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| Edinburgh : A&E : Festivals : Jazz and Blues Festival 2003 |
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| Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival 2003 The Big Chris Barber Band - 50th Anniversary Concert The Band Chris Barber (trombone & vocals); Bob Hunt (trombone); Mike Henry (trumpet); Alan Bressay (trumpet); Trevor Whiting (tenor & alto saxes & clarinet); John Defferary (tenor sax & clarinet); Tony Carter (baritone & alto saxes & clarinet) John Slaughter (guitar); Paul Sealey (banjo & guitar); Vic Pitt (bass); Colin Miller (drums) Date 25 July 2003 Venue The Queen's Hall Address Clerk Street Reviewer Pat Napier
He set the scene by saying that the band had grown from eight men to eleven between 1978 and 2001, so everybody knew not to expect the usual trip down memory lane. This was all about the Barber Band today and, musically, how it got here, packed full of examples of the influences and styles which have shaped these democratic musicians (therefore the band) along the way. It was fun all the way, fast paced: varying in tempo and style, varying band combinations, extrovert Dixieland trad jazz, enticing blues, strident brass and much, much more. News of absent friends drew predictable reactions. Concerted groans of disappointment all round when Chris told us that Pat Halcox, his trumpeter from the beginning, was in Lanzarote. Pat came in for a lot of stick at regular intervals. Monty Sunshine, co-founder of the band and the fans' much loved, brilliant clarinettist, who is slowly recovering from open heart surgery three years ago, was still too frail to be with the band. Zany Lonnie Donegan, who died last year, and would have been in thick of things, was the most absent of all.
Too many superb pieces to mention in detail but here are a few: the stunning very fast tempo, brilliantly-embroidered Alice Blue Gown - a surprisingly new entrant into the band's repertoire - was so good that it merited a full-blast reprise all to itself; the humourous Devaluation Blues; then The Big Noise featured the "smallest combo" a rarity from the rarely-heard bass and drums rhythm section, in which Colin Miller and Vic Pitt had such fun that they ended up at one point with Colin playing the bass's top strings with his sticks while Vic Pitt either played further up the strings or contrasted the sound from the lower strings. The second half started with the history of the band, a superb lead in to the 6-piece sound of the original band in the evocative, atmospheric Precious Lord take my hand. A 1954 composition Black and Tan Fantasy, with its sombre drum beat underpinning, then moving on to marching beat and menacing brass now appears more menacing than it was. Stunning! A stomp through the well-loved favourites Sweet Georgia Brown, Going home, Petite Fleur (the Sidney Bechet composition that Monty Sunshine made so much his own that some fans think he wrote it), took us to that great Negro Spiritual finale When the Saints go Marching Home. The encore, much loved by the band's German audiences, was a potent reminder that jazz constantly reinvents itself, never stays still, never repeats itself, re-examines and reinterprets its roots and, ultimately, draws its never-ending energy from all that. Roll on the next 50 years Chris! For full information on the Big Chris Barber Band's 50th Anniversary tour click on www.wimwigt.com © Pat Napier. 26 July 2003 Dionne Warwick Date 27 July 2003 Venue The Ross Theatre Address Princes Street Gardens Reviewer Kay Smith Warwick is on a celebratory tour visiting every country and city she has ever performed over the past forty years she has been in the music business. Her Edinburgh concert was held in the open air venue of Ross Theatre in Princes Street Gardens. Squally showers quickly forgotten, the audience was left in no doubt that Warwick deserved to be on a world tour – she was after all a world class performer.
