Clark Tracey Quintet @ Crookes Social Club, Sheffield - April 28

(© Jeff Pritchard)

Clark Tracey (drums); Mark Armstrong (trumpet/flugel); Alan Barnes (alto/bari sax); Tim Lapthorn (piano); Arnie Somogyi (bass).

This was one gig that Jeff and I just had to attend mainly because Mark Armstrong had been so impressive when we heard him on previous occasions in Llandudno and Swanage. He certainly was in great form tonight and his feature during the second set, Hoagy Carmichael’s  Stardust, was outstanding and was one of many high spots of the evening. 

Alan Barnes is a musician who always operates at a high level and his baritone sax was used on a seldom-played Billy Strayhorn ballad Tonight I Shall Sleep With a Smile on my Face. During the interval, Alan told me he had been playing that particular instrument, a Selmer Mk VII, for about forty years. His sound on baritone reminded me of the late Harry Carney, who of course was an important member of Ellington’s band.

One last minute change in the band’s line-up tonight was the substitution of Tim Lapthorn for the original choice of Dominick Galea. a Maltese pianist who had worked with Clark and his father Stan in Malta years before. The reason for the change was unclear but Lapthorn did a great job of interpreting some quite challenging material. I recall hearing him previously on my last trip to Sheffield to see Eric Alexander and Dave O’Higgins at the Millennium Hall and he was a last minute sub on that occasion. Also I caught his trio gig in the foyer of the Bridgewater Hall during the Manchester Jazz Festival and this made me make a note of his name as he was impressive then as he still is now. 

Clark Tracey knows how to pick great musicians and on bass he had Arnie Somergyi who is one of the best around and he fitted very well in this ensemble. I would like to give credit to Sheffield Jazz for organising this event and the sound engineer gets a big thumbs-up for getting the balance spot on. 

The venue was interesting, being Crookes Social Club on the outskirts of Sheffield with plenty of parking space and I can say I found the night’s jazz well worth the effort to get there. The journey back via the A57 to Manchester was a bit scary but that’s another story.

I'll be back at the Railway, Stockport, on Sunday April 30 with Suzanne Fonseca’s Quartet. Mike Farmer

If I Were a Bell; Summer Cycles; Eavares; Tonight I Shall Sleep With a Smile on my Face; Moanin’; Jump Monk; Jelly Roll; Tears in Rain; Anybody There?; Stardust; Moment's Notice; Alexander the Great.