| CLARINET CRESCENDO! “Crescendo”,
as you probably know, comes from the past participle of the Latin verb
crescere, to increase. Well, when we started this annual reed extravaganza
in 1997 with just three clarinettists plus a rhythm section, we certainly
didn’t anticipate it increasing to where it is today, with a
dozen or more reed-players on stage at the same time. Be that as it
may, we are proud and happy to present the 2009 edition, compèred
by Matthias Seuffert (coming hotfoot from his Johnny Dodds tribute
with South Side Special). We have asked eight top-flight clarinet and
sax players to appear, and of course anyone else from among the festival
bands is more than welcome to join in for a number or two – that’s
how we got to the dozen in 2006! The accompanying powerhouse rhythm
section has Martin Litton, piano, Rachel Hayward, banjo and guitar,
Henry Lemaire, bass and Nick Ward, drums. Our picture shows Ted Lewis,
the greatest jazz clarinet man of all time. |
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| DEBBIE ARTHURS’ SWEET RHYTHM Debbie
Arthurs leads The Charleston Chasers from behind the vintage percussion
kit, and of course has established herself as one of the U.K.’s
premier vintage style vocalists in the manner of grandes chanteuses
such as Annette Hanshaw and Ruth Etting, reviving the great songs of
writers like Harry Warren, Walter Donaldson, Gershwin and Cole Porter.
In addition to her work with the Chasers, she frequently appears as
a duo with pianist Nick Gill and leads her own seven-piece band, Sweet
Rhythm; we thought it would be remiss of us not to feature her with
the latter outfit at Whitley Bay. Together, Debbie and the band – all
of whom are accomplished soloists in their own right - succeed brilliantly
in evoking the fun, innocence and charm of the nineteen-twenties. With
Andy Woon (cornet), Norman Field (reeds), Mike Piggott (violin), Mauro
Porro (piano), Spats Langham (guitar) and Frans Sjöström
(bass sax). |
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FOUR ON THE FRETS
A tradition started in 2006, this one-hour session features four of the best guitar players working in traditional jazz today. In strictly alphabetical order, they are James Birkett, Spats Langham, Jacob Ullberger and Martin Wheatley. There have of course been many superb guitarists in traditional jazz and many fine recordings attest to their prowess. Names that spring immediately to mind are Eddie Lang, Carl Kress, Dick McDonough, Roy Smeck, Lonnie Johnson, George van Eps and of course Django Reinhart, and we are sure that reference will be made to most if not all of these in the course of this concert (what price England’s own Len Fillis?). We are leaving it totally up to James, Spats, Jacob and Martin as to what they play and in what combinations they play it, but whatever they decide, be sure it will add up to a Feast of Fun with Four on the Frets! Our picture shows a young French lady guitarist waiting for the rest of the QHCF to turn up.
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| HOT JAZZ TRIO
Fresh from more triumphant appearances across Scandinavia, we again
present the Swedish Hot Jazz Trio, born in 2000 when trumpeter Bent
Persson, banjoist Jacob Ullberger and bass-saxist Frans Sjöström
got together to play the classic jazz they all loved. Of course, all
three were (and are) busy with other bands, and the physical distance
between Bent “Up North” in Stockholm and Jacob and Frans “Down
South” in Malmö didn’t help, but somehow they have
managed to put together a superb concert repertoire with tight arrangements
of great tunes, familiar and otherwise. In the Hot Jazz Trio format,
Bent plays trumpet, cornet, and alto horn, Jacob plays banjo and guitar
and even Frans adds vocals to his bass sax chores, giving plenty of
variety. Material is taken from Bix (Riverboat Shuffle) and early Armstrong
(Beau Koo Jack) to mid-period Ellington (Warm Valley), so plenty of
variety there, too. Great (really) small-group jazz! |
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