Jazz Repertory Company
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CHAMBER JAZZ (1927 – 1940)
Thursday July 16th at 7:30
Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace London SW1.
The fourth concert in the renowned Kings of Swing series focuses on an eclectic mix of small bands from the swing era (and beforehand, in the case of Joe Venuti). The evening will feature eleven of London’s finest jazz musicians paying musical tribute to six fascinating ensembles of the 1920’s and 30’s.
Much of the chamber jazz featured is very rarely heard in a concert setting today, particularly the elegant virtuosity of the John Kirby Sextet and the piquant jazz harpsichord of Artie Shaw’s Gramercy Five. The contrasting styles of jazz’s greatest violinists Stephane Grappelli and Joe Venuti will be presented in the settings of the delightful Blue Four and Le Quintette Du Hot Club De France. Ellington’s gloriously distinctive orchestrations are just as apparent in his compositions for smaller bands and if the melodies of Raymond Scott sound familiar – they should. You’ve heard them countless times underscoring the mayhem of Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, the Road Runner and other Warner Brothers madcaps.
Russell Davies was a TV comedy actor for two years before turning to journalism, and he has combined writing and broadcasting ever since. He currently presents a one-hour show on Sunday evenings on BBC Radio 2. His erudition and encyclopaedic knowledge of jazz and popular music is apparent in his many writing credits on TV and radio and his witty presentation will ensure a fascinating contribution to the evening.
The musicians chosen by Kings of Swing musical director and drummer Richard Pite have studied early jazz in depth and play it with authenticity and passion.
Keith Nichols has established a reputation as the UK’s premier exponent of early jazz piano styles. At the 2004 BBC Jazz Awards he was presented with the Jazz Heritage Award in recognition of his brilliant work as both pianist and scholar. For the Chamber Jazz concert he will be directing the Joe Venuti and Duke Ellington bands.
Mike Piggott, (One of the best swing jazz fiddle players active - New York Jazz Times) will take the role of Joe Venuti as well as that of Stephane Grapelli in Le Quintette Du Hot Club De France. In the Quintette bassist Dave Chamberlain will double as one of the three guitarists in the line up whilst drummer Richard Pite takes over on the double bass.
Enrico Tomasso has been performing the delightful arrangements of the John Kirby Sextet for several years now. He will also be directing the Raymond Scott Quintette whose quirky music is an ideal setting for the remarkable talents of reeds man James Evans (The arrangements have been kindly lent to us by America’s renowned Scott expert, Les Deutsch).
Artie Shaw’s Gramercy Five was a brilliant little swinging group which used jazz harpsichord for the first ever time. Martin Litton who leads this line up has transcribed the intricate arrangements and will be featured performing on the harpsichord (as well as playing the role of pianist Billy Kyle in the John Kirby arrangements) Both Martin and Keith Nichols will also be performing piano solos in the concert.
Alan Barnes (BBC Jazz Musician of the Year 2001 and 2006) will perform as Artie Shaw in the Gramercy Five as well as playing in the Kirby, Scott and Ellington line-ups.
We have two great guitarists – Martin Wheatley who performs brilliantly in the style of Eddie Lang and Nils Solberg, one of the finest Django Reinhardt specialists in the world.
Finally, we are delighted to feature Jay Craig on both baritone and bass sax taking on the role of two jazz legends, Adrian Rollini and Duke Ellington’s Harry Carney.
Richard Pite’s Kings of Swing concerts have fast established a reputation for presenting the finest musicians performing the great music of the swing era. In September 2008 our first concert presented the music of Artie Shaw with Strings. Alyn Shipton in The Times enthused in a four star review:
“The ideal repertory band takes a slice of historic repertoire and breathes new life into it by going a step or two beyond mere re-creation of records, while retaining a feel for period. The 26-piece Solid Senders came close to that ideal in recreating the sound of Artie Shaw’s big band of the late 1930s and early 1940s.”
This was followed in October 2008 with a recreation of Benny Goodman’s famous 1938 concert at Carnegie Hall. Featuring Pete Long as soloist and also presented by him in his inimitable way (as noted by Clive Davies of the Times in another four star review).
“In Pete Long, reeds player, raconteur, bandleader and all-round wit, we have a genuine home-grown treasure. If his projects – Echoes of Ellington chief among them – have attracted few column inches in the past, it is partly because Long, who knows this music inside out, appears to wear his expertise so lightly. In another life, he might easily have been a vaudeville entertainer.”
