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| © Roly Veitch |
Jim McBriarty (alto sax, clarinet, vocals); Gavin Lee (tenor sax, clarinet); Dave Hignett (trumpet, cornet); Neville Hartley (trombone); Keith Stephen (banjo); Phil Rutherford (tuba); Nick Ward (drums)
A little over a year ago it was the Syncopated Six. Now we have the New Century Syncopated Seven - a first gig at Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club drew a large crowd, then this evening in Blaydon, there was a good turn out for more of the same Prohibition era sounds. Charts painstakingly arranged by Dave 'Svengali' Kerr, band manager Phil Rutherford (tuba) herding the cats (make that 'jazz cats'), we were ready to go.
Stomp Your Stuff. They (the band) did, we, the audience, were tempted. South hit home (it's a number favoured by cross border raiders the Tenement Jazz Band), Candy Lips found favour with the Black Bull regulars, Jim McBriarty sang Angry (he wasn't, really) and Man from the South prompted one wag in the Seven to say to his fellow bandmates: Right, good luck! And off they went. Great stuff!
San, Blue Again, Rumba Negro - sparkling solos from Neville Hartley (trombone), Keith Stephen (banjo) and the Seven's guest star, drummer Nick Ward - proved to be a highlight, the Blaydon Jazz Club audience liked what it was hearing. Dave Hignett made a telling contribution (both trumpet and cornet), Gavin Lee never fails to impress, whether blowing tenor sax or wielding the old licorice stick, and the rhythm section - Phil Rutherford (tuba), Keith Stephen (banjo), Brummie Nick Ward (period percussion) - kept the Seven on the straight and narrow.
Keep an ear cocked for news of the New Century Syncopated Seven's next gig, it's a band well worth catching.
Blaydon Jazz Club's August concert (Monday 18) features Mick Shoulder's excellent Swing Manouche. See you there. Russell
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