Audiences in the past would have almost inevitably has seen Warwick perform in elegant evening dresses. Now in her early sixties her still slender frame was, for this cool Scottish evening, dressed sensibly in trousers and a long blazer jacket, her now blond rinsed hair tied back in a tight knot, emphasising her dark skin and strong jaw and neckline. A rendition of the famous Alfie – first popularised in Britain by Cilla Black who, rather than Warwick, was chosen to sing the title track of the film starring Michael Cain – was preceded with the tale of how it was Warwick who, in her second recording of the song, was the only one – out of a total of forty one recordings - to make the song into a chart topping hit. She also made her scoring point by the rich resonance and fine range within this version sung in Edinburgh. Turning the show into a family affair Warwick introduced David Elliott – one of her sons from her now finished marriage with actor and drummer Bill Elliott. In the not so humble opinion of his mother David had all the makings of becoming a “major star.” That this was no mere mother’s pride became clear. Tall and hunkily handsome David has fine tones, deep, with just a hint of gravel, and intensely rythmical. In duo with his mother , or solo-wise, he could just fill the air with the sexy warmth of his voice. Now living in Rio de Janeiro, Warwick extolled the virtues of the Latin American culture deepily imbued as it is with music. You have to be “dead” not to be affected, she joked before giving us a sample of her now adopted culture. But inevitably it was the old favourites that the audience would have left the auditorium humming. “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” Who would argue. Come back soon to Edinburgh, Dionne. © Kay Smith. 28 July 2003 Ed Hull's history of jazz piano Musicians: Ed Hull (Narrator and electric bass). David Hull (piano) Date 28 July 2003 Venue Royal Overseas League Address 100 Princes Street Reviewer Charlie Napier
The programme was a journey through the various styles of jazz piano playing, from the late 19th century, to the 1960s. Ed narrated the story and David provided the musical illustrations, with Ed providing a solid, but restrained, rhythm accompaniment throughout. Limited time precluded examining all the styles, especially those of the latter part of the 20th century. Nevertheless, the narration and the examples clearly showed just how jazz piano styles developed during this time. They began with David's first Suzuki piece, which Ed called Learning Curve Blues - basically Mary Had a Little Lamb - played first in the Suzuki style and then having more and more embellishments added and incorporating all the styles that we were to hear about in more detail later. Ed's narration was clear and easy to understand and his choice of music was excellent, each piece illustrating the essential points of the particular style and how it differed from what went before: the strict beat of the Cakewalk and the Ragtime with the introduction of syncopation in the Ragtime; the driving beat of the jazz, a feature which was very evident right up to the time of the development of the Modern style; the distinctive 12-bar Blues; the dexterity of the Novelty style; the leaping left hand in the Stride style; the pounding beat and the syncopation of Boogie Woogie; the softer beat and more gentle Modern style. Here is a summary of the periods and styles covered, plus the performers/composers and the dates of compositions (where known). A couple of interesting points to note are that the development of the early styles took place primarily in the southern states of the USA, up until the 1920s, when the centre of action moved north, particularly to New York City; and these styles were created almost entirely by African-Americans.
Ed certainly put together a most interesting and entertaining programme. It was understandable that he limited himself to the first half of the 20th century because there was so much that came later that we could have been there all afternoon. David is undoubtedly a very talented young man. His technique is excellent and he certainly seems to have absorbed all the different styles and can reproduce them. His very sparing use of the sustaining, or "loud", pedal was excellent and allowed one to hear the notes. His composition and his improvisations show that he has a creative talent, but he is young and still has quite a bit to learn. The instrument, a Broadwood, was in diabolical condition; nevertheless, I wonder why he had to hit the keys so hard. Was it the instrument? A little more variation in the dynamics might have made a difference. Young David also needs to learn how to acknowledge applause from his audience. If he is going to make performing his profession, then he will have to learn how to say "thank you" properly to the people who compliment him so generously by their applause and who pay to hear him perform. Despite these criticisms, this was a very enjoyable performance by a very talented young man, very ably supported and encouraged by his proud father. Keep your eyes and ears open. I'm sure that we will be hearing from this young man again. © Charlie Napier. 29 July 2003 Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra Date 28 July 2003 Venue Ross Theatre Address Princes Street Gardens Reviewer Kay Smith No-one can doubt the energy and volume that can come from a 16 piece band plus an ebulliently charismatic leader - particularly when boogie woogie and rock and roll are the order of the day. This line up did not disappoint. When the leader Jools Holland plays piano , no matter how fast and complex the piece may seem, he still manages to engage people in the audience on personal terms by looking out at them over extended periods of time. And when he struts along the stage – long in arms and short in stature – he gives the impression he can hold the whole world in his arms, as the song would say. But after those first impressions the edges became somewhat ragged. Impressario solos from instrumentalists may have been spirited but failed to impress in terms of quality precision while the voice of guest singer Sam Brown was a tad thin and forced as it moved on from an initial plaintive melody about romance under Valentine’s