The third concert in February 2009 was a centenary celebration of one of the biggest stars of the swing era, the drummer Gene Krupa. Jack Massarik in the Evening Standard gave the Kings of Swing series another four star review:
“Pete Long’s versatile 16-piece band, led for the night by drummer Richard Pite delivered Krupa hits perfectly in period, solos and all. The best featured tall, elegant singer Joan Viskant and diminutive, ebullient trumpeter Rico Tomasso, reprising the partnership of Anita O’Day and Roy Eldridge, visually and musically. Sparkling nostalgia.”
On July 16th 2009 the fourth concert in the series Chamber Jazz 1927-1940 will be presented at the Cadogan Hall. Future concerts planned for late 2009 and early 2010 include “Jazz At The Philharmonic - The Early Years” “The Ellington and Basie Big Bands - Battle Royal” and “Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke and the Paul Whiteman Orchestra”.
Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow, 10 September 1908 — 8 February 1994)
, was an American composer, band leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio
maverick, and electronic instrument inventor. He was born in Brooklyn to a family
of Russian-Jewish immigrants. His older brother, Mark Warnow, a conductor, violinist,
and musical director for the CBS radio program Your Hit Parade, encouraged his
musical career. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is
familiar to millions because of its adaptation by Carl Stalling in over 120
classic Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and other Warner Bros. Looney Tunes
and Merrie Melodies animated features. Scott's melodies have also been heard
in twelve Ren & Stimpy episodes (which used the original Scott recordings),
while making cameos in The Simpsons, Duckman, Animaniacs, The Oblongs, and Batfink.
The only music Scott actually composed to accompany animation were three 20-second
electronic commercial jingles for County Fair Bread in 1962.
For more information on Raymond Scott, see here
Duke Ellington
Edward
Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was
an American composer, pianist, and bandleader.
Duke Ellington was known in his life as one of the most influential figures in jazz, if not in all American music. His reputation increased when he died including a special award citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board.
Ellington called his music "American Music" rather than jazz, and liked to describe those who impressed him as "beyond category." These included many of the musicians who served with his orchestra, some of whom were considered among the giants of jazz and performed with Ellington's orchestra for decades. While many were noteworthy in their own right, it was Ellington who melded them into one of the most well-known orchestral units in the history of jazz. He often composed specifically for the style and skills of these individuals, such as "Jeep's Blues" for Johnny Hodges, "Concerto for Cootie" ("Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me") for Cootie Williams and "The Mooche" for Tricky Sam Nanton. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's "Caravan" and "Perdido" which brought the "Spanish Tinge" to big-band jazz. After 1941, he frequently collaborated with composer-arranger Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his alter-ego.
One of the 20th century's best-known artists, Ellington recorded for many American record companies, and appeared in several films. Ellington and his orchestra toured the United States and Europe regularly before and after World War II. Ellington led his band from 1923 until his death in 1974.
For more information on Duke Ellington, see here
Le Quintette du Hot Club de France
Quintette
du Hot Club de France was a jazz group founded in France in 1934 by guitarist
Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli, and active in one
form or another until 1948.
One of the earliest and most significant continental jazz groups in Europe, the Quintette was described by critic Thom Jurek as "one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz." Their most famous lineup featured Reinhardt, Grappelli, bassist Louis Vola, and rhythm guitarists Roger Chaput and Joseph Reinhardt (Django's brother) who filled out the ensemble's sound and added occasional percussive effects.
For more information on Le Quintette du Hot Club de France, see here
Joe Venuti
Joe Venuti claimed to have been born aboard a ship as his parents emigrated from
Italy, though many believe he was simply born in Philadelphia. Later in life he
said that he was born in Italy in 1896 and that he came to the U.S. in 1906. Considered
the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz
along with the guitarist Eddie Lang, a childhood friend of his. Through the 1920s
and early 1930s, Venuti made many recordings, as leader and as featured soloist.
He worked with Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke,
Jack Teagarden, the Boswell Sisters and most of the other important white jazz
and semi-jazz figures of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Venuti and Lang recorded
a series of milestone jazz records for the OKeh label during the 1920s. However,
following Lang's early death in 1933, his career began to wane, though he continued
performing through the 1930s. He was also a strong early influence on western
swing players like Jesse Ashlock, not to mention the fact that Lang and Venuti
were the primary influences of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli.
After a period of relative obscurity in the 1940s and 1950s, he was 'rediscovered' in the late 1960s. In the 1970s, he established a musical relationship with tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims that resulted in three recordings. He also recorded an entire album with country-jazz musicians including mandolinist Jethro Burns (of Homer & Jethro), pedal steel guitarist Curly Chalker and former Bob Wills sideman and guitarist Eldon Shamblin. Venuti died in Seattle, Washington. (Bing Crosby's home town) (Crosby refers to Joe in his book "Call Me Lucky").
