3 November 2023, 20:00 (GMT)
Chris Coull Big Band
Fletchers Croft, Church Street, Steyning, West Sussex BN44 3XZ
ADMISSION: £15.00 on the door, Students & Members £10.00
For information, phone Colin Jilks, 01903 810395
Programme notes by Colin Jilks
Club spokesman Colin Jilks said: “Trumpeter and band leader Chris Coull has faithfully transcribed original 1920s, 30s and 40s Duke Ellington master pieces specially arranged for his band's four-horn front line-up, supported by a superb hard swinging rhythm section, to create a fitting musical eulogy to the incomparable Ellington. It provides a chronological, sophisticated and informed journey from Duke Ellington's beginnings at the Cotton Club through to his popular war- time hits.”
The full band line-up will be: Chris Coull & Gabriel Garrick, trumpets; Andy Panayi, alto sax and clarinet; Mike Pilley, trombone; Terry Seabrook, piano; Rhys Lovell, double bass; Pete Cater, drums; together with Lucy Pickering, vocals.
“Decades in the making, Chris has spent most of his musical career adding, editing and expanding the bespoke repertoire of this septet. Focusing, in particular, on the music of Duke Ellington, Chris has been careful to keep arrangements true to the original sounds and colours. Themes from as early as the 1920s and 30s such as The Mooche, Rockin' in Rhythm and Old Man Blues are faithfully recreated and juxtaposed against the great man’s seasoned compositions of the 1940s, 50s and beyond as in Concerto for Cootie, Jack The Bear and Isfhan. For clichéd renditions of Take The 'A' Train, one should look elsewhere!
“The band also play music from Duke Ellington's peers, including: Count Basie and Charlie Barnett and, yes, when appropriate, a spot of the war-time Glenn Miller. The talented vocalist Lucy Pickering provides the icing on the cake, creating an engaging presentation, whether it be for the jazz aficionado or festival goer of more eclectic jazz tastes.”
Admission charges are £15 for non-members, £10 for members. The bar is provided by Keith’s Bar serving local draft ales, wines, soft drinks and snacks. The show begins at 8pm. Steyning Jazz Club meets at The Steyning Centre, Fletcher’s Croft, Steyning, BN44 3XZ. Info from Colin Jilks: 01903 810395.
17 November 2023, 20:00 (EDT)
Sugar Hill: The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker
THEATER 131 W 55th St (between Sixth and Seventh avenues)
New York, NY 10019
SUGAR HILL reveals the glamour of the 1930s as seen through the lens of the nonconformist daughter of a high-society Black family in Manhattan and her fantastic dreamworld in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem. A jazz-steeped reimagining of the classic tale, this Nutcracker dance-story sends a stirring message that champions individuality and the journey to find the power of your unique self: “Go find what makes you different to find your magic.”
With a libretto and concept by Jessica Swan, this original production is directed with choreography by Emmy Award winner and Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics nominee Joshua Bergasse, and co-choreographed by Jade Hale-Christofi, with featured choreography by Jon Boogz and Caleb Teicher and choreographic consultation from Graciela Danielle. Orchestrations and Arrangements are by Grammy Award®-winner John Clayton and three-time Tony Award® nominee Larry Blank, Paul Masse (Dance Arranger), and Tripp Phillips (Production Stage Manager). Casting by Mungioli Theatricals, Inc.
Information here.
17 November 2023, 20:00-22:15
‘Big Ben: Celebrating saxophonist Ben Webster’ with Tony Kofi & Alex Webb (EFG LJF 2023) SOLD OUT
Watford Pump House Theatre, 5 Local Board Rd, Watford WD17 2JP, UK
Featuring a stellar cast of musicians including long-time collaborators saxophonist Tony Kofi and pianist Alex Webb, ‘Big Ben: celebrating saxophonist Ben Webster’ pays tribute to one of the great, but lesser-known legends of the tenor saxophone, Ben Webster, fifty years after his death. “No one honours this guy enough, he’s been left by the wayside by the jazz historians,” says Kofi. “For me, Ben Webster is such an institution, and he’s not all about technique, it’s about sound and feeling, rather than playing really fast licks. I was aware of Ben Webster for ages of course, but I really discovered him when I had my music player on random, and ‘Some Other Spring’ came up. I absolutely fell in love with it.”
“Ben Webster (1909–1973) was a true giant of the tenor sax and one of the most-loved of all African-American jazz musicians. His career spanned several generations of jazz and resulted in hundreds of recordings, including many acknowledged classics,” say the show notes.
Having collaborated with a vast array of household names during his five-decade long career from the 1930s onward, both as a bandleader and a sideman, Webster recorded and played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, worked on a number of albums with Oscar Peterson, and did duets with Coleman Hawkins. Using the same second-hand Selmer tenor saxophone for over fifty years – which he named ‘Ol’ Betsy’ – Webster’s recordings include live albums at Ronnie Scott’s with Stan Tracey and the mellifluous introduction to Billie Holiday’s iconic ‘Love is Here to Stay’ from the 1950s.
Kofi and Webb discovered a mutual fascination with Ben Webster’s unique sound and style while chatting during a break on a gig; Tony had played a few of Ben’s signature licks and it got them talking. According to Tony: “The more I tried to play like that, the more I got into his sound. That’s when I realised that Ben Webster’s sound is his technique.” As Alex Webb describes it: “It was definitely a meeting of minds… Basically, I’m arranging, Tony’s playing, but Tony and I discussed the repertoire and arrangements – we’re both passionate about this collaboration. We needed each other to make it work.”
