Jazz
Ben Cohen (crnt, vc)
Dave Hewett (tb, bar hrn, crnt)
Al Gay (cl, ten sx)
Stan Greig (pno)
John Stewart (gtr, bjo)
Pete Skivington (bs)
Laurie Chescoe (dms)
What a pleasure it is to hear a group of musicians who demonstrate the significant gulf which can separate the serious from the dilettante. This may seem hardly surprising, since the combined indentures of the players in Laurie Chescoe's band must add up to a fair old whack. Yet age has got little to do with it. What I find so impressive is that, after lengthy careers in the business and faced with the deafening silence which greets jazz in the media these days, all the musicians here play with such enthusiasm. What is it about jazz that can drain you night after night on the road, and yet leave your love of the music totally undiminshed. The choice of music is nicely eclectic. I believe that, since jazz has come of age, judicious pick and mix can provide the most exciting sounds and the best albums.
Laurie Chescoe's Good Time Jazz
A new band for 1990 formed by great musicians who want to play the jazz that people want to hear. There are many forms of jazz and many arguments about what is or isn''t jazz. One thing is sure, this band plays jazz. You can call it good jazz or happy jazz, but you can''t call it any other form of music. The repertoire is eclectic, the style firmly rooted in the middle of the jazz spectrum. The band is not a "Trad" band (although the occasional use of the banjo will cause the mainstream, modern, avant-garde fraternity to call it so). The band is not a "Bebop", or "Avant-garde" band (although the use of baritone sax, baritone horn, guitar, electric bass etc. will cause the traditionalists to call it so). One thing is sure, all the guys are top musicians with many years of experience, good and bad. All of them believe that jazz should make you happy and make your feet tap. |
