On right now till 11.20pm - sorry to not have noticed this earlier. Great footage, some faces I don't remember among the famous and the familiar.
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It was very strange watching people I'd thought of as much older than myself at the time on this now looking really young from my present age vantage point! -
The arrangements were done by Alan Cohen who also composed for the Midnite Follies Orchestra. Sad to learn that the other co-leader of that band, Keith Nichols, had passed away from Covid last year. I was not aware of this and cannot recall it being mentioned in here. He was an authority of jazz composition from the 20s and 30s as well as a fine pianist. I think he was involved in recreating all sorts of vintage jazz ranging from Paul Whiteman to Bennie Moten. It must have been fascinating to have so fully understood the mechanics of jazz composition from the music's formative years. I would have thought he would have been a fascinating bloke to chat to and extremely knowledgeable.
Picking up on Bluesnik's comments on another thread about Tim Richard's "Spirit Level", you sometimes forget how diverse jazz was in the 1980s. I had forgotten about Richards and was reminded of the album he made with ex-Mingus trumpeter Jack Walrath called "Killer bunnies." You never hear of him miuch these days, either. This prompted me to recollect a record called "Hymn for Albi" (might actually have been called "Hymn for Urban" after the shortest reigning Pope) that Humphrey Lyttleton once played. Really loved that track but it does not appear on any Tim Richards discography and also featured a trombonist. Really annoying trying to recall who actually made this record. The Tim Richards track is fascinating because it reveals just how much jazz has changed in the last 30-40 years. Not sure that this more robust and musculine approach to the music is too fashionable now which is a shame. Jazz in 2022 seems far more polite and with very different values.Comment
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Did not do much for me I'm afraid, some fine individual performances by the likes of Bobby Wellins, Peter King and the Bassists but generally I found the whole thing overcooked. Never have liked the 'British' Big Band sound and this was afflicted by it. The vocalists were not that great either nor the rather hackneyed tunes.Originally posted by Serial_Apologist View Post
Well that's ripped that lot up for bum paper but there you go
elmoComment
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Sorry missed it - looking at the line-up I wonder if Charlie hired them on mates rates - I guess they all had a great time playing together.Comment
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This link to the broadcast video might work:
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