For many years Graham Smith and friends organised a long weekend festival on the outskirts of town. Post-pandemic, the star-studded event relocated to Number 8 Arts Centre on Pershore High Street, rebranding itself Jazz on a Summer's Day. Conveniently located, cafes, tea rooms, restaurants, pubs and shops were at every turn, not to mention, Pershore Abbey.
In some ways the new look event resembled the Classic Jazz Party up on North Tyneside - one stage, themed sets, musicians ready to go at a moment's notice. The day's programme opened with Rico Tomasso presenting Trumpet Kings from New Orleans.
Trumpet Kings from New Orleans
Rico Tomasso (trumpet, vocals); Jamie Brownfield (trumpet); Zoltan Sagi (reeds); Graham Hughes (trombone); Martin Litton (piano); Martin Wheatley (guitar); Malcolm Sked (sousaphone, double bass); Nick Ball (drums)
Trumpeter Rico Tomasso assembled an ace line-up to present a whirlwind tour of New Orleans' jazz and its influential trumpeters - the 'Trumpet Kings'. King Oliver and Armstrong, of course, Red Allen, Freddie Keppard, Nick LaRocca etc Al. The line-up could hardly be bettered: Tomasso's fellow trumpeter Jamie Brownfield, the hugely impressive Zoltan Sagi (reeds) and Classic Jazz Party regulars Graham Hughes and the ever-elegant Martin Litton, and the 'go to ' rhythm section of Messrs Wheatley, Sked and Ball.
Tomasso and Brownfield shared the workload as they travelled north from the Crescent City to Chicago and onto the Big Apple. The set list included Potato Head Blues, Livery Stable Blues and a Louis Prima hit, Lady in Red.
Red Hot - The Bathtub Blue Blowers
Nick Ball (paper & comb, suitcase, vocals); Michael McQuaid (tenor sax); Curtis Volp (guitar); Martin Wheatley (banjo)
If there was a novelty set at this year's festival, this was it. Taking inspiration from the Mound City Blue Blowers, percussionist Nick Ball pulled together a London-based outfit to present a fun-filled set of ditties, zany antics and some seriously good music. The genial Ball said he wasn't much of a singer but it hadn't stopped him in the past and he intended to exercise his vocal chords whether we liked or or not! Good humoured it was, Ball the showman singing (My Gal Sal), paper and combing and suitcase-kicking to good effect, all harmless, good fun.
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley either side of the Wall Street Crash. Tom Langham knows his stuff - the songwriters, the performers, the record labels and their best sellers. From Walter Donaldson to Irving Berlin and others, a beautifully sung How am I to Know?, Al Jolson, Langham telling us about Jolson's egotistical side, this mid-afternoon set proved to be highly entertaining. Assisted by the excellent contributions of Rico Tomasso, Emma Fisk (all the way from Peterlee), Colin Good, everyone's favourite, Malcolm Sked and Brummie percussionist Nick Ward, Langham couldn't go wrong. And he didn't.
52nd Street - Swing Combos & Billie Holiday
'Swing Combos' and 'Billie Holiday' alerted the many 'traditional' jazz fans in the auditorium to the fact that, for them, they could be heading into seldomly visited territory. In a joint enterprise, Cia Tomasso and Alex Clarke led a sensational band, a band both swinging and bopping.
Lady Day and Pres, Charlie Shavers, the swing-to-bop years, this was terrific stuff. Cia and Alex revisited familiar charts, Cia the 'real deal', singing Having Myself a Time, Says My Heart and more, Clarke the most versatile of musicians.Trumpeter Jamie Brownfield was in his element, Martin Wheatley comping as cool as you like, and Harry Evans (a revelation at last year's Classic Jazz Party) alongside Jazz on a Summer's Day artistic director, Graham Smith, behind the kit, swinging it like nobody's business. An excellent finale to the afternoon session. Russell
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