Mike Vax (trumpet, flugelhorn); Al Wood (alto sax); Martin Longhawn (piano); Dave Linane (double bass); Dave Hassell (drums)
Wigan Jazz Festival's star attraction from America was expecting to perform in concert with an all-British big band. Flying across the Atlantic from Arizona, plans changed somewhat for ex-Stan Kenton man, trumpeter Mike Vax. At short notice the proposed big band gig fell through and, stepping into the breach, multi-instrumentalist and friend of Wigan Jazz Festival, Al Wood pulled a few strings to assemble a first rate quintet.
Vax and Wood go back a long way and the American left it to his British friend to call the right guys for the job. Talk about A-list! Martin Longhawn was available and there he was sitting at the Steinway, bassist Dave Linane (he was in Maynard Ferguson's 'British' outfit!) and drummer Dave Hassell. And then there was Wood himself, another Brit who worked with Maynard Ferguson. A-list? Most definitely!
Mike Vax cuts an amiable figure, but make no mistake, Mr Vax knows who Mike Vax is! Throughout this Sunday afternoon concert Vax and Wood, perched atop high stools, presented an impeccable set list, opening with My Romance. Now in his late seventies, Vax showed remarkable facility, as fleet of finger as someone half his age. Similarly, Wood (on this gig restricting himself to alto sax, although, had the fancy taken him, he could have brought along half a dozen instruments) proved equally adept, we were listening to two masters at work.
In addition to being one heck of a trumpet player, Vax has a fund of stories to tell. Holding court here at the Village on the Green, our American guest recalled being on the road with a who's who of the jazz world, of driving a Buick through the night, night after night, from one gig to another.
The rhythm section had a ball, Vax appreciative of the talent supporting him here at Wigan. Bassist Dave Linane has a great sound, quietly walking the quintet through the set. Drummer Dave Hassell, a Mr Reliable type, was just that, reliable. These are the guys for an engagement like this, and pianist Martin Longhawn couldn't stop smiling, he was living the dream.
Al Wood can play anything - instrument or song. Vax happily played several of Wood's arrangements including Nat Adderley's Work Song. Vax, of course, knew the cornetist, saying he'd have been world famous but for Cannonball!
Vax played Horace Silver's The Preacher, using a Harmon mute borrowed from one of the many trumpeters in the room. In years to come the conversation will go: Do you remember the time Mike Vax borrowed your mute?...Ah, yeah, he used it on The Preacher.
A solo trumpet feature - the band took five - heard Vax playing Danny Boy. An oddity in the set list, but impressive, nevertheless. An uptempo All the Things You Are featured rip-roaring, bop-like solos, then to close, Mike Vax bade farewell saying: We're gonna close on Duke Ellington. And so they did (strictly Juan Tizol) with Perdido. Perfect.
Earlier, The Chicken opened an entertaining concert set by The Anchormen Jazz Orchestra. The west Yorkshire-based outfit, fronted by ebullient Liverpudlian vocalist Alan Cross, ran through a bucket full of big band charts, including Birdland, the Buddy Rich version of Love for Sale and Mack the Knife. The entertaining Mr Cross threw in a few Sinatra numbers and it wasn't long before he and the band had 'em up dancing (a friend of BSH was among their number, photographic evidence is available upon request!). Russell
1 comment :
You’re right, Russell - Al Wood is an amazing musician and multi-instrumentalist. In 1979 I was privileged to play alongside him in the Ken Turner Orchestra at the Blackpool Dance Festival in the Empress Ballroom. On the first night Al was playing trumpet, so I assumed that was his instrument. But on the second night he was playing trombone and on the third night I’m pretty sure he was playing piano because the keyboard player hadn’t turned up! And at the end of that show I went round the corner to the Galleon late-night jazz club where Al was in full flight on alto saxophone! I also recall that a few minutes before we started the final show of the festival, Al was scribbling out band parts for several fanfare arrangements he had just done to celebrate the Festival winners - a task Ken Turner had delegated to him at the very last moment. Of course, the fanfares worked brilliantly and were perfectly sight read by the musicians!
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