Emily Bacon’s Good Time Gang @ The Globe - September 17

Emily Bacon (piano, vocals); Liz Bacon (clarinet); Peter Wright (trumpet); Jeff Milner (trombone, vocals); Sarah Thatcher (banjo, tenor guitar); Spike Kennedy (bass); Paul Bacon (drums)

(Review by Ann Alex)

‘B flat’ said Paul Bacon as I entered the Globe for some lunchtime entertainment. The Old Spinning Wheel In The Parlour was played, good time, danceable, New Orleans music, vintage jazz straight from the jazz history books, but well worth listening to today for its irrepressible tunes and sheer sense of fun. Essay question for music students: ‘Discuss the differences between today’s performance and the bebop style jazz played by the Safe Sextet at the Globe on Thursday.’  Jazz indeed covers a wide spectrum. 

And the band showed an admirable attitude to the music and the audience. They had just returned from a tour of Scotland, but, as Paul Bacon said, ‘It’s just as important to give your all for a small audience as for 250 people.’ So they continued in that vein, foot-tapping solos from woodwind and brass. Tie Me To Your Apron Strings Again, sang the trombonist, followed by Emily, in a light, sweet, voice telling us that she’d be with us in Apple Blossom Time. Ellington’s Mood Indigo, sung with a melancholy feel rather than the gutsy versions done by some singers reminding us that there are many ways to interpret a song, which is what makes singing, and jazz singing in particular, so satisfying.

The band kicked on with High Society and When You Wore A Tulip (a chance for the banjo to shine); Emily hit us with St Louis Blues, sung to a strong steady irresistible beat.

The second set, (or so I thought it was) included Sweethearts on Parade; Sugar Blues (‘one for diabetics,’ said Paul); Emily sang that she intended to Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter. She also surprised me with a number I’d always thought of as a country song, Crazy, accompanied just by tenor guitar and occasional clarinet. A marching blues came next, then Celia, which used to be played by the Temperance 7 (remember them?)

The music was chopped into 3 halves (sic), like the Lambton Worm, so we had a surprise third set, including a tune (?) which contained a lovely duet of trombone and clarinet, Emily with Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans and Fair And Square In Love, before the band pulled out all the stops for a good, loud, Weary Blues.

All this was enhanced by the lunchtime menu which, appropriately, consisted of gumbo, and jambalaya as well as ploughman’s lunches. Delicious, and I speak from experience!

Ann Alex