For more information on Joe Venuti, see here
Artie Shaw
Born
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky in New York City, Shaw grew up in New Haven, Connecticut,
where his natural introversion was deepened by local antisemitism according
to Shaw's autobiography. Shaw began learning the saxophone when he was 13 years
old, and by the age of 16, he switched to the clarinet and left home to tour
with a band. Returning to New York, he became a session musician through the
early 1930s. From 1925 until 1936, Shaw performed with a variety of bands and
orchestras, including those of Johnny Caverello and Austin Wylie. In 1929 and
1930 he played with Irving Aaronson's Commanders, where he was exposed to symphonic
music which he would later incorporate into his arrangements.
Shaw first gained critical acclaim with his "Interlude in B-flat" at a swing concert at the Imperial Theater in New York in 1935. During the Swing Era, Shaw's big band was popular with hits like "Begin the Beguine" (1938), "Stardust" (with a legendary trumpet solo by Billy Butterfield), "Back Bay Shuffle", "Moonglow", "Rosalie" and "Frenesi." He was an innovator in the big band idiom, using unusual instrumentation; "Interlude in B-flat", where he was backed with only a rhythm section and a string quartet, was one of the earliest examples of what would be later dubbed third stream.
In addition to hiring Buddy Rich, he signed Billie Holiday as his band's vocalist in 1938, becoming the first white bandleader to hire a full-time black female singer. However, after recording "Any Old Time" she left the band due to hostility from audiences in the South, as well as from music company executives who wanted a more mainstream singer. His band became enormously successful, and his playing was eventually recognized as equal to that of Benny Goodman: Longtime Duke Ellington clarinetist Barney Bigard cited Shaw as his favorite clarinet player. In response to Goodman's nickname, the "King of Swing", Shaw's fans dubbed him the "King of the Clarinet." Shaw, however, felt the titles were reversed. "Benny Goodman played clarinet. I played music," he said.
For more information on Artie Shaw, see here
John Kirby
Kirby
tended toward a lighter, classically-influenced style of jazz, which has both
strong defenders and ardent critics. He was very prolific and popular from 1938-1941.
After World War II his career declined and he died in Hollywood, California,
just before a planned comeback. In 1993 he was inducted into the Big Band and
Jazz Hall of Fame. Unlike other then-popular "novelty" jazz groups
(like Raymond Scott), the Kirby Sextet is not particularly well remembered today,
except in France, where it is commemorated by the band 'Kirby Memory' , with
vocals by Flora Sicot. His small group light jazz style is a great example of
how swing can also be quite elegant.
For more information on John Kirby, see here
The Reviews
Artie Shaw Kings Of Swing concert 23rd September 2008
From The Times
September 26, 2008
Kings of Swing at Cadogan
Hall, SW1
Alyn Shipton
The ideal repertory band takes a slice of historic repertoire and breathes new
life into it by going a step or two beyond mere re-creation of records, while
retaining a feel for period. The 26-piece Solid Senders, led by James Langton,
former frontman of the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, came close to that ideal in
recreating the sound of Artie Shaw’s big band of the late 1930s and early
1940s.
Shaw, a much-married and famously irascible character who walked out on his most successful band at the peak of its fame, was rivalled only by Benny Goodman for the technical perfection of his clarinet playing. In Mark Crooks, Langton has found a player who can evoke much of that instrumental brilliance, particularly in his effortless negotiation of the altissimo register on Shaw’s set pieces Stardust and Concerto for Clarinet.
Crooks was backed by a band rich in period detail, including a sizeable string section, an innovation to which Shaw clung throughout much of the swing era, and which led to some particularly challenging arrangements, balancing the power of brass and reeds against the delicacy of the violins. Playing entirely acoustically, in the manner of the 1930s, the orchestra excelled on the piece that launched Shaw’s career, Interlude in B Flat. Crooks handled the changes in metre, tempo and mood with aplomb, and, like Shaw himself, made the quicksilver runs and leaps between registers sound nonchalantly easy.
The solo spotlight was shared with Louise Cookman, singing sultry vocals that sat perfectly amid the rich settings of the band. These were being heard for the first time in London, since, after recently moving to New York, Langton has been painstakingly collecting Shaw’s original arrangements. This was the first in a season of swing events at the Cadogan Hall, masterminded by the band’s drummer Richard Pite and on this showing the rest of the season should be well worth seeking out.
Gene Krupa centenary concert
There wasn't really any need for kitchen performance anxiety tonight. One of the cast-iron certainties in British jazz is that a band directed by Pete Long will cook.
