjoist/ ukuleleist/vocalist in good voice with Josh Duffee on drums and Phil Rutherford on brass bass fuelling the pumps.
Final set of the afternoon, Paul Whiteman - King of Jazz would, some years back, have had jazz anarchists demanding the guillotine! However, time is a great healer and, listening to this brilliant performance arranged and conducted by Keith Nichols, It must be admitted that, beneath the symphonic extravaganzas, happily absent today, the 40 piece orchestra (reduced to 22 for today) ptoduced a lot of good jazz by Bix (Andy Schumm) and others. Last year's heroine Emma Fisk and Martin Wheatley even re-created Venuti/Lang on San.
Lance.
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