We had been looking forward to this gig since 2020. We just lost it to the beginning of the first lockdown. This was the first opportunity to book them. I was going to make a video with full audio recording of this wonderful band. So many people, myself very much included, rank Bryan Corbett with the masters: Steve ranks him with Freddie Hubbard, and I agree.

Then in the morning of the gig, a call from Bryan. There are health problems with two of the band. What to do? Well, with Bryan’s permission, we tried valiantly to find two appropriate musicians, and almost made it. We and Bryan agreed that we had to cancel.

I had to send a note to all of our email subscribers with the bad news. What was lovely was the many responses wishing the band members well. We do too. We will have this great band back as soon as we possibly can.

Take care,

Dave

Steve is on holiday, so it is Dave doing a little review. I was so enjoying the music that I couldn’t note all of  the songs: no definitive set list today.

These four fine musicians gave us music of their own, but redolent of the Paris Hot Club, and the 40’s and 50’s.  We had vocalist Sara Oschlag: lovely phrasing, great , substantial voice, and real understanding of the stories  she was telling.  As a vocal instrumentalist, her scatting was superb. Jonny Hepbir  and Jason Henson played beautiful acoustic classical guitars. Their soloing was a delight. 

There is a part of their music that people don’t listen to, but if it isn’t  there, the music falls flat. It is the rhythm guitar. Both Jonny and Jason play rhythm guitar as it should sound. This is a rarity, and it was lovely to hear it.

The bassist, Rhys Lobell, was a last minute dep who had never played with the band before. The audience would never have suspected that until they were told about it late in the gig. Now, I was at the sound check and watched the process of giving a fine instrumentalist the vibe and riffs of some of the songs. In the gig itself it took only one song for the four of them to become one mind. 

The programme was mostly up tempo, with plenty of room for soloing from all four. I loved Sara trading 2’s with each of the band members, especially in Berlin’s “Putin’ on the Ritz”, She sang in French, Spanish, German and English. Sara’s story telling was almost graphic with the double entendre  lyrics of  “HoneySuckle Rose” (Fats Waller). 

Part of the fun of the gig was watching (and taking part in) the fun that the performers were having. I am not sure that there was ever a pre-designed set list, with decisions being made on the fly, while poking fun at each other. 

It was a highly enjoyable evening, with happy comments from the FAR too small audience. I would love to hear this band again,

Take care,

Dave

These words are mostly by Steve Jordan, with a few additions from Dave Lyons.  It is a longish read, but I think, a good one.

Last night, we were treated to an eclectic selection of numbers from various genres, from classical music to early ‘70s rock through to the jazzed up celtic soul of Van Morrison and the disco funk of Earth, Wind and Fire interspersed with plenty of popular jazz songs and instrumentals from the 1930s through to the 1970s.

The arrangements were wondrous and often quite complex, effortlessly held together by John Law’s prodigious skill and invention on the keyboards with the spirit and talent of each member of the band shining through, not least in the “solos”. The arrangements were melded such that it was difficult to applaud individual solos, we were just carried through the transitions.

Invariably, John Law begins the first set of a performance with a classical piece and tonight was no exception; his background in classical piano shone through with Claude Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’. Dave would have expected Bach, but loved the Debussy.

The evening quickly developed into a game of ‘Name That Tune’ as John challenged the audience to identify each one, hiding his sheet music from us and himself.   Heads were nodding along to the music or in recognition of the original tune, masked by the arrangement, gradually and teasingly revealed by the band as the song developed.  

The rendition of Van Morrison’s ‘Moondance’ had our audience baying in appreciation at the end, before the all-too-familiar theme of Miles Davis’ ‘So What’ played in.  At one point, the combination of John’s electric piano and Henrik’s double bass produced harmonics eerily like those from Jaco Pastorius’ fretless bass guitar!  How does that happen?

For me, Cavatina was a challenge, but not for others as they sang the lyrics of “He Is Beautiful”, added by Cleo Laine in a later version.  Although it is best known as the theme from ‘The Deer Hunter’, Stanley, Myers originally wrote it for piano, rewriting it for classical guitar at the request of John Williams in 1969, long before ‘The Deer Hunter’ was released.  [Thank you, Dave, for serenading me afterwards, but you knew what it was. As did Dougie, it seemed.  The same was true of ‘Fly Me To The Moon’, but I much prefer Sinatra!]

The second set began with the band playing the highly recognisable introduction to the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s ‘Take Five’, with its unusual 5/4 time signature, as the last few winning tickets were called on the raffle.  It was a good combination, almost like a rap.  Now you wouldn’t get that at Ronnie’s!  

The next song was, John informed us, “for the ageing rockers in the audience”, so I was ashamed to say that I guessed it pretty quickly from the original guitar riff – Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke on the Water’.  Sam Crockatt’s plaintive tone on soprano sax made ‘Moonriver’ instantly recognisable – audible sighs of pleasure were heard afterwards.

The pace accelerated as the set drew to a close, first with the old Broadway show classic, ‘You and the Night and the Music’. The urgency of the playing was offset by the easy swinging tone before the concluding song, ‘September’, from those masters of classic 1970s disco funk, Earth Wind and Fire.  A joyous celebration dedicated to frazzled parents across the land as the kids go back to school!