This remarkable phenomenon generally known among musicians as Plong, this hyper-active multi-reedsman, in whom Croydon, I am told, is mysteriously inflected with a possible hint of Malta, has led successful Ellington projects,riotously good Dizzy Gillespie projects, and much else besides. Long knows his craft, he delivers meticulously edited parts onto the stands. He bandleads and MC's for Britain.
Thus there were many great
moments tonight, when not only the sound, but also the visuals were totally
convincing. Pete Long was shuffling around in a burgundy tail-suit, on clarinet,
in charge. Enrico Tomasso was alongside him, squeezing blistering high notes
out of the trumpet, his whole face rapidly becoming a perfect colour-match for
Long's suit. Joan Viskant was finding the vocal colours of her - and also Krupa's
- home town of Chicago circa 1940.Period-style specialist Martin Wheatley on
guitar was being subtly and predictably flawless. In the background the microphone
stands suspended over drummer Richard Pite's head were dancing in time. And
the audience of several hundred at Cadogan Hall were showing how much they were
enjoying it by whistling, whooping and cheering at the end of just about every
number.
This music can, and tonight really did, speak for itself. A sentiment for which
Pete Long found exactly the right adage: "If this doesn't turn you on,
you ain't got a switch."
Sebastian Scotney
LONDON JAZZ
Gene Krupa centenary concert - Jack Massarik, Evening Standard
Chicagoan Gene Krupa (born 1909, died 1973) was Hollywood’s idea of a jazz drummer. Dashing and good-looking, he walloped the kit with gusto and loved to drive roaring big bands. His heyday, with Benny Goodman, was more than 70 years ago, yet his centenary filled this handsome hall.
Pete Long’s versatile 16-piece band, led for the night by drummer Richard Pite, were ready. In double-breasted Thirties jackets of two-tone grey, apart from Pite (buff) and Long (claret), they delivered Krupa hits — China Boy, Big Noise from Winnetka, Sing Sing Sing — perfectly in period, solos and all.
“We’re doing this because I just bought the genekrupa.com website for £9 from a man I met in a pub,” joked Pite. Yet only a Krupa devotee could have juggled his sticks so expertly during drumbreaks and kept time so quaintly on a choked hi-hat with four bass-drum beats to the bar.
But the big-band arrangements, with snappy section-work and brassy “pow” trumpet punctuations, sounded remarkably fresh. The best (Drum Boogie, Let Me Off Uptown) featured tall, elegant singer Joan Viskant and diminutive, ebullient trumpeter Rico Tomasso, reprising the partnership of Anita O’Day and Roy Eldridge, visually and musically. Sparkling nostalgia.
Here are some excerpts from the concert:
Russell Davies
Born
in Barmouth, North Wales, Russell Davies received a first class degree at St
John's College, Cambridge, but abandoned his post-graduate studies in German
literature to tour with the Cambridge Footlights revue.
He was a TV comedy actor for two years before turning to journalism, and has combined writing and broadcasting ever since.
He has been film critic of 'The Observer', caricaturist for the 'Times' Literary Supplement,' deputy editor of 'Punch', TV critic of both 'The Observer' and 'The Sunday Times', features writer for the 'Telegraph Magazine' and sports columnist for the 'Sunday Telegraph'.
His television credits
include several documentaries on jazz (being a jazz musician). He's the writer
and presenter of many radio programmes including BBC Radio 4's series 'Word
Of Mouth' (winner of the 1996 European Radio, ONDAS prize), and numerous programmes
about, for example, jazz, American life and literature, and the history of radio
comedy.
On BBC Radio 2 he has presented a series on the songwriters Rodgers and Hart,
and 'Legends of Light Music'.
In 2003 Russell wrote a film about Artie Shaw for BBC 4 and he's currently working on a number of projects for television
The Musicians
Richard Pite - Drums
Richard
divides his time between being a professional musician and agent/manager. For
ten years he managed and performed with the highly successful Rio Trio, an ensemble
performing jazz and popular songs from the 20's and 30's.
After graduating from York University with a BA in music he lived in the USA
and worked as a drummer in California. On his return to London he worked with
numerous bands and toured regularly in Europe and America. In 1987 he started
Partyjazz, an agency providing a wide variety of musical entertainment - everything
from ragtime to modern jazz, string quartets to comic novelty acts.
Since 1999 Richard has been musical director at Boisdale in Eccleston Street
SW1. This is the only club in London which presents classic jazz from the 30’s
to the 50’s six nights a week. www.boisdale.co.uk
His Boisdale residency is combined with regular bandleading, being a busy London freelancer, presenting his one man show www.syncopatedparaphernalia.co.uk and running the Partyjazz Agency and Jazz Repertory Company with his wife Joy.
