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| (Photo © Kaveh Emami) |
Chuck Deerness (trumpet); Paddy
Darley (trombone); Steven Feast (reeds); John Youngs (banjo, guitar); Simon
Toner (bass)
I've heard this Edinburgh based band several times over the past few years
and, to my jaded jazz ears, this was the best yet - suddenly those jaded jazz
ears of mine weren't jaded at all!
Front man Youngs announced the music as trad jazz.
Traditional jazz yes, trad jazz no! There is a difference.
I've heard very few bands that can deliver such an infectious rhythm as these guys do - and without a drummer. Certainly the swing dancers didn't seem bothered by the absence of metronomic thumps on the bass drum.
Although they included numbers by King Oliver and Bunk
Johnson, the feel was that of the white Chicagoans - the Austin High School
Gang no less with maybe a dash of Freddy Randall and Alex Welsh added for good
measure.
The presence of the swing dancers added to the ambience giving the gig a sort of 1930s' party atmosphere driven along by trumpet ace Deerness who, in the words of one of the pundits present, kept it all together. He certainly did that.
Feast played some tasty tenor reminiscent of early Bud Freeman and got a lovely sound on clarinet - a Backun Canadian made instrument that was a new name to me. I was impressed.
On trombone and odd socks Darley blew like Ory with the occasional suggestion of, say, Lou McGarity.
Leader Youngs alternated between banjo and guitar. On the former instrument he sounded like all players of the former instrument do but, on the latter, he played some delightful chordal solos that would surely have been given an approving nod by George Barnes or Roly Veitch.
Bassist Toner has been in and out of the band since its formation and tonight he was back in playing as well as ever and occasionally sawing away with the bow which is rare with bands playing in this idiom.
Their workload was tremendous. I had to leave after a couple of hours (with short interval) to catch the bus and, I'm told, they played another five tunes!
It was good to meet up again Kaveh Emami who kindly sent me some photos which I've collated here* along with some he sent me a few years ago. Lance
* More vintage photos from Kaveh.
Dusty Rag; Barataria; Snake Rag; Out of Nowhere; Some of These Days; The Minstrel Man; Chlo-e; Someday You'll be Sorry; Big Chief Battleaxe; At a Georgia Camp Meeting; She's Crying For me; The Kinklets; Hey! What's the Matter Now?; Bouncin' Around; Till we Meet Again (Smile Awhile); The Lively Rag; You're Driving me Crazy + Maria Elena; That Teasin' Rag; Copenhagen; Weary Blues; The Old Rugged Cross.
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