Steve was away, so I have the honour of writing about this amazing gig.

I do the sound for the gig and have no time to make notes. I asked our organist, Pete Whittaker if there was a set list. What he gave me was:

Now, “Custard” is “I’ve thrown a custard at her face”; or perhaps “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” (Loewe). “Wasser” is, I think, Yiddish for “Water From An Ancient Well” (Ibraham). “Braamz” is a stunning jazz take on the music of Schubert, “Brahms I Think”. A fuller set list can be found below.

Art deserves the word “amazing”. He drove from Henley, stood for the whole gig, and played like an angel, drove home. At 85. Well, actually, he had a birthday the day before the gig. I have never heard a crowd singing “Happy Birthday” so loudly and on the same key, with a few singing in harmony.

Art Themen played like a young man, with intensity and joy. His unmistakable warm tone carried the beautiful ballads. He can vary the tone from light warmth to growl. He does, I believe, hidden circular breathing for long phrases. We had a very varied and well-designed evening.

Art is a storyteller on the sax, and in his comments about the songs. He takes great pleasure in telling unflattering untruths about his colleagues. I doubt very much that Peter Whittaker ever played in a North Circular Road brothel. George Double retaliated with a convoluted tale about drummers having feelings, ending up in a plea to buy CDs.

Pete is a wonderful organist. His favourite format is the trio. In a trio, the thought connection between the musicians is so strong that the audience can feel it. I love his bass on the left hand; it is so varied and interesting.

George is a fine drummer. He was the best I have heard on this gig; again, the listening thing.

A good sized audience had a great time. Art mentioned at the end loving to play for a listening audience.

Steve will be back soon, so here is my attempt at a set list.

Take care,

Dave

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Art Themen at 85: Set List

“Chili Peppers” (Duke Pearson)

“And What If I Don’t” (Herbie Hancock)

“Brahms . . . I Think” (Zoot Sims)

“Ballad of the Sad Young Men” (Fran Landesman, Tommy Wolf)

“Groovy Samba” (Cannonball Adderley, Sergio Mendes)

“End of a Love Affair” (Edward Redding)

“Country” (Keith Jarrett)

“African Market Place” (Abdullah Ibraham)

******

“Cold Duck Time (Eddie Harris)

“I’m an Old Cowhand” (Johnny Mercer)

“The Ruby and the Pearl” (Ray Evans)

“Cape Verdian Blues” (Horace Silver)

“Water from an Ancient Well” (Abdullah Ibraham)

“Hanky Panky” (Dexter Gordon)

Solos

“Ask Me Now” (Thelonious Monk); Art on his own

“Those Were The Days” (Boris Fomin)

Steve said:

In many ways, we always know what to expect when Simon Spillett comes to Fleece Jazz.  And yet, on Wednesday evening last as before, we were still bowled over by the sheer, unrelenting energy and technical brilliance of his uncompromising, high-octane style on tenor saxophone. He is well-known as the biographer and keeper of the flame of the great tenorist, Tubby Hayes, who died at the absurdly early age of 38, just over fifty years ago.  His close attention to the Hayes legacy has influenced his own playing stance, so much so that he seems to be the living embodiment of The Little Giant as a tenorist. The dapper suit and thin tie, as worn by the Modernists of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, adds to the authenticity and it is said that Spillett demands that at all gigs his bandmates join him in being appropriately ‘suited and booted’.  Simon was a witty host with a dry, deadpan sense of humour throughout, and despite the highly charged, emotional style of music, he always showed a tight control over the performance while giving his outstanding rhythm section the freedom to stretch out and display their individual brilliance. Our pianist was Pete Whittaker, who left his Hammond Organ at home and reminded us what a stunning and versatile musician he truly is, with his bluesy swinging approach coupled with a beautiful lyricism on certain numbers; Alec Dankworth, a truly world-class double bass player who amazed us with his speed and dexterity and creativity which left many of us aghast each time he took a lead; the wizard that is Pete Cater showing us on many occasions why he is so much in-demand with his controlled pyrotechnics on drums.

The repertoire for the evening was two sets of numbers that were either written, arranged by or associated with Tubby Hayes. Two of the best-known tunes open proceedings, first with “Half a Sawbuck”, a dazzling hard-bop Hayes composition, with a bustling tenor solo from Spillett illustrating a larger-than-life style that is exuberant and exhilarating. “A Pint of Bitter” is a more relaxed affair, a funky down groove which features the rhythm section more explicitly: Whittaker drawing inspiration from the piano style of Horace Silver on this number, the lightning-fingered Dankworth on bass and Cater building the pace on drums while Spillett’s tenor is suitably more laid back and evenly paced. The tempo comes down even further on the beautifully melodic ballad “I Never Know When To Say When” with more opportunity for Spillett and Whittaker to bring a tenderness to their playing.  We return to the pen of Tubby with the colourfully named “The Sausage Scraper”, a strutting theme which features Spillett’s tenor sound growing in complexity and exuberance before closing the first set with the ultra-fast blues “Opus Ocean”.  This Clark Terry composition presents another opportunity for Spillett to showcase his driving tenor style with none of the others outdone as they increase the feeling of urgency already aroused by the definitive tenor solo. Specifically, Pete Cater features throughout the number and beguiles with his apparent coolness in appearance while tapping out rhythms of increasing speed and complexity on his drumkit. 

Trumpeter Ian Hamer’s “Mini Minor” opens the second set before we hear the soulful “Alone Together”. This lush ballad is delivered with sensitivity by each member of the quartet while conveying its inner tension and fire. Coltrane’s “Trane’s Blues”, also known as “Vierd Blues” when credited to Miles Davis was, in fact, a Coltrane composition originally titled “John Paul Jones”.  Its origin and credits are confusing, but it is yet another fine example of hard bop in the hands of this exciting quartet. An original bossa nova, ‘Ricardo’, dedicated to Hayes’ eldest son, Richard, brought the pace down before the final number, a blistering cover of “Don’t Fall Off The Bridge”, completed a truly outstanding evening of Modern Jazz.

Dave said:

Simon is intense and breathtakingly fast. I had forgotten how fine a pianist Pete is. Alec is the best. Peter is a consummate musician. There is an invisible fifth element to this great band. You can feel the way they listen to each other.

A young lad was sitting beside the sound desk who told me he played “guitar and a bit of bass”. He and his father were absorbed in the music. But when Alec had his first solo, the lad’s jaw hit the floor.

We need to apologize for the stage lighting, which is not very good because of the architectural changes made to our rooms. We are working to correct it, but it may take some time.

Take care,

Dave

THE SIMON SPILLETT QUARTET SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 13/11/24

1. Half a Sawbuck (Tubby Hayes)
2. A Pint of Bitter (Clark Terry)
3. I Never Know When To Say When (Leroy Anderson)
4. The Sausage Scraper (Tubby Hayes)
5. Opus Ocean (Clark Terry)/Theme

*          *          *           *         *        *        *

6. Mini Minor (Ian Hamer)
7. Alone Together (Arthur Schwarz/Howard Dietz)
8. Trane’s Blues (John Coltrane)
9. Ricardo (Tubby Hayes)
10. 10.Don’t Fall Off the Bridge (Tubby Hayes)/Theme