Graham Hardy, Alastair Lord (trumpets);
Sue Ferris (tenor sax); David Gray, Kieran Parnaby (trombones); Graham Wilson (tuba);
Adam Sinclair (snare drum); Brendan Murphy (bass drum).
(Review/photos by Brian Ebbatson)
Graham Hardy’s NMBB’s return to Durham’s
Gala kicked off this autumn’s Lunchtime Jazz series with their customary energy
and pzazz. The band entered the Studio
from all corners with the familiar trumpet calls, punchy trombone blasts, sax
and tuba echoes, before the snare and bass drums signalled the switch into
their signature opener Loose in the Banana Patch, itself rolling
straight into The A-Team theme.
For some in the audience this was perhaps,
at first thought, not their usual music, but the infectious energy, the driving
rhythms, and the pure musicianship of all the players soon had the audience
responding with enthusiasm not just to each number but to every solo.
Although Northern Monkey are
inspired by – and pay due tribute to – the traditional as well as contemporary
New Orleans and New York street bands, they equally acknowledge their North
East and contemporary musical roots, all mixed up with many of Graham’s own
compositions and arrangements. And altogether they fulfil the programme promise
to play their music “in a way you’ve never heard”.
The opener was followed by Graham’s The
Sly Capuchin, one of four tracks from the Northern Monkey Business
CD, featuring a lengthy trombone solo from “Growling” David Gray. We never
heard the story behind this. There are records of Greyfriars in Durham and
Hartlepool, but I don’t know if they were Capuchins. Or had Graham been
captivated by a Capuchin monkey at a zoo somewhere?
Next came Water of Tyne, for me the
star number, Alastair leading on the theme with Graham playing counter-melody
behind, then bass and snare drums launch into a syncopated marching beat,
leading with upbeat solos by Sue, David and Hardy. Truly of both worlds,
although I missed the actual words, evocatively sung by George Welch on their
CD.
Philip Oakley
and Giorgio Moroder’s 1980’s Electric
Dreams, took us back to that era, whilst Monkey Blood and High on
Life are more Hardy compositions
from their 2019 Northern Monkey Business CD and their early EP-CD
respectively. Other Hardy numbers were Ninja Princess (for Kuku, a New
York trumpeter friend of Graham), and Always Forward, featuring a
brilliant percussion duet by Adam and Brendan.
In between came Sports Direct Infirmary
Blues, with Graham’s languid muted intro, Sue’s mournful sax and David’s
wailing trombone, as much a tribute to the New Orleans tradition as a blues for
familiar tribulations on the Tyne.
Graham had delayed introducing the band
members – there were three deps in Sue Ferris on sax, Kieran Parnaby on second
trombone and Graham Wilson on tuba – “until they had done something” (a solo), but
all players performed as if they were regulars and were enthusiastically
applauded by the capacity audience before and after the encore of Stevie Wonder’s
Superstition.
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