Alan Barnes
b.
23 July 1959, Altrincham, Cheshire, England. Between 1977 and 1980, Alan studied
saxophone and woodwind at the Leeds College of Music before moving to London.
In the early 80s he played with the Midnite Follies Orchestra and the Pasadena
Roof Orchestra. In 1983 he joined the hard bop band led by Tommy Chase where
he attracted considerable attention as a rising star of the UK jazz scene. He
left Chase in 1986 to co-lead the Jazz Renegades with drummer Steve White for
a three-year stint travelling to Japan and also recording there. While still
with the Jazz Renegades he began working with Humphrey Lyttelton and in 1989
became leader of the Pizza Express Modern Jazz Sextet. Alan also formed his
own quartet that included David Newton, and was co-leader of a quintet with
trumpeter Bruce Adams.
In addition to the hectic schedule he set, Alan has also found time to record
with Tommy Whittle, Brian Lemon, Tony Coe, Warren Vaché Jnr., and Don
Weller. He has played with the big band of Bob Wilber, Mike Westbrook's Brass
Band, Clark Tracey's Tribute To Art Blakey band, the Tracey/Newton octet, and
groups led by Gary Potter, Tina May, and Bill Le Sage. In addition to his jazz
work, Alan plays regularly with the BBC Big Band and Radio Orchestra and has
appeared on pop albums by Björk, Van Morrison and Bryan Ferry.
An outstanding musician with a distinctive and highly melodic style, Alan is
one of the most inventive and original talents to appear in the UK in recent
years, dominating the British Jazz Awards in the mid- to- late 90s and being
named as British Jazz Musician of the year in the BBC Jazz Awards of 2001 and
2006.
Keith Nichols
Keith
Nichols is considered to be one of the foremost authorities on Classic Jazz
and Ragtime. He is a master of all jazz piano styles found in the first half
of the 20th century including Scott Joplin, James P. Johnson, Jelly Roll Morton,
Fats Waller and Duke Ellington. From the early seventies, he has given regular
ragtime concerts at London's South Bank, both as a soloist and with small groups.
Born in 1945, Keith took his first music lessons at five, both on piano and
accordion, (becoming Great Britain Junior Champion on the latter instrument
in 1960). After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music, he turned professional,
and toured for seven years with the jazz-comedy band, "The Levity Lancers"
in which he played piano, trombone and tuba.
He first visited the U.S.A. in 1976, as a member of Richard Sudhalter's New
Paul Whiteman Orchestra, appearing in Philadelphia and New York's Carnegie Hall.
Recording credits include three solo albums for EMI, plus a host of others for
Decca, including one with Bing Crosby. Since the mid-80's, he has been featured
on more that twenty albums for the American "Stomp Off" label, both
as bandleader and sideman.
In 1977, he formed the Midnite Follies Orchestra with arranger Alan Cohen and
has written many arrangements and transcriptions in the 20's and 30's style,
notably for the New York Jazz Repertory Company, the Smithsonian Institute Masterworks
series, and the Pasadena Roof Orchestra.
Currently, Keith is freelance, performing all over the United Kingdom, Europe
and America. His current concert projects include tributes to Fats Waller, Bix
Beiderbecke, plus an ambitious chronological show, "Jazz Classics Revisited."
In 1990, he was invited by musical director Bob Wilber to play the piano part
of Hoagy Carmichael on the soundtrack of the feature film, "Bix" recorded
in Rome.
Keith Nichols continues to perform and record prolifically, as well as lecturing
on Jazz History at the Royal Academy and Trinity Colleges. At Trinity, Keith
directed a recreation of the 1924 Paul Whiteman "Experiment in Modern Music"
concert, which included a performance of Gershwin’s "Rhapsody in
Blue" with the original instrumentation. He has recreated the music of
Fletcher Henderson on CD, plus a volume of rare Duke Ellington and Fats Waller
pieces, and performed the music of Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert
with the Royal Academy Big Band.
In 2003 he formed the ten-piece Blue Devils, continuing his distinguished work
in the recreation of jazz and hot dance music of the 20's, 30's and 40's.
Martin Litton
Born
in 1957, Martin Litton studied at Colchester Institute, graduating with a Bachelor
of Arts degree in music.
His early career included periods with Harry Gold and his Pieces of Eight and
Kenny Ball, with whom he toured Russia and the Middle East. Later work included
recordings with leading British musicians such as Humphrey Lyttleton, Wally
Fawkes and Digby Fairweather.
In 2002 Martin joined The Pizza Express All-Stars led by veteran saxophonist
Tommy Whittle. His contribution to singer Clare Teal’s first three albums
as arranger and pianist was highly acclaimed.
