CARNEGIE HALL AND NEWPORT COME TO THE CADOGAN HALL
COURTESY OF THE JAZZ
REPERTORY COMPANY (and the London Jazz Festival)
Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller at Carnegie Hall 1939
Arriving at this mid-November concert a few minutes late and
without seeing the programme, I was bewildered to see and hear a trio of
clarinet (Pete Long), violin (Charles Mutter) and pianist Bunny Thompson
playing the first movement of Verbunkos - Recruiting Dance from Contrasts by
Bela Bartok. Typical of Benny Goodman
to have started his 1939 Carnegie Hall Concert with an ear-stretcher like this
to offset the music which was to follow.
Three things stand out in this wonderful series of
recreations by Richard Pite’s Jazz Repertory Company. The chutzpah of the
promoters/producers. The complexity of the original arrangements. And the
affection and enthusiasm with which those arrangements are played. Also one
should mention that these concerts are never less than pretty full, even if
they aren’t all sold out, a tribute to the way in which they are programmed,
the sheer strength of the mailing list and its marketing, and the loyalty with
which that mailing list responds. OK, so most of the audience is the north side
of 60, but then so is the music. They know what to expect and they get it, even
to the unamplified sections, as in the original performances.
Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller at Carnegie Hall 1939
The Radlett Centre
The first concert gave us Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller at
Carnegie Hall in 1939. Part One included the Bartok and then, skilfully linked
by Musical Director and MC Pete Long, whose style is informative and humorous
(he even had the old dears, of whom I am one, doing a version of the Twist at
one stage) with the full BG Orchestra storming happily through an 8-number
programme from “Don’t Be That Way” via “Bach Goes to Town” to “Sing, Sing,Sing”, before bringing on Rico Tomasso to present his impressive Louis
Armstrong 1939 concert , cornet and voice included.
Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller at Carnegie Hall 1939
The Jazz Repertory Company
Part Two opened with tributes to the Kansas City Six and the
Benny Goodman Sextet, which featured Mr Long as BG. His assurance and technique
are astounding and his tone and jazz feel fit the idiosyncrasies of his subject
perfectly. Good to hear vibraphone player Anthony Kerr again, now playing even
more phenomenally, which is saying something.
As mentioned, it was interesting and instructive to hear the
Miller tunes in close-up, so to speak, rather than on the Dansette. The arrangements are a deal more profound and
elegant than remembered when first heard seventy years ago, and don’t deserve
the derision with which they are sometimes held by some jazzers.
Question. How do the organisers of such concerts manage to
get all these terrific musicians together for performances, let alone gather
them up for rehearsals? It’s a miracle!
THE NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL - THE 1950s
(Thoughts stimulated by this concert which included music
from the film “Jazz on a Summer’s Day”, the concert “Ellington at Newport 1956”
and music from the film “High Society”.)
The Newport Jazz Festival - The 1950s
The Jazz Repertory Company - EFG London Jazz Festival
Yes, it’s a miracle, but what’s the point? (See the previous
review, above.)
People who come to these re-creations for the first time
know what they’re expecting, either from the reviews, the advertising or from
word of mouth. They’re hoping to hear as near accurate presentations of the
original recordings, some of which they know, some of which they’ve heard
about, as is decently and musically possible.
Those who have been before know what to expect. Facsimiles
of the original recordings, apart from the solos, but with the added frisson of
hearing the best jazz musicians from this country and abroad taking on the
challenge of playing like a Hodges or a Krupa or a Goodman. There will be “anoraks”
amongst this part of the audience, but mostly kindly-wishing “anoraks” -
generally the atmosphere was buzzing and
laudatory at the end of each concert. Mission accomplished?
Up Lazy River, The Newport Jazz Festival - The 1950s
The Jazz Repertory Company - EFG London Jazz Festival
The audiences of the Jazz Repertory Company do not differ
greatly from the audiences of classical music and indeed in their response to
what’s on offer. The latter, too, know what to expect, have heard it before,
probably on record and are generally as well informed as the former. So what’s
the point of coming to hear exactly what they expect? In both cases it’s the
pleasure of hearing superb musicians giving immaculate performances of music
which they love.
But there are one or two major differences. In the case of
the Jazz Repertory Company’s bands, they are brought together for a few
performances and are then individually scattered to the winds to play wherever
inducement takes them - their audiences are loyal to the idea, not the bands.
While the originators of the music belonged to bands which had probably been playing
the same or a similar repertoire for weeks or even months, had fanatical
partisans and were well bedded in.
The Jazz Repertory Company - on stage at London's Cadogan Hall
Classical orchestras don’t play the same repertoire night
after night, but they too stick together for sometimes years with a conductor
who gives them a recognisable sound. Their audiences, or a large part of them,
are loyal to an orchestra and its conductor as well as to the music.
While the appeal of both types of music is undeniable, there
is one characteristic their audiences don’t share, and that is that the Jazz
Repertory Company’s does not replenish itself and inevitably diminishes all the
time.
Could it be that which is part of the appeal. “We love the
music, we know it pretty well, we think, but we may not get another chance to
hear it?”
Go and hear it the next chance you get, whatever age you
are. Its memory will add joyous years to your life.
Dick Laurie.
(Allegedly Hot News International).
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