Scarborough Jazz

Djangologie (13th August 2014)

Frank Brooker's Happy Chappies (9th July 2014)

The Happy Chappies brought a flavour of the older style of jazz to The Cask and  gave an illustration of why musicians talk of going to 'play' rather than 'work'. These chappies were lighthearted, high spirited and enthusiastic.
 
Led by Frank Brooker, tenor sax and clarinet, Greg Wadman, trumpet and flugelhorn, Phil Kampen, double bass, Jim Wright, banjo and Rod 'Animal' MacNamara on drums, they played a generous twenty two numbers.

Alan Barnes and Jack Emblow (4th June 2014)

Jack Emblow has been at the top of his game as an accordionist for over fifty years. His work has included a substantial body of jazz and his technique remains masterful. Barnes's sax and clarinet work is recognised internationally, and he has long been a loyal supporter of jazz in Scarborough.

Accompanied by the Mike Gordon Trio, this performance was a very suitable contribution to the club’s thirtieth birthday celebrations.

Anita Wardell with Dave O'Higgins Quartet (The Loire Allstars: 14th May 2014)

These guys all have international reputations, and, predictably, they played beautifully, mainly sticking to the material on their CD, a varied selection of melodic standards (ranging from the contemporary Latin pop-jazz fusion of Djavan’s “Flor de Lis” to the highly un-contemporary pop-jazz of Cole Porter’s “I Love You, to the more overtly modernistic “Throw it Away” [Abbey Lincoln], “Blue Monk” [Thelonious Monk] and “Jinrikisha” [Joe Henderson]), though all were interpreted in mainstream modern jazz mode.