Martin has toured Britain and Europe with the late Keith Smith’s Hefty
Jazz. His own eight-piece band Martin Litton’s Red Hot Peppers expertly
recreates the music of Jelly Roll Morton and has been featured on BBC radio
and at festivals throughout the UK. Other jazz repertory projects include his
Gramercy Five, featuring Mark Crooks (clarinet) and Enrico Tomasso (trumpet),
and his Ellingtonians, showcasing the singer Val Wiseman with a quintet that
includes saxophone and violin.
A successful tour of Australia with Tom “Spats” Langham in 2006
has led to a further tour, scheduled for November 2009. With the bass player
Richard Vernon, Spats and Martin form The Sporting House Strings. He also plays
for The Piccadilly Dance Orchestra and Harry Strutters Hot Rhythm Orchestra.
Martin has contributed his knowledge of classic jazz piano playing on several
occasions to BBC Radio Three’s Jazz Library and he appeared on that same
network’s programme “In The Name Of The Fatha,” where he demonstrated
at the keyboard the style of Earl Hines.
Martin regularly appears with the Swedish Jazz Kings and has also worked with
many American musicians including Bob Wilbur, Scott Hamilton, George Masso,
Peanuts Hucko and Al Casey. He has recorded with Kenny Davern, Wild Bill Davison,
Yank Lawson and Marty Grosz.
Martin’s many recordings are listed in Eurojazz Discos
No.50, compiled by Gerard Bielderman. His first solo CD on the American Solo
Art label was shortlisted in Jazz Journal’s 1994 critics’ poll,
and his latest solo album Falling Castle was declared “a gem” by
The Jazz Rag.
“Martin Litton is a strong, sophisticated soloist with an eclectic style and an eye to predentation.”-Jazz-The Essential Companion.
“…a soloist of genuine quality, quick to see and seize a creative opportunity.”-The Stage
“Litton excels as blues man, strider and swinger.”-Jazz Journal
“His style comprises driving swing and gentle melodic invention, in addition he is a good accompanist.”-Jazz Journal
See also-Who’s Who
Of British Jazz by John Chilton (published by Cassell).
Nils Solberg
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Born
in Durban, South Africa, of Norwegian descent, Nils grew up in England and is
now based in London and the South East. By the age of ten he was teaching himself
the guitar. After a flirtation with finger-style ragtime in the folk clubs of
the late 60s and early 70s, his life was changed upon hearing Django Reinhardt,
and thereafter he dedicated himself to pursuing the art of acoustic swing. Other
influences followed: Eddie Lang, Oscar Aleman and George Van Eps, though he
subsequently broadened his style to encompass gypsy jazz, traditional, swing
and mainstream jazz.
He became a professional musician after leaving art school in 1974, despite having spent four years studying illustration at Twickenham College, West London.
He has had a long association
with jazz violinists, notably the late maestro Johnny van Derrick , Nigel Kennedy,
Mike Piggott , Andy Aitchison and Steve Elsworth and frequently works with hot
guitarist Gary Potter, with whom he has for several years appeared with the
Hot Club of London at the Kaamos Jazz Festival in Finnish Lapland (Jazz under
the Northern Lights).
From 1999 to 2001 he recorded and toured the world with 70s rock crooner Bryan
Ferry, who released his award-winning album of 30s standards in ’99 -
‘As Time Goes By’ (Virgin Records).
His recent involvement with bass virtuoso Peter Ind, founder of Wave Records in the 70s, has found the two of them re-mastering and re-releasing much of the old Wave catalogue, as well as collaborating on two albums featuring the duo.
Nils’ collaboration with young English singer Clare Teal resulted in the CD ‘That’s The Way It Is’ , closely followed by her second release ‘Orsino’s Songs’ and third 'The Road Less Travelled' which is rapidly earning her well-deserved world-wide recognition.
Mike Piggott
Mike's
professional career began playing the guitar, and occasional violin, with soul,
blues and reggae bands in the London club scene of the early 1970s. All-nighters
at the Flamingo Club with the System Soul Band opposite bands like Georgie Fame
and the Blue Flames were followed by a year with Junior's Conquest, which featured
Hammond organist/guitarist Junior Marvin (later of Bob Marley and The Wailers).
This was followed by 2 years with Gass with whom he recorded his first album,
which featured Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green as a guest. A change to a
more acoustic style resulted in work with Paul Brett (3 albums), Paul King (Mungo
Jerry - 3 albums), Ralph McTell (6 albums), Bert Jansch (2 albums), and three
years as a member of the re-formed Pentangle, replacing John Renbourn, (2 albums).
