It’s somewhat unusual for young musicians to pursue an interest in jazz from the early years of the 20th century. The Windy City Weatherbirds are a rare exception and the band’s debut album, recorded in October last year, features ten classic numbers drawn from the jazz and popular song repertoire of the 1930s and ’40s. Recorded in a state of the art studio on a decommissioned lightship moored on the Thames, the quality of musicianship is second to none.
The frontline horns comprising the Pickering brothers (Magnus, cornet/vocals, Joe, clarinet/tenor sax, and Daniel, trombone) and an ace rhythm section featuring the in demand pianist Fraser Urquhart, guitarist Cornelius Corkery, string bassist Chris Hyde-Harrison and drummer Robbie Ellison, pay due respect to the musicians of the era (including Louis Armstrong, Bobby Hackett, Wild Bill Davison and Muggsy Spanier) and the material without resorting to mere pastiche. The Lightship Session by the Windy City Weatherbirds should be considered an essential purchase. Russell
www.windycityweatherbirds.co.uk.
If I Had You; At the Jazz Band Ball; Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread); Who's Sorry Now?; Drive-By Duke (comp. M. Pickering); (Up a) Lazy River; Some of These Days; (What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue; Rose Room; Wrap Your Trouble in Dreams.
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