No set like this would be complete without a number by Dylan, so we were treated to a straight rendition of ‘Blowing in the Wind’ as a very generous encore from a hard-working band who gave us their all. 

Just to add that the band drove to and from Devon. There is dedication to the music. Also, many thanks to Webby from the Ipswich Drumming shop for the provision of John Parr’s  legendary drum kit.

Set list

1. Clair de Lune (Claude Debussy
2. Moondance (Van Morrison
3. So What (Miles Davis)
4. Cavatina – Theme from the ‘Deer Hunter ‘ (Stanley Myers)
5. Fly Me To The Moon (Bart Howard)

*          *          *           *         *        *        *

6. Take Five (Paul Desmond)
7. Smoke On The Water (Gillan, Lord, Blackmore, Glover, Paice – the members of Deep Purple) 
8. Moonriver (John Mercer/Henry Mancini)
9. You and the Night and the Music (Howard Dietz/Arthur  Schwartz)
10. September (Maurice White, Al McKay – two members of Earth, Wind and Fire)
11. Encore: Blowing in the Wind (Bob Dylan)

Take care,

Steve and Dave

Now, that was a joy! Given who was in the band, it was going to be good, but it was exceptional. Gaz Hughes led from the drums. Bruce Adams brought both trumpet and flugel. Alan Barnes played tenor and alto saxes. Andrzej Baranek was our pianist, very special.  We had a wonderful dep on bass; Mike Reed. It was one of those sound checks where I learned a lot, as they went through the music. They were celebrating the great Art Blakey, and I am sure he would have been pleased with the gig.

We had quite a large (and very listening) audience. They all went home glowing. Our photog, Peter, was not able to be at the club (new hip, now recovering), but luckily, a photography student, Peter Bushby had asked to do a portfolio, so we used his shots. 

Thanks again to Steve Jordan for the beautifully annotated set list.

Take care,

Dave

1. A Bitter Dose (Bobby Watson)
2. Arabia (Curtis Fuller) Curtis Fuller was a trombonist and a Jazz Messenger between 1961 -1965
3. Easy Living (Ralph Rainger) originally composed for a film of the same name in 1937. The song later became associated with Billie Holiday who recorded it for Decca in 1947 with her own orchestra.
4. Crisis (Freddie Hubbard) Freddie Hubbard was a Jazz Messenger between 1961 – 1965.
5. The Soulful Mr. Timmons (James Williams) Bobby Timmons was a jazz pianist in Art Blakey’s band between 1958-1961
6. Caravan (Ellington/Juan Tizol; arranged by Art Blakey)

*          *          *           *         *        *        *

7. Duck Soup (Art Blakey)
8. One by One (Wayne Shorter)
9. Body and Soul (Johnny Green) featuring Andrzej Baranek
10. 10. A Wheel Within A Wheel (Bobby Watson)
11. 11.We’ll Be Together Again (Carl T. Fischer)
12. 12.Moanin’ (Bobby Timmons)

      ENCORE: Ping Pong (Wayne Shorter)

On Wednesday last, Julian Costello (soprano and tenor), David Beebee (piano), Dave Jones (5 string bass) and Eric Ford (drums) gave us a gig that will stand in the memory. Steve Jordan has written the bulk of this post, but I wanted to mention the lyricism and dynamics of all four of the players. The variation of dynamics throughout each song and even through long single notes was remarkable.

And now Stephen…
What a wonderful gig we had on Wednesday evening and what a pity that more people weren’t there to hear it. I’m not clear why but sincerely hope our audiences pick up – I worry that the “cost of living crisis” is hitting people hard and evenings out are being sacrificed. Our next gig will be a test of how true that is.It was a thoughtful presentation and programme, and I want them back soon.

So many of the numbers told a story, as our host and saxophonist Julian said. Sunflowers – about his dad’s night-time raid on an angry French farmer’s field; a tune, based on the intro to the theme tune for the TV series Morse about cosy evenings indoors; Look At Yourself With A Smile – a therapist’s advice; Everyone Has A Story (I think) about missing his Maths ‘O’ Level exam on the third attempt! Oh dear, we have all had those moments in our lives.
But, but, but …… he didn’t explain the beautiful encore which I recognised as Sting’s Fragile. Below are the lyrics to the first verse of the song, which Sting released in 1988:

If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one
Drying in the colour of the evening sun
Tomorrow’s rain will wash the stains away
But something in our minds will always stay
Perhaps this final act was meant
To clinch a lifetime’s argument
That nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could
For all those born beneath an angry star
Lest we forget how fragile we are

Whether Julian chose this number for its potential relevance to the carnage currently taking place in the Ukraine, I do not know. Either way, it was a very apt and poignant choice and beautifully executed with Julian leading on the soprano saxophone.

SETLIST

Lonnie’s Lament (John Coltrane) based on Kenny Garrett’s interpretation
Sunflowers (Costello)
Morse (Costello)
Untitled (Costello)
Look At Yourself With a Smile (Costello)
Bridges (Costello)

• * * * * * *

La Rosita (Coleman Hawkins)
Blackbird (Paul McCartney)
Everyone Has A Story (Costello)
Phrygian Blues (Costello)
Caravan (Duke Ellington)
Encore: Fragile (Sting)