The River City Jazz Band

The River City Jazz Band

The Conwy based River City Jazz Band were Jazz On A Sunday’s guests at The New Town National Club in Nixon Street, Castleton, on Sunday 8 March.

Leader Curly Jones was on banjo, Charles Wilson on trumpet, Gerry Owen on reeds, Bob Hambleton on trombone, Malcolm Hogarth on piano, Glyn Edwards on bass and Rod Ledsham on drums.

River City are a band dedicated to keeping alive the New Orleans style of music and from the very first moment when they opened with Clarence Williams’ ‘Royal Garden Blues’ it certainly showed.

Another Clarence Williams composition ‘Candy Lips’ followed with trumpeter Charles taking the vocal, there was a change of pace for ‘Baby I’d Like To Steal You’ then Gerry stepped forward for ‘June Night’. After this it was back to Charles first for ‘Big Butter and Egg