‘Big Ben: celebrating saxophonist Ben Webster’involves four horn players and a string section. Along with the fantastic team of Kofi and Webb, the show also features singer and narrator Lulu Pierre,who will be performing tunes originally recorded by Webster with Billie Holiday. The band also features a veritable who’s who of the London jazz scene with Alan Barnes on reeds, Dave Lalljee on trombone, Freddie Gavita on trumpet,Clark Tracey on drums and Dave Green on bass, with the J.A.M. String Collective, a brilliant group of young string players from Tomorrow’s Warriors. Webb adds: “The band was definitely selected with this specific material in mind, it’s a great band to be working with – Dave Green of course actually worked with Ben and recorded with him, so it’s such a privilege to have him on the show.”
The show covers Ben Webster’s “acclaimed years with Duke Ellington, his work with Billie Holiday, his visits to Ronnie Scott’s in London, his later years in Copenhagen, and his remarkable work with strings.” Alex Webb continues: “Lulu Pierre is also narrating the show. There’s plenty of biographical material; he had a colourful life…”
If you can’t make it along to Watford – or indeed if the show has sold out – Kofi and Webb recommend checking out the following recordings to get a real flavour of this tenor genius, and give Ben Webster the recognition he deserves for a glorious contribution to the jazz idiom.
Kofi suggests the Soho Nights Volume 2 Live Album, recorded at Ronnie Scott’s with Stan Tracey in 1964. This is an album which, according to John Fordham at the Guardian, showcases Webster’s “monumentally powerful sound, sly timing and teeming imagination.” Tony says, “I’m amazed with how at ease he sounds, with a new rhythm section he’d never met, yet they sound like they’ve been playing together for years.”
Webb says: “The Ellington sides from the early ‘40s are endlessly fascinating – and the way the whole band sounds, not just Ben, on the live recordings from the Fargo Ballroom.” That’s the ‘Duke Ellington Live from the Crystal Ballroom’, 1940 – now on my personal playlist too.
With thanks to the Arts Council England for financial support, Kofi and Webb began working on the materials and organising the band members for ‘Big Ben: celebrating saxophonist Ben Webster’ back in the spring of 2023. “It’s always good to premiere something in the London Jazz Festival,” Kofi says. “This show will be livestreamed too, details will be announced on Watford Jazz Junction.” With the phenomenal musicians involved and the anticipation surrounding this show, there are bound to be plans afoot for performances at other venues and festivals in 2024, so watch this space.
Details here.
Saturday, 18 November, 2023, 15:00-16:30 (CET)
Conference: Laurent Mignard Multicoloured Ellington
Astrolabe Media Library, Espace Piccolo (Entry possible via the Cergy CRR)
Duke Ellington left his mark on the 20th century, building his work around the values of openness, respect, love, tolerance, benevolence and of course fraternity. Throughout his long career, he has continually drawn inspiration from the peoples of the world and celebrated them in original compositions through to dedicated orchestral suites. Laurent Mignard presents us with an unexpected and colourful itinerary in Afro-American and Indian America, the Near and Middle East, the Far East, South America, Africa, Oceania and Europe.
Sunday 19 November 2023, 15:00 (EST)
The Ellington Effect Workshop 33: Lightnin' with David Berger
Lightnin'
This obscure Ellington masterpiece, which curiously is copyrighted 1929, although the arrangement and recording were clearly from 1932. Perhaps this arrangement embellished or replaced an earlier one that was never recorded. An integral element of this piece and arrangement is that it comes at a juncture in Ellington’s writing and band’s performance. Lightnin’has one foot in the 1920s and the other foot in the 1930s.
It's an uptempo barnburner that shares the same chord progression as the Count Basie/Benny Moten/Eddie Durham Prince Of Wails, recorded December 13, 1932, nearly three months after Ellington recorded Lightnin’.
The unique chord progression in the first eight bars (four bars each of G7 and A7) with its whole step from the dominant to the V/ii makes these pieces instantly recognizable. The fast tempos challenge both the soloists and the ensemble.
Ellington’s descriptive title certainly describes the ferocity, shock and awe of a meteorological lightning storm. But why the apostrophe? It’s unlikely, but should be noted, that Lightnin’ was a slow-moving character in the very popular radio show Amos ‘n’ Andy. His name was purposely the opposite of his persona. Perhaps Ellington was referencing the expression, “as fast as grease lightning?”—an apt description.
Personnel:
Recorded September 21, 1932, NYC. Two takes for Brunswick B12344-A and B12344-B (released on Columbia).
Reeds: Otto Hardwick (alto), Johnny Hodges (alto), Barney Bigard (tenor/clarinet), Harry Carney (alto/baritone saxes)
Trumpets: Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins
Trombones: Lawrence Brown, Tricky Sam Nanton, Juan Tizol
Guitar: Fred Guy
Piano: Duke Ellington
Bass: Wellman Braud
Drums: Sonny Greer
Soloists: Carney (bari sax), Nanton (plunger tbn), Bigard (clarinet), Ellington
Form (key of C):
Intro: 8 bars
Bari Solo: 32 bars (abac)
Trombone Solo: 32 bars
Clarinet Solo: 32 bars
Piano Interlude: 16 bars (dd)
Shout Chorus #1: 32 bars
Shout Chorus #2: 32 bars in key of Eb
Ticket details here.
Sunday, 26 November 2023
Jazz Noisette
Laurent Mignard Duke Orchestra
Espace Paris Plaine, 13 avenue du Général Guillaumat 75015 Paris
Details here.
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