Ewan Bleach's Virtual Duet w Jeff Barnhart - August 13

Ewan Bleach (clarinet, soprano sax, tenor sax, vocals); Jeff Barnhart (piano, vocals)

A London-Connecticut pairing of Ewan Bleach and Jeff Barnhart. The duo talked jazz when they met at a recent edition of the Classic Jazz Party on North Tyneside, kept in touch and, thanks to the worldwide pandemic, decided to play a few tunes together via the internet. Bleach calls suburban London home, Barnhart calls Mystic home. Mr B wins that one! Yes, Mystic, Connecticut is home to Barnhart and during lockdown the virtuoso American pianist has cultivated an impressive beard! 

The photo shows a questionable dress sense on either side of the Atlantic. Barnhart's excuse was living in a house without aircon in 90+° temperatures, Bleach (wearing shorts) was unable to explain himself, saying he was simply following the lead of his American friend. 

An apposite number to begin...The Virus Drag with Barnhart taking the vocal on his own composition. Throughout the live stream the sound balance wasn't the best. At times Bleach's various reeds were heard to good effect with Barnhart's piano a little low in the mix, on other occasions it was the other way round. It didn't help matters that at the London end of the tin cans and piece of string set-up Bleach couldn't help but fiddle (unnecessarily) with the mic. 

A couple of Harry Warren numbers (including The Rose of the Rio Grande), Fred Fisher's Georgia Rockin' Chair and a number recorded by Red Allen - In the Chapel in the Moonlight - made for a varied selection with the duo sharing vocal duties. Barnhart took the vocal on When Did You Leave Heaven? with Bleach playing tenor sax, which, on occasion, he likes to do. Bleach said the number was another favoured by Red Allen. 

Fred Rose's The El Rado Shuffle as perfomed by Jimmie Noone and Chicago's Fat Babies the best part of a century apart, then Old Fashioned Love (comp James P Johnson/Cecil Mack) and that was about it save for Bleach reprising Georgia Rockin' Chair to round off the hour.

Jeff Barnhart has made many extended visits to Britain. The pandemic put paid to any prospect of a 2020 tour but, all things being well, JB will be back next year with gigs in the Bebop Spoken Here heartland very much on his itinerary. Similarly Ewan Bleach hopes to tour the length and breadth of the British Isles with Frog and Henry. 

Russell