Adrian Cox (clarinet/vocal); Denny Ilett (guitar/vocal); Dave Newton (piano); Ferg Ireland (bass).
As
Groucho Marx famously said, “Either this woman is dead or my watch has stopped!”
When
it got to ten past three it occurred to me that maybe Adrian or I needed a new
watch or one of us was dead!
By
the time they eventually turned up I was elsewhere listening to Mainly Two who did get there at the
time announced. But, as they are predominately a classical duo, it would seem, I
guess, that jazz time is somewhat more flexible than classical time. Three o’clock?
Nah the punters will still be in the bar…
About
3:18 the word was out that they were on air – BT the ones accused for the
delay.
When
I arrived, Cox was working out on Oh Lady
be Good! and, I must admit he did the lady proud. Sugar Blues was a hit way back for Clyde McCoy who gave what was
probably the most tasteless use of a trumpet mute ever. Cox didn’t need any
gimmicks, instead, he chose to sing. I can almost certainly say that Adrian is
probably the best clarinet playing singer I’ve heard. This puts him ahead of
Benny Goodman in that classification. Wisely, to the best of my knowledge,
Artie Shaw never chose to go down that road.
Lull at Dawn brought
to mind, as intended, Barney Bigard. You’re Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You
had Denny Ilett deciding that he too wanted to sing before making way for Adrian
and Dave Newton to come up with as a good a version of Stardust as I’ve heard since maybe now and possibly for many years
to come.
China Boy and Poor Butterfly showed the gamut of Cox’
emotions. China Boy, which was close
to breaking the sound barrier and Butterfly
which broke through the tear barrier.
To
finish, Jump For Joy, had me too
jumping for joy – despite the delayed start. Still that’s jazz and the crazy
world we’re living in.
Lance
PS: Some great (though not enough) piano from Newton and solid support from Ireland.
2 comments :
A real time, live gig! Clarinetist Adrian Cox just happens to know the people who run Gun Hill Studios in Sussex and they kindly offered the facility to Adrian's quartet to play a live YouTube set. A near fifteen minutes' delay thanks to internet connections going down in the local area didn't spoil matters, on the contrary it simply served to further whet the appetite.
Ten tunes in an hour and a quarter with each member of the band afforded solo space, Adrian Cox, at the age of 37, is at the top of his game as an engaging personality and a stupendous clarinetist. From the opening Tea for Two (as hot as you like) through to a joyous Jump for Joy, this afternoon set was as good as anything heard during lockdown. Aiding and abetting Cox were three of the very best around; multi award-winning Dave Newton at Gun Hill's Yamaha upright; swinging guitarist Denny Ilett (heard recently as accompanist to Rico Tomasso) and, from the coming generation, bassist Ferg Ireland.
Cox counted in Oh, Lady Be Good! and off they went at a ferocious tempo - tremendous! Ellington's A Lull at Dawn (a one time feature for Barney Bigard) took it down, Ilett kept it there singing You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You paving the way for Cox to play his favourite number - Stardust - as a duo with Newton. Marvellous.
Time to up the tempo, then some, on China Boy. Newton's stonking solo couldn't be bettered, or could it? Well, first Ilett, then Cox himself, did their level best to match the quartet's pianist. The virtual audience must have been applauding long and hard! As and when the 'new normal' makes way for 'old school normal' be sure to catch Cox in action, he's the business!
Great!
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