Golden Eagle Jazz Band, 11/09/2013

GOLDEN EAGLE JAZZ BAND returned to Farnborough on Friday, 11 October 2013.  The band consisted of leader KEVIN SCOTT (tenor banjo, MIKE SCROXTON (trumpet), ALAN CRESSWELL (clarinet), ROY STOKES (trombone/vocals), MIKE BROAD (double bass) and PETE JACKMAN (drums).  I mentioned last week that I peeked into their website, to check name spellings (www.gejb.webeden.co.uk  – click on ‘Home-The Golden Eagle Jazz Band’).  I had forgotten we posted a comment to the band.    Most likely adapted from our own website, but temporarily lost, so you must check it out to remind yourselves of their first evening here!  I did say ‘You came, you played and you conquered’.  Well I have to say they did it again.  There was so much dancing going on, with so many smiling faces.  Well done again boys.  Anyhow, here is a smattering of some of the tunes played.  The first number I jotted down was ‘Isle of Capri’, a lovely tango, yes of course dancing took place.  Our line-dancing was enjoyed with the next number called ‘I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream’ sung by Kevin.  The next number ‘In the Sweet By and By’ was sung by Roy.  It has such a happy beat, so once again plenty of dancing.  Dancing continued to take place with ‘One Sweet Letter from You’, which again was sung by Kevin.  That lovely number made famous by Harry James & Frank Sinatra, which again brought on the dancers, was ‘Ciriciribin’.  Next came ‘I Thank You Mr Moon’ which was sung by Kevin.  He is marvellous on the ‘mike’, introducing the tunes and telling short funny jokes.  However, I must tell you of the weirdest of things when he introduced the next number called ‘Smile, Darn you, Smile’.  Before they started playing it, Kevin mentioned W.C. Fields and told us one of his famous many quotes.  By sheer coincidence, I was working on the internet that morning, ‘hit’ on W.C. Fields somewhere, saw this actual quote and read it out to Keith.  W.C. Fields had a wicked sense of humour!  The quote was ‘Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.’ (Kevin emulated WCF’s voice too).  How weird is that, for Kevin to choose that particular quote, there must be billions of quotes over time, from all of history’s characters from all 4 corners of the world (dom dom dom dom)!  To continue … the next number was also sung by Kevin, called ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’.  Of course the audience naturally sang, plus again there was plenty of dancing going on.  I filmed their last two numbers, which were ’Collegiate’ and ‘Walking with the King’. ‘Collegiate was a new one on me.  I found out it was written back in the 1920’s by a couple of students.  They had not set up a copywrite, but had been playing it on campus with their own band ‘Jaffe’s Collegians’.  Fred Waring was booked to play at their Uni’s Annual Ball and was requested to play it.  When he heard of the students, he met up with them and set about sorting their copywrite.  Then recording the song with his own band ‘Pennsylvanians’ in 1925, making it a hit number, reaching No 3. Hopefully, our recordings will be good enough to put both numbers on the website, because they were great to hear ‘live’.

Weather is pushing us into the winter months, so keep fit and well, so we can enjoy your company, especially at our Farnborough Jazz Club here in Kent.

Keep dancing!

Diane and Keith

‘Ciribiribin’ – (m) Harry James, (l) Jack Lawrence (1939) [based on melody by Alberto Pestalozza 1898]
’Collegiate’ – Moe Jaffe & Nat Bonx, students (1925)
‘In the Sweet By and By’ – Joseph Pilbrick Walker (1868)
‘I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream’ – Howard Johnson, Billy Moll&Robert King (1927)
‘Isle of Capri’ – (m) Wilhelm Grosz (aka Hugh Williams), (l) by Jimmy Kennedy (1934)
‘I Thank You, Mr. Moon’ – Abel Baer, Dolly Morse & Dave Oppenheim (1931)
‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ – Jack Judge & Harry Williams (1912)
‘One Sweet Letter from You’ – (m) Harry Warren, (l) Lew Brown & Sidney Clare (1927)
‘Smile, Darn You, Smile’ – (m) Max Rich, (l) Charles O’Flynn & Jack Meskell (1931)
‘Walking with the King’ – pop gospel, origins unknown.