Roy Potts Five and a Penny - Jazz on a Sunday
Date published: 14 May 2010
The Roy Potts Five and a Penny ensemble play a nice selection of Dixieland favourites with lead trumpeter and vocalist Potts directing operations.
Potts has the ideal voice for jazz interpretation and it was well to the fore in a first set with numbers “C C Rider”, “Ace in the Hole” and “Fair and Square in Love”.
“Kansas City Stomp” brought the entrance of Mayfield’s ‘Petite Oiseaux’ with Potts’ trumpet at full power “Chimes Blues” forged a duo with trombonist Pete Fryer with Dave Alexander’s guitar orchestrating the rhythm.
“Redwing” gave an opportunity for the clarinet of Jeff Parker, and the set finished with a calypso arrangement of “Panama Rag”.
“Stevedore Stomp” got the second set off with a swing, before a melancholy Potts related “Nobody wants you when you’re down and out”.
“Once in a while” gave the percussion talents of ‘Sir’ Alan Buckley full rein, for Potts to then recoil in his “Old Rockin’ Chair”.
Fryer’s sliding trombone gave his slant of “Ory’s Creole Trombone” with a rousing interval finish with tenor sax and muted trumpet and trombone driving “Saratoga Swing”.
The blues took hold of the final offerings with “Melancholy Blues” featuring Alexander’s guitar with Tim Kitchener on double bass and Buckley’s drumming whilst muted trumpet and trombone led “Jackass Blues” with Potts’ vocals on both numbers.
“Louisian-i-a” with guitar and trombone strains gave way to Buckley’s percussion in profusion.
“It had to be You” featured Parker’s smooth sax with interludes for trombone, guitar and double bass, and a nice arrangement of “Precious Lord” found Potts’ vocal in tandem with Alexander’s guitar.
“Nagasaki” had Fryer taking the spotlight with trombone and vocal, and Buckley’s percussion attack was surrounded by Potts’ vocal in “Please Don’t talk about me when I am gone”.
It was time to go, and the band played out with “That’s my Desire”.
Do you have a story for us?
Let us know by emailing news@rochdaleonline.co.uk
All contact will be treated in confidence.
Most Viewed News Stories
- 1High-speed electric train linking Rochdale and London could be on track for 2027
- 2Pedestrian crossing to improve safety on busy town centre road
- 3Rochdale businessman accepts national award at 2024 British Muslim Awards
- 4Mayor launches £600k initiative to uplift housing standards in Greater Manchester and combat rogue...
- 5Young child and dog driven at 150mph in attempt to escape police
To contact the Rochdale Online news desk, email news@rochdaleonline.co.uk or visit our news submission page.
To get the latest news on your desktop or mobile, follow Rochdale Online on Twitter and Facebook.