Merseysippi Jazz Band - Jazz on a Sunday

Photo: Valerie Bracken

Merseysippi Jazz Band

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It was the turn of Merseyside on the 22 January when the Merseysippi Jazz Band was in town, bridging a gap of some five years. Having reached their 50th anniversary the band still featured two originals led by trumpeter John Higham.

The Merseysippi play the low strains of New Orleans and like to perform numbers which other bands tend to ignore. “Cleopatra’s Blues” was a conglomeration of everything this seven piece ensemble could muster, the soprano sax of Dave Dixson and muted trombone of Pete Fryer gave us “Georgia Bo-Bo” and the solo guitar of Dave Rigby drifted from the genre with “Venezuelan Folk Waltz”.

The San Francisco sounds of Lu Watters got the second set in motlon with “Big Bear stomp” and a faster king oliver version of “Chimes Blues” certainly gave it a different feeling.

“Marching through Georgia” brought a fine piano solo from Malcolm Hogarth, “Cornwalk”, a gentle Crosbyesque number sung by Higham with the silky sounds of clarinet, trombone and guitar.

A long third set mixed it up with the popular “Hiawatha Rag”, interplay with muted trumpet, double bass and piano with the rhythm boys. “Creole Bells”, clarinet and trombone backing Higham’s vocal and a solo for Fryers trombone “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You”.

“Wolverine Blues”, a powerful rendition with neat cameos within the rhythm section for piano, banjo and double bass led to the band playing out with “Sweethearts on Parade”. Jazz on a Sunday has got 2012 off to a fine start.