It was three years ago (2019) when the Durham Alumni Big Band last featured at a Darlington Jazz Festival. The pandemic-enforced cancellation of the event two years running seemed to galvanise the 2022 audience, turning out in good number, determined to enjoy an evening of big band jazz. As the Alumni took to the stage, scanning the sections, it appeared almost all of the regular faces were occupying their usual chairs. The first half of the evening's concert would feature the band's intended pre-pandemic salute to VE Day 75. The second set would broaden the repertoire.
Flying Home. Imagine the Goodman-Hampton chart being played on VE Day. It captured the mood, the very essence of the occasion. It was as if the Alumni had never been away, the evening's first feature solo courtesy of tenor man Harry Keeble. A Matt Roberts' arrangement of Harry Warren's I Wish I Knew, Stan Kenton's arrangement of A Foggy Day in London Town, the boys and girls of the Durham Alumni Big Band were Back in the Swing!
Second set, more nostalgia and something slightly more up to date. Sammy Nestico's Feelin' Free (trumpets in unison), an Al Wood arrangement of Bernie's Tune (Mr Wood was in the audience), Big Dipper from the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis pad 1972 (perilously modern!) featured, first pianist Dean Stockdale, followed by Keeble blowing yet more assured tenor. Basie's version of Bye Bye Blackbird, Mark Armstrong (NYJO's supremo) supplied an arrangement of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (Terry O'Hern and Stevie McGarvie soloing). Swing Low, Sweet Chariot as played by the '49 USAAF Miller outfit heard the Alumni's trombones to great effect. And as the evening was drawing to a close Doc Severinsen's take on In the Mood found Keeble and McGarvie engaging in a friendly joust. Gershwin? I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'. Make no mistake, Durham Alumni Big Band is Back in the Swing.
Durham Alumni Big Band: Shaune Eland (MD), Ian Robinson, Jonny Dunn, Billy Bradshaw, Andrew Meadowcroft (trumpets); Andrew Kirtley, Terry O'Hern, ?, ?, Alastair White (trombones); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Eoghann Furness (tenor sax); Stevie McGarvie (alto sax, soprano sax); Kirsty Dunn (alto sax); Danielle Drew (baritone sax); Shaun Henderson (guitar); Dean Stockdale (piano); Amy Baker (bass); Stephen Fletcher (drums)
Earlier, Durham Music Service Big Band opened the programme with a short but fast paced set. MDs Amy Leggett and Billy Bradshaw put their young charges through their paces. Eoghann Furness (tenor sax) and alto saxophonist Heather Kim set the standard with fine solos on Neal Hefti's Sunday Morning. Stevie Wonder's Living for the City powered along and a set of some thirty five minutes went out on a high with When Sunny Gets Blue. Russell
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