Fabulous Jazz Concert

Last Sunday’s Cowal Music Club concert featured the wonderful Jerry Forde’s New Phoenix Jazz Band,  and attracted a large and enthusiastic audience to Dunoon’s Burgh Hall. The band was formed in 2011 to recreate the best elements of the early jazz era using transcriptions and material from the 1890s to the 1940s,  the players being  Dick Lee (Clarinet and Saxophone), Lorne Cowieson (trumpet), Bill Jones (trombone), Jack Wilson (drummer), Phil Adams (guitar and banjo), and Jerry Forde (band leader and double-bass).

The band delighted and entertained  with a programme which also included some period songs, including the ever-popular French “La Vie en Rose”,  the highly memorable “My Canary’s got Circles under its Eyes” and “Gonna buy me a telephone?”,  -all  superbly sung by Christine Adams. The genre was well represented with music by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Gershwin and others, while the band’s own Phil Adams and Dick Lee provided many of the arrangements.

Two of the band members, - Lorne Cowieson (trumpet) and Dick Lee (clarinet) may well already be known to Dunoon audiences, and the band made a very authentic  and highly effective trad jazz sound, this including sequences with solo ‘variations’ for different players in the band.

Band leader Jerry Forde introduced the players and presented the pieces in a very relaxed style from his double-bass, and the happy mood of the afternoon delighted everyone present.  Every item on the well chosen set list received a very warm reception, but perhaps “Clarinet Marmalade”, “Bourbon Street Parade” and “At the Jazz Ball” deserve special mention.  The band were obviously really enjoying themselves, - this proving quite infectious! 

At the end, an encore seemed inevitable, - and soon the song  “There’ll be a hot time in Old Town tonight” followed, sung by Christine Adams  - a very effective finale to an excellent concert.

 Cowal Music Club wish it to be known that this concert was in memory of the late Don McNeil, former Chair of Cowal Music Club for many years, and thanks were also given to Gus Hepburn and Dunoon Jazz Festival for its much appreciated support of this concert.

Cowal Music Club’s next concert is scheduled for Sunday September 20th at 7.30 in Dunoon Burgh Hall, when The Celebrating Trio, from Scottish Opera, will entertain.