Other bands include The Denny Laine Band (1 album), for two years, Phil Collins'
"Zox & the Radar Boys"(a sideline from Genesis). Also Keith Nichols'
Ragtime Orchestra which featured in the Bix Beiderbeck concert series (featuring
Guy Barker) at the Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall. He has also worked
with the Kimbara Brothers, Martin Taylor, Jack Emblow, Big Jim Sullivan, Diz
Disley, John Joyce, John Etheridge, Gary Potter, Campbell Burnap, Digby Fairweather,
Bucky Pizzarelli, Marty Grosz, Ken Peplowski, Herbie Flowers, Peter Ind, Nils
Solberg, Jeff Green, The Hot Club of London, Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band (honorary
member-3 albums), and The Lord Colwyn Band (society gigs - 1 album), and works
regularly as a session musician. For a week each year, for five years he has
been jazz/rock violin/guitar tutor with the "Herbie Flowers Rockshop"
at the Dartington International Summer School. The first International violin
festival - "The Genius of the Violin" - held in London in 2004, featured
a live broadcast from the 606 Club. The "Violin Summit" included Mike
with Christian Garrick and Stuart Hall, and was broadcast on BBC Radio 3's "Jazz
Notes".
Mike currently guests at festivals and jazz clubs in the UK and abroad, including
an appearance as a member of Martin Taylor's "Spirit of Django" at
the Xabia Jazz Festival in Spain in 2005. Two shows, "Grappelli - A Celebration"
and "Stringing the Blues" are currently receiving enthusiastic reviews.
Another, currently successful venture is with "Wheatley's Arcadians",
a unique group of multi-instrumentalists - including early jazz and Hawaiian
music.
In addition to guest appearances on numerous recordings by other artists Mike's
first CD release "Blues for Stuff and Steph", featuring his quartet,
has received excellent reviews from music publications in the UK, the USA, Jazz
FM and BBC radio's "Jazz Notes".
The recent CD "Take a Walk" is receiving excellent reviews and media
coverage, including Humphrey Lyttelton opening his BBC Radio 2 "Best of
Jazz" with "Struttin' Stuff" from the CD. (He also opened a previous
show with a track from "Blues for Stuff and Steph"). See rave review
in "Jazz Journal International"( September 2007).
A recent publication "Stephane Grappelli - with and without Django",
by Paul Balmer (Sanctuary Publications), includes recognition of Mike's work.
Enrico Tomasso
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Enrico
Tomasso was exposed to the best of jazz from the time he started playing the
trumpet at the age of five. His father, jazz clarinettist Ernie Tomasso, nurtured
and encouraged Rico’s talent and gave him every opportunity to hear and
meet the jazz greats such as Benny Goodman, Roy Eldridge, Oscar Peterson, Buddy
Rich, Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Billy Butterfield, Maynard Ferguson, The
Basie and Ellington Bands and many others. His biggest inspiration was Louis
Armstrong who he met and played for during Armstrong’s visit to England
in 1968. This meeting led to friendship and regular correspondence that lasted
until Satchmo’s death in 1971.
Today Enrico is considered one of the top jazz trumpeters on the jazz scene and has recently won the best trumpet category at the BBC British Jazz Awards. His many studio sessions have included Bryan Ferry’s CD As Time Goes By, Claire Teal’s latest CD and regular contributions to John Altman’s film music. On stage his charisma, command of the instrument and stylistic invention place him amongst the very best.
Some recent affiliations have included Scott Hamilton, John Dankworth, Marty Grosz, Warren Vache, Dan Barrett, Ken Peplowski, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Barnes, Acker Bilk, Keith Nichols, The Pizza Express All Stars, Alex Welsh Remembered, The Ray Gelato Giants and The Echoes Of Ellington.
He has recently recorded his first solo CD with Roy Williams, Allan Ganley, Dave Green, John Pearce, Alan Barnes, Alex Garnett and Craig Milverton.
Dave Chamberlain
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From
the small town of Belper in Derbyshire - took up the double bass at the age
of 16 with ambitions to be an orchestral musician. In 1994 he enrolled on the
degree course at Goldsmiths College in London, studying under Dominic Black,
the principal double bass player with the Philharmonia and Royal Opera Orchestras.
It was also during his time at Goldsmiths that he began taking an interest in
jazz, and by the time he obtained his degree in 1997, he'd made the decision
to pursue a full time jazz career. After a year working in London, he was awarded
the prestigious Archer Jazz Scholarship to study on the post-graduate jazz course
at the capital's Trinity College, where he studied with Simon Woolf and French
bassist Pierre Boussaguet (a former pupil of Ray Brown's). Since completing
his studies, Dave has worked with many top jazz musicians and groups, from The
Frank Griffith Nonet and the 'Back To Basie' big band, to Howard Alden and John
Colianni. For the last couple of years, Dave has been a permanent member of
singer Stacey Kent's highly successful group, and has toured extensively around
Europe, performing in Sweden, France, The Netherlands, Italy and Poland.
