(Guest review). When ‘Don’t Be That Way’ was stomped off on a
swinging night at Cadogan Hall the audience was instantly transported back to
an historic concert held at Carnegie Hall, New York City on January 16, 1938.
It is a date emblazoned in history, when jazz was first presented on a concert stage and accepted as a fully fledged music form worthy of critical scrutiny. Benny Goodman’s Orchestra was the main attraction that wintry night, along with a host of guest star soloists courtesy of Duke Ellington and Count Basie.
Clarinettist
and band leader Pete Long has been a lifelong fan of the double live album of
recordings from that night, first released in 1950. And it was his ambition,
along with drummer and organiser Richard Pite, to recreate the dynamic
performances heard in New York’s bastion of classical music, long since hailed
as a highlight of the swing era.
The
result was a superb tribute concert (18
November 2023) when a whirlwind of arrangements and tunes by Fletcher
Henderson, Jimmy Mundy and Edgar Sampson were performed by a dedicated team of musicians
who clearly impressed many visiting American swing fans in the audience.
Tension
mounted as the lights went up at 7.20 p.m on a bare stage filled with the
promise of music to come, with a grand piano, a vibraphone, two drum kits and
rows of golden trumpets, trombones and saxophones silently on display.
Then
came Pete Long to engage audience and musicians alike with his wit, humour and
own command of the demanding ebony instrument that Mr. Goodman had famously made
his own.
As
Mr. Long counted in the band they roared into the Edgar Sampson piece that
sounded so good man, you could imagine Benny himself would have been surprised
and delighted if he’d lived to hear the band playing in his honour. (However, he would have been 114 years old
and climbing the Cadogan Hall staircases might have presented problems).
DRUM CRAZY!
It
was during ‘Don’t Be That Way’ that Richard Pite made his first thunderous impact
when he burst into the violent drum break Gene Krupa had deployed to break the
ice at Carnegie Hall. As a sudden fusillade of crash cymbals and snare drum rim
shots it was the sort of pent up fury that drew gasps in 1938 and applause in
2023. Then came the back beat behind the trombone solo and an even more
furious drum assault in the final chorus.
The
Goodman trumpet section in January ’38 was one of the best ever assembled
including Chris Griffin, Ziggy Elman and Harry James. Their biting ensemble
sound and solo power was perfectly recreated by today’s hugely impressive team
of Enrico Tomasso, James Davison and Ryan Quigley who each imbued their own
individual styles even while engaging with those hallowed charts of yore.
A
more relaxed ‘Sometimes I’m Happy’ was a beautiful arrangement with the saxophone
section featured in a tricky unison chorus and blessed with a mellow tenor solo
from Karen Sharp. Count Basie’s ‘One O’Clock Jump’ was launched by a piano solo
from Colin Good supported by Martin Wheatley (guitar), Joe Pettitt (double
bass) and Richard’s sighing hi-hat setting up a suitable Basie-ite beat.
Maestro
Pete soloed a lá Goodman before the
famous riff crescendo backing a triumphant trumpet solo from Ryan Quigley.
A
feature of the 1938 concert was a ‘Twenty Years Of Jazz’ medley an idea
espoused by Irving Kolodin as he explained in the sleeve notes to the live LPs.
It involved much research work but it proved fun to hear the sound of the
Original Dixieland JJazz Band of 1918 being reproduced. More impressive was ‘I’m
Coming Virginia’ first played by Bix Beiderbecke, then by Bobby Hackett and
tonight folks...Enrico Tomasso!
After
Pete’s tribute to Ted Lewis, the 1920s' music hall version of a jazz
clarinettist (‘If there are children present
please cover their ears)’ came a bow
to Louis Armstrong with a powerhouse ‘Shine’ performed by Enrico in the steps
of Harry James and Satchmo himself of course.
LIFE GOES TO A PARTY
Thence
came a superb rendition of Duke Ellington’s ‘Blue Reverie’ as played by Johnny
Hodges, now performed by Alyson Cawley on her curved soprano sax providing one
of the evening’s most magical moments. Ryan Quigley then let rip with another
amazing solo during a boisterous ‘Life Goes To A Party’ that had the entire
troupe of Good Men playing with party time fervour.
