GNBBJF - Sunday March 6 (Youth Section)

Eight youth bands rolled up at Park View Community Centre, each one determined to claim the coveted title of 'Best Band'. Bands from either side of the Pennines joined local heroes Durham Music Service Youth Big Band for an afternoon of competitive action under the watchful eye, make that listening ear, of adjudicators Mick Donnelly and Marcus Brown. Family, friends, supporters, the hall, located just off Front Street in Chester le Street, filled up as the audience took their seats for an afternoon of non-stop action. 

First up at two o'clock, the aforementioned local heroes Durham Music Service Youth Big Band (MDs Billy Bradshaw and Amy Leggett). Five numbers - Neal Hefti's Sunday Morning, Dorian Journey described by one sheet music seller as 'a perfect choice for the youngest of jazz players', Chameleon, Carl Strommen's Poco Loco and Peter Edwards' Amanhã Está Aqui - were tackled with real enthusiasm and no little skill. Principal soloists Heather Kim (alto sax), Eoghann Furness (tenor sax), trumpeters Chris Caygill, Theo Cieslik and Isaac Moore scored well, as did Sam Davis (trombone) and pianist Joel Meadowcroft. 

Musica Holme Valley Big Band (MD Gavin Brown) presented a varied set ranging from Watermelon Man and Superstition to Nat Cole's Straighten Up and Fly Right to a Gordon Goodwin chart. Trombonist (and vocalist on the Nat Cole number) Christopher Martin acted as MC. It couldn't have been easy for a young man under the spotlight to be multi-tasking, well done to him! 

Harrogate Youth Jazz Orchestra (MD Will Osborn) hit Chester le Street with a great-looking programme: a Jacob Mann chart, the familiar Birks Works, a Bob Curnow arrangement of Pat Metheny's Every Summer Night and, best of the lot, Roy Hargrove's Strasbourg/St Denis featuring fine ensemble work and an excellent trumpet solo by Euan O'Connell.

Musica Colne Valley Big Band (MD Julian Wightman) pitched in with Gordon Goodwin's Hit the Bricks, an unlikely (unlikely at a big band event) Green Onions and Randy Newman's The Flik Machine from A Bug's Life. Trumpeters Joseph Haigh and James Zbos impressed. 

Wigan Youth Training Jazz Orchestra (MD Sharon Darby-Purcell) opened with the sing-a-long Louie Louie, pianist Sofia Reis-Coop laying down the riff. Tuxedo Junction served as an ensemble piece, Woodchopper's Ball a solid big band chart. 

The return to the GNBBJF by Scissett Youth Band (MD Johnny Beevers) guaranteed one thing - everyone in the hall was about to have a good time. Playing it as New Orleans street brass band, standing in a semi-circle (see photo), their set was more about the energy generated by the ensemble work than an 'ensemble with solo' approach. One of Whitney Houston's many hits - I Wanna Dance with Somebody - just about got 'em up dancing, at the very least shuffling in their seats. The Youngblood Brass Band's 2013 number Third Half closed an entertaining set.

The mighty Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra (MD Dave Little) returned to the GNBBJF to defend its title. As the musicians walked out on to the stage it was obvious they meant business (see photo). Suited and booted, it was as if they were one-nil up before the down beat. Gordon Goodwin, more than any other big band composer/arranger, is the big attraction for bands at Park View Community Centre. It's been that way for some years and the American's popularity shows little sign of waning. Opening with Goodwin's Fool Me Once (Olga Aasgaard, trumpet) let everyone in the hall know what they're about. Superb! Tumbleweed blew across the auditorium. Sting in the Tail (Gil Evans), Birdland (close your eyes and Mr Z was in the hall), more Metheny (If I Could) and to top it all, Chick Corea's show-stopping Spain (Ishy Aasgaard, trombone). What a performance! But wait! GNBBJF 2022 had one more band to hear from.

Musica Youth Jazz (MD Adam Kingham) had the unenviable task of following WYJO. Chris Martin, heard earlier singing with Musica Holme Valley Big Band, sang a sturdy Stormy Weather and to close a weekend of outstanding big band jazz, Musica Youth Jazz turned to the Big Phat Band one more time (Gordon Goodwin) for a rousing Count Bubba. 

It had been a long weekend, every minute of it hugely enjoyable. As the adjudicators deliberated, the stage was reset one more time. Messrs Mick Donnelly and Marcus Brown assumed their choreographed positions and the indefatigable Bill Watson read out the results: 

The Mark Jon Bolderson Percussion Foundation award: Max, drummer, Harrogate Youth Jazz Orchestra

Special Presentation: Tony Eales, long-serving assistant to GNBBJF director Bill Watson

Best Programme: Harrogate Youth Jazz Orchestra

Best Section: Trumpet Section, Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra

Best soloist: Ishy Aasgaard, trombone Spain (Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra)

Best Band: Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra 

Russell