NESSUN DORMA? The Customs House Big Band @ St. Cuthbert’s, Crook - June 13

Peter Morgan (MD/bass trombone); Keiran Parnaby, Eddie Bellis, Pete Smith (trombones); Stephen Crackett, Ian Robinson, Ken DeVere, Colin Moore (trumpets); Alan Marshall, Jo Adams, Dan Johnson, Josh Bentham, Russell Rogers (saxes); John Stephenson (piano); Phil Noble (bass); Roger Loxley (drums); Paul Donnelly (guitar); Jan Spencelayh (vocals)

No, there was no Puccini in tonight’s set-list (there was some Fauré of which more later) but Nessun Dorma popped into my head at the start of this excellent and varied musical evening when my reverie was pleasantly shattered by a full-on blast (17 instruments in a relatively small hall) of Libertango. And it popped into my head again at the end when Peter Morgan (big band music’s answer to Jack Dee?) announced that they would not close with a rousing finale to “send you home with a headache”, instead they would “send you to sleep” with a gentle, no vocals, version of Easy Street. It was gentle but, graced as it was with some contemplative tenor sax soloing from the outstanding Dan Johnson, no-one slept!

Libertango was arranged by the band’s own Ian Robinson who later did most of the heavy lifting on the Lennie Niehaus (“difficult”) ballad, Monday’s Child, as well as being the arranger of Fauré’s Pavane which featured towards the end of the gig. I enjoyed the arrangement but could not remember if I actually knew the original so I did some homework and found that it was known to me though I could not have put a name to it. Memory refreshed, I can state that the MD’s characteristic dismissal (“it’ll be nothing like the original!”) was most certainly slanderous!

The first set exemplified how varied were tonight’s music choices with tango, bossa nova, swing and some Norah Jones (how do you categorise her?) for good measure. Vocalist, Jan Spencelayh, seemed nervous on her first two numbers, Masquerade and Don’t Know Why, – almost overwhelmed by the volume of sound behind her (big band, small hall) but got into her stride on My Funny Valentine (don’t you just love those lyrics?) and grew in confidence to swing through Lullaby of Birdland, sway through Sway and belt out a blousy, brassy, sassy Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps as the penultimate tune of the night. Well done!

My favourite number in the first set was the bluesy, sax-heavy version of Feeling Good, driven by extra heft from electric bass, baritone sax and bass trombone. Definitely more Simone than Tony Newley and featuring an alto sax solo from Alan Marshall. Earlier, Eddie Bellis had soloed on 720 in the Books while later, Paul Donnelly got deserved applause for his guitar solo on Blue Bossa. Despite feeling “a little nervous” at his MD’s wind-ups, it was John Stephenson’s time to shine on Souvenir. It was easy to see why the entire rhythm section might feel somewhat exposed in this arrangement which alternated between full-blast ensemble playing and prolonged quiet sections featuring only tinkling piano, bass and the quietest of brush-work on the drums. I don’t think I’ve heard Souvenir before but in this version it certainly is memorable!

There were other tunes – more Niehaus, some Nestico, some Miller – and other excellent solos. My apologies for my inability, here, to squeeze in a mention for everything and everyone contributing to an outstanding selection (18 tunes in all?) which was much appreciated by the Crook regulars. Many thanks, again, to the volunteers at Crook who continue to make these things happen.

P.S. Upcoming things are Paul Edis/Vasilis Xenopoulos then Jazzy Christmas. Check it out…..Jerry