Dave Donohoe Band

It was the day of reckoning for ‘Jazz on Sunday’ - did the people of Rochdale want a Jazz Club?

Well the answer was a resounding ‘Yes’ as the welcoming lounge filled up, and a healthy crowd arrived to relax and enjoy the music of the sevenpiece Dave Donohoe Band.

After a gentle intro of “We Strolled The Lanes Together”, the pace increased with everyone contributing to “Wolverine Blues”. There was great variety as Tom Kincaid’s piano led the way with “If You Love Me” before trombonist Donohoe vocalised with “Iko Iko”.

A fine performance of Armstrong’s “Gatemouth” saw neat interplay between Donohoe’s trombone and Dave Pogson’s trumpet interspersed with the smooth clarinet of Barry Aldous.

Bechet's “The Fish Seller”, made popular by the late Humphrey Lyttleton, included a guitar interlude from Mal Horne, whilst the mesmerising “Pleyel’s Hymn” was a real highlight with gentle clarinet, muted trombone and trumpet, tempo changing piano and plaintive banjo.

Donohoe finished the set singing Johnny Cash’s “Lonesome Prison Blues” nicely complemented by clarinet solo and muted trumpet.

The conviviality was flowing over as Donohoe’s vocal of “Second Line” put the gig ‘back on track’, followed by a very different arrangement featuring Kincaid’s piano in “A Closer Walk With Thee”.

Drummer Bill Evans then took the mike for “Shimmy Like My Sister Kate” with Donohoe’s trombone sliding the music along. “My Maryland” had Pogson bugling and marching to glory with terrific band play producing exciting sounds.

Tom Kincaid is a pianist ‘extraordinaire’ and his solo of “ Play Piano Play” produced some serious jazz piano, before Donohoe in Rock n’ Roll mode brought in the second break with Chuck Berry’s “You never Can Tell” with Aldous’ sax input driving the music.
The final set had Pogson vocalising on the romantic “Kiss To Build A Dream On” and Donohoe’s melancholy with Hank Williams’ “You Win Again”.

A long powerful presentation of “Over The Waves” building to crescendo with Donohoe’s “Trombosis”, rhythmic “Arrest” with Horne’s banjo, Jim Sinnerton’s slap bass extravaganza, and the drumtastic Bill Evans – superb! Then it was home time with the gentle banjo solo of Horne leading “Sailor” with piano and brush drumming as the band brought to an end an evening of new hope for ‘Jazz On A Sunday’.