Jazz review: Edinburgh Jazz Festival Orchestra, Queens Hall

Published on Thursday 6 August 2009 10:17

****

LEGENDARY Scottish baritone sax player Joe Temperley stood triumphantly on the Queens Hall stage last night and paid tribute to two great men of music, Duke Ellington and Humphrey Lyttleton. This was the first time Temperley had returned to his homeland since the great bandleader had died and, choking back tears, he dedicated the evening's inaugural performance of the Edinburgh Jazz Festival Orchestra to Lyttleton.

For this, their maiden voyage, Temperley had selected an armful of Ellington's best loved tunes, and assembled a top notch band of players. Phil Bancroft, Bobby Wellins, Iowa's Ryan Kisor and Eric Miyashiro were just some of the 15 veterans he'd gathered. The band seemed as eager to play as the almost capacity audience were to listen.

Among the audience were Bancroft's 93-year-old mother, together with a great many of Temperley's own family, including his wife and son, and cousins from New York and Fife. The theme of the jazz festival is homecoming and, given that Temperley spends so much time abroad, it must certainly have felt like that, surrounded as he was by so many familiar faces.

Opening the show with the classic Take The A Train, Temperley took a typically restrained solo to get things started. It always takes a few moments to get the sound right, but the subtle adjustments here were done very delicately.

The deliciously dark Happy Go Lucky Local was next, and it served to show off the rhythm section early and well. Before the main solos began, the orchestra seemed to be having random conversations among themselves, trading delightfully lazy notes and phrases. The smoky melody of Isfahan, from the Far East Suite, followed and featured wonderful moments of silent, tense, pregnant pauses.

A tune for Ellington's barber, Stompy Jones showcased the not inconsiderable talents of baritone saxophonist Jay Craig, and the gentle, deeply satisfying tenor sax of Bobby Wellins.

Iowa native Ryan Kisor came out front to take the lead on Concerto For Cootie, playing a pitch perfect trumpet before Temperley took a solo on Jack The Bear, before introducing a special guest.

Seattle's Carl Majeau had won the Ella Fitzgerald prize for improvisation four years running, Temperley announced, then added that Majeau was still only 17. By the time that had sunk in, the young tenor saxophonist was sweetly blowing them away on Perdido to begin with, then on clarinet for the sensuous Mood Indigo.

When Temperley said later that the naturally gifted Majeau was studying to be a physicist, not a musician, there was an audible, collective, sharp intake of breath from the audience.

Finishing the first set with Rock In Rhythm, the band then got into full swing with Cotton Tail when the second, shorter set kicked off.

Sophisticated Lady showed that, if there was any doubt, Temperley was a sophisticated player.

Caravan brought the show to a close, but C-Jam Blues with a 12-bar solo for everyone finished the evening off nicely.

Temperley may travel the world, but he'll never be short of friends, or a welcome, back in Scotland.

Your Review: 'All of them seemed to love music'

Mhairi Ferguson, 58, bookkeeper, Portobello: "That was a great show. I really enjoyed that, but then I knew I would. You just can't go wrong with Duke Ellington. I'd never seen Joe Temperley before, but I recognised a few other faces. That youngster, the 17 year old, was amazing. It'd be so sad if he ended up not being a full-time musician."

Keith Porter, 66, retired, Newington: "I've always loved Duke Ellington, more than any other bandleader, and I thought this was a lovely celebration. The thing is, all of them up there seemed to love the music as much as I do, because they never seemed bored or uninterested. That's what makes a great gig for me, as much as good playing."

Richard Whittaker, 38, systems analyst, Polwarth: "I'm usually more of a modern jazz fan, but I like a few of the old school guys – Ellington, Basie, that kind of thing. I wouldn't have thought I'd enjoy a whole concert of Ellington though, but I did.

"And some of the players got nicely close to be-bop now and again."