It
was time to calm things down before the Cadogan audience began jitterbugging,
or even heaven forefend, ‘shagging’ in the aisles. The trio led by Mr. Long on
clarinet with Colin Good and Richard Pite gave us a heart warming ‘Body And
Soul’ before Anthony Kerr joined them for a spritely ‘Avalon’ on the vibraphone,
deftly using two pairs of mallets, notably on ‘The Man I Love’. The quartet
then showed they could create as much excitement as a big band on ‘I Got
Rhythm’ that came with cliff hanging false stops designed to fool audiences
into cheering – and laughing.
A
joyful ‘Big John Special’ concluded the first half and those now heading to the
bar area were entreated to take advantage of a special Xmas CD sales offer. The
bandleader announced encouragingly: “Buy
one...and get one.”
There
was barely time to down a lager before the band came back on stage with a
storming ‘Blue Skies’ with a thunderous flutter tongued trumpet intro devised
by Fletcher Henderson. It had startled Benny Goodman when he first heard it
played by James, Elman and Griffin. Now it was time for Tomasso, Quigley and
James Davison to raise the roof.
‘Loch
Lomond’ was sung cheerfully and charmingly by Louise Cookman in a glamorous red
dress with flower in her hair. She followed up with a riotous ‘Bei Mir Bist Du
Schoen’ complete with the ‘Frohlich’ trumpet solo devised by Ziggy Elman and
here delivered by James Davison.
Betwixt
these songs came ‘The most exciting tune
of the Swing Era’ ‘Swing Time in the Rockies’. A killer diller arrangement
by Jimmy Mundy, Mr. Pite drove the band from his 1940s' Radio King drum kit while
James took one of the hottest trumpet solos of the night. Andy Flaxman and Ian
Bateman also delivered the deep toned trombone riff that gives the cleverly
structured arrangement its mood of suspense and urgency.
Back
to the trio for ‘China Boy’ and Pete Long confessed before placing clarinet to
lips: “It’s difficult because it’s fast
and it’s late.” Nevertheless his solo was brilliant and drew cheers as did
the drumming man’s snare solo with brushes.
Lionel
Hampton completed the Good Men Quartet on vibes, in the form of ‘Mallets’ Kerr
ready to cue in perennial favourite ‘Stompin’ At The Savoy’ alongside Teddy
Wilson i.e. Colin Good.
Their
joint version came complete with more Krupa-esque breaks, Richard using sticks
this time, that presaged an extraordinarily fast tune called ‘Dizzy Spells’. Interestingly
Pete suggested it was an early manifestation of bebop perhaps resulting from
Hampton, who devised the speedy theme, having seen Dizzy Gillespie jamming just
before the 1938 concert. It has to be said. Long & Co’s 2023 version was
‘Spell Binding.’
SING SING SING!
And
now ladies and gentlemen get ready for the grand finale. Pete Long & His
Good Men boldly set about recreating that historic anthem of swing - ‘Sing Sing
Sing.’
Pete
explained how the main theme had been composed by Louis Prima with Bing Crosby
in mind when it was going to be called ’Sing, Bing, Sing.’ Amazingly the Old
Groaner turned it down. But combined with Fletcher Henderson’s ‘Christopher
Columbus’ in an inspired move by Benny Goodman, it all resulted in an extended
work that allowed his band to blow its collective derriere off.
It
also showcased the thunder of tom toms that made Gene Krupa a legend and was also
the setting for showpiece solos by Harry James and Goodman himself topping a
top A with a high C on his Selmer clarinet. More surprisingly a final rhapsodic
piano solo by Jess Stacy threatened to steal the show.
“Would you mind Richard”
asked Pete casually and our drummer responded instantly with the tom tom rhythm
that inspired generations of drummers. The trumpets blared, the saxes wailed
and the soloists excelled themselves including of course the pianist when the
volume dropped down to pin-drop level. Then just a few cowbell beats signalled
the shouting finale by all the Good Men and true amidst a roar of applause.
DREAM TIME
What
could possibly follow? Well ‘If Dreams Come True’ was the perfect choice even
though ‘Big John Special’ was used as the only encore number on the album. In
1938 there were actually two encores after ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’. ‘Dreams’ was the
first and ‘Big John’ the second.
Explains
Richard Pite: “We took liberties by putting the second encore at the end of the
first half and added vocals and vibes to ‘If Dreams Come True’ to feature
everyone who took part in the concert.”
That
hypnotically attractive song also enabled Pete and Louise to dance on the
stage, hoping to encourage the audience to join in. After all the dream of
recreating such a famous music event, really had come true. Well I didn’t dance
in the aisles but I did hum the tune all the way home from Sloane Square. Chris Welch
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