Chuck Dearness (cornet); Stephen Feast (clarinet); Paddy Darley (trombone); Rory Clark (sousaphone); John Youngs (banjo, vocals)
On a Monday lunchtime at Cambridge Circus you can drop by a top class jazz gig for the princely sum of ten pounds. Week to week, Richard Pite's promotion at the Spice of Life never fails to disappoint. From New Orleans to modern jazz, it's always a winner.
This week's offering featured a return visit by Edinburgh's Tenement Jazz Band. Folowing a successful gig the previous evening on the south coast, the popular five piece outfit set off nice and early from Hayling Island, Portsmouth.
Arriving at their Moor Street destination in good time, Messrs Dearness, Feast, Darley, Youngs and Clark took time to catch up with numerous friends and fans.
The Dusty Rag blew away any cobwebs, just the start Dr Jazz would have prescribed. John Youngs (banjo, vocals), the Tenements' cheerfully droll frontman, frequently downplays the band's collective abilities. They're good, very good, make no mistake.
Canal Street Blues, Snake Rag, the boys hit the ground running. In the Crescent City tradition, group improvisation was to the fore. Bouncing Around, South (of the border!), the Tenements' London fan base liked what it was hearing.
An interval of twenty five minutes or thereabouts and the boys were back on stage with the ever-popular San. The Musical Stevedores' stately Honeycomb Harmony worked well. Is the 1929 song a recent addition to the band's pad? Speaking of which, John Youngs informed the audience the Tenements no longer bother writing out a set list. They take to the stage and take it from there.
At a Georgia Camp Meeting, Whenever You're Lonesome (John Youngs taking the vocal, as sung on the band's New Orleans Wiggle album by Mike Kearney), Chuck Dearness' hot cornet on Stockyard Strut, we were listening to the Tenements at their individual and collective best.
It was fast approaching the half past two finish. Blue Drag with its 'viper jazz' feel, then a spotlight feature for Stephen Feast playing Clarinet Marmalade - always a treat. And to finish, In the Gloaming.
It had been an excellent session and on Saturday (March 7) the Tenement Jazz Band will be closer to home, stopping off at St Augustine's Parish Centre to play a welcome return gig at Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. It's a 12:30pm start, a tenner at the door. It'll be busy, arrive in good time to bag a seat. Russell
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