Moon through a set of songs which turned into a bit of a belt. In such a large open auditorium it was clearly difficult to have volume as well as clarity, so song lyrics were obscured as were some of Holland’s introductions. Still, give the line up a Count Basie number and there is no holding back a symbiotic resonance in the line up wind instruments backed by keyboards and drums. © Kay Smith 29 July 2003 Silver Jubilee of Edinburgh traditional jazz Bands (in order of appearance) Spirits of Rhythm; Diplomats of Jazz; Swing 2003; Old Bailey's Jazz Advocates; Dave Keir's Hot Five; Bill Salmond Louisiana Ragtime Band; Mike Hart Society Syncopators Date 20 July 2003 Venue The Queen's Hall Address Clerk Street Reviewer Pat Napier Should anyone ever have been tempted to relegate the trad jazz scene in Edinburgh to a backwater, the big Silver Jubilee celebration would have smashed that idea to smithereens. Seven bands, each playing four sets, many of the musicians playing in more than one band and more than one instrument, should have added up to about two and a half hours. It became a rollicking, rumbustuous three hours forty minutes' tour round all the various trad styles. The only precise example I'll give of what was on offer now follows. Violet Milne, the only female Leader set the pace with her 7 piece band Spirits of Rhythm. Their New Orleans style showed in Stay here, followed by a gorgeous Blues number Darkness on the Delta. Then on into Fats Domino's My blue heaven, all strict tempo, lively, bright brass sounds. They ended with an uninhibited Panama Rag. That "national treasure" (according to an American jazz man), the trumpeter Jim Petrie, then took the stage with his Diplomats of Jazz. Memories here are of very fine trumpet playing, swinging Sousaphone, a lyrical clarinet in A cry for the Carolines, the Washboard wiggles without a washboard, finishing with a wonderful Fair and square in love. The 'new boys' Swing 2003 shifted the emphasis to European jazz, in particular, dedicating their sets to Django Rheinhart on the 50th anniversary of his death. Their guitars made beautiful sounds when mixed with the clarinet and string bass, producing very Parisian sounds. That great band, Old Bailey's Jazz Advocates, founded by the late Archie Sinclair and Mike Hart himself, the Festival's Director was next up. This was a rare treat, since the band now only gets together for special occasions (and what's more special than this one?). They led us into the interval with a memorable When the midnight choo choo leaves for Alabam'. A more sombre tone was set to introduce the second half. Memories flooded back when the list of jazz men no longer with us was read out. But these blues fled when hilarious teasing and joking heralded the entry of Dave Keir and his Hot Five. Excellent musicianship combined with quirkiness, with Ole Miss Rag being the outstanding piece. One band that wasn't present was that of Charlie McNair; this was one of the stalwart bands throughout the majority of the past years. Charlie himself was here though, and acknowledged the warm appreciation of his work. Bill Salmond promised us "something slow and beautiful" and When the swallows come back to Campostrello was played, it was just as he'd promised, with a haunting clarinet part. The final band, Mike Hart's Society Syncopators, was a real feast of fabulous musicianship, and memorable playing because he'd called back as many of his old comrades as possible - nine players in all. For the third time this week I heard Maple Leaf Rag and, courtesy of Ed Hull, I heard it with new ears. In complete contravention of Scott Joplin's admonition never to play it fast, we were treated to a fast, loud, driving, upbeat version with "no rehearsal" said Mike. And it worked! After a rousing Muskrat ramble Mike talked about how proud he was of Edinburgh's ability to produce such marvellous musicians - a truly fitting heritage handed on by the marvellous, unforgettable giants of black American jazz who played in the Usher Hall in the 1950s. There was only one tune to go out on: The saints (AKA When the saints go marching in). The vast majority of the players crowded onto the stage and gave it laldy; no fewer than 5 banjos were counted. The audience stomped out, tired but happy to have shared in such a glorious trip down memory lane. © Pat Napier 30 July 2003 Tommy Smith & Brian Kellock Date 26 July 2003 Venue The Hub Address Castle Hill Reviewer Kay Smith
A performance which ran not far short of two hours unbroken by introductions or explanations began with a warm up in which the players gave ticklish invitations to each other to pick up the strands of a soft blues section. Hints of romanticism were then developed into a rendition of the old standard Moonlight in Vermont, with Smith playing subtly and tightly, leaving it to Kellock to let fly, his hands nimbly racing across the keyboards only to be reined gently but cheekily back in by a concluding coda played by Smith. In a more progressive jazz style Kellock cantered through another solo. Smith joined in and together the pair raced on to a breathtaking climax. Altering the pace completely Smith slipped into a long, lugubrious solo. Just when you might have thought he was about to come peaceful and contently to a complete halt, Kellock’s piano blew some wind back into the sails. But in a meticulously controlled manner Smith made his come back, ensuring he played the last well drawn out note. But as they ended the first half both players flew across an upbeat improvisation leaving us in no doubt of their musical energy and vitality. The second half of the programme began with another standard, Night and Day, reminding us that these were performers with total mastery of their instruments. Smith may be the one with an impressive track record in neo-classical compositions but it was Kellock who caught the ear with his classical style improvisation. It was together however that the players brought the set back into mainstream jazz. But not for long. Having laced the air with stylish fifties be-pop we were greeted with discordant progressiveness. This is a pair of star performers who clearly have a limitless store of creativity to draw on. © Kay Smith 26 July 2003
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