Mahogany Hall Stompers, 13/06/2014

MAHOGANY HALL STOMPERS’ entertained us on Friday, 13th June 2014 at the Farnborough Jazz Club. Band leader & trumpeter BRIAN GILES had booked BRIAN WHITE on clarinet, REX ODELL on trombone, FRED ETHERINGTON on banjo, EDDIE JOHNSON on double bass and completing the engine was CHRIS MARCHANT on drums. The World Cup had started and I asked if you could please record it and come to the club – well Keith had to miss it! I promise I wouldn’t divulge the results on the microphone (like I did last time Peter) Oops! Some of you came and what another super evening of music we had. It started with Rex singing (Louis Armstrong style) ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street’. I loved the little bit of fun Rex instilled popping in the line “Rich as Brian Giles” (instead of Rockefeller). They continued with ‘Jazz Me Blues’. I noticed Rex inserting a quote of Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, just great. Then he sang ‘A Kiss to Build a Dream On’. The dance floor became packed – Oh yes, romance is not dead. Another good ol’ trad favourite, ‘Mama’s Gone, Goodbye’ followed in which Eddie gave us a super bass solo.  The whole band made a wonderful job with ‘Tangerine’ sang by Rex (in his own voice!). Brian (W) also has a good jazz voice and sang the next number, ‘Jelly Roll Blues’ (said to be the first jazz number). I must also mention ‘Bei Mir Bist Du Shon’, or as I call it – ‘My Dear Mr Shane’ (I know, no class! Who said that?) It is an often played number as it is such a favourite of many audiences, Mahogany did it justice. Brian played a wonderful intro, Rex sang it and they all played fantastically, with a great solo from Chris. ‘When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’ was another song sung by Rex and the evening was completed with ‘What a Wonderful World’ with Rex’s brilliant ‘Louis’ imitation again. Oh, another lovely evening.

Diane and Keith, Jazz lovers signing off for another week.

‘A Kiss to Build a Dream On’ – (m) Harry Ruby, (l) Bert Kalmar & Oscar Hammerstein II (1935)
‘Bei Mir Bist Du Shon’ – (m) Sholom Secunda, (l) Jacob Jacobs (1932)
                                 Re-written by Sammy Cahn &Saul Chaplin (1937)
‘Jazz Me Blues’ – Tom Delaney (1921)
‘Jelly Roll Blues’ – ‘Jelly Roll Morton (1910)
‘Mama’s Gone, Goodbye’ – A J Piron & Peter Bocage (1924)
‘On The Sunny Side of the Street’ – (m) Jimmy McHugh, (l) Dorothy Field (1930)
‘Rhapsody in Blue’ – George Gershwin (1924)
‘What a Wonderful World’ – Bob Thiele & George D Weiss (1968)
‘When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’ – Irvin Berlin (1912)