Martin Wheatley
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Martin
Wheatley was born in London, obtained a B.A. from Colchester and an
M.A. from University College London. He began collecting 78 rpm records as a
boy and hasn't broken the habit yet.
For all of his working life he has specialized in pre-war jazz styles, particularly that of the New York School and the founding father of jazz guitar, Eddie Lang.
He has performed and recorded with vintage jazz specialists from the UK ( Keith Nichols, Norman Field), Europe ( Matthias Seuffert, Bent Persson) and America (Andy Stein, Jon Erik Kelso). In addition to guitar he plays a wide variety of other fretted instruments especially, in recent years, the Hawaiian guitar and ukulele.
He runs his own band -
Wheatley's Arcadians - that explores the history of string
jazz, blues, ragtime and related music; he is also a member of the country's
pre-eminent Hawaiian band, The Hula Bluebirds.
Jay Craig
Edinburgh-born
baritone saxist Jay Craig’s infatuation with the instrument began at the
tender age of fourteen when he was taken to hear Duke Ellington’s Orchestra
and met the man who was to have such a profound influence on his playing - Harry
Carney. Later, following a four year stint in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra
combined with several years under the stern baton of veteran bandleader Tommy
Sampson at the Glasgow Rangers Club, Jay won a scholarship to Boston’s
famous Berklee College of Music. After two years he left to join the Buddy Rich
Orchestra, touring America and Europe solidly for the next three years.
Upon moving to London in 1987, Jay freelanced in the West End as a theatre musician,
did a couple of cruises on the QE2 and a season in Monte Carlo with the Johnny
Howard Band before joining the BBC Big Band in 1992.
A founder
member of the Echoes of Ellington, Back To Basie and Solid Senders orchestras
he is currently the baritone sax man in the Syd Lawrence and John Wilson orchestras
as well as the BBC Big Band while continuing to deputise regularly in various
theatre pits. His favourite musicians include Harry Carney, Artie Shaw, Sy Oliver,
Johnny Hodges, Jerry Gray, Kenny Baker, Luis Arcaraz, Bruce Johnstone, Duke
Ellington and Woody Herman.
Over the years Jay has worked with many of his favourite artists including Frank
Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, Cleo Laine, Robert Farnon, Shirley Bassey,
Natalie Cole, Billy May, Bob Florence, Lennie Niehaus, Elmer Bernstein, Les
Brown, Ray Anthony, Lalo Schiffrin, Sir John Dankworth, Rosemary Clooney, Vic
Damone, Gerald Wilson, Mel Torme, Sir Simon Rattle, Jessye Norman, Sammy Davis
Jr. and a host of other artists as well as The London Symphony Orchestra, The
BBC Concert and Scottish Symphony Orchestras, The CBSO, The London Philharmonic
Orchestra and The London Sinfonietta. Jay is particularly proud of the John
Wilson Orchestra soundtrack for the recent movie about Bobby Darin, “Beyond
The Sea”…. a very happy experience.
James Evans
"Without
doubt, a national treasure" Humphrey Lyttelton
Born in 1971 in North Wales, James Evans graduated in 1993 from Leeds Music College and started touring Europe with Phil Masons New Orleans All Stars. In 1996 James left the Mason band to work freelance. He moved to London in 1998 and has since worked with the Boston Tea Party, Keith Nichols Cotton Club Orchestra, Sammy Rimington, Chris Barber, Ken Simms, Alan Barnes, Martin Litton and Barry Martyn's ‘Young Bloods’. James has also played rhythm and blues with Angela Brown and the mighty 45s and the New Orleans style R & B Ginger Pig Band.
James has two groups of his own. James Evans Incredible String Four and James Evans Octupal Odyssey which features James’ own compositions and includes sax virtuosi Alan Barnes and Jonny Boston in the line up. James is a prolific composer and arranger, and his itinerary for 2008 included a concert of music he has written for jazz band and symphony orchestra.
He was recently nominated for the ‘British Jazz Awards’ clarinet, and ‘up and coming’ categories. He also was interviewed on BBC eastern counties radio on the Paul Barnes ‘Gold for Grown-ups’ Programme.
For more information visit www.jamesevansjazz.co.uk
The Archives
Benny Goodman at the Carnegie Hall - 70th anniversary concert
Gene Krupa - America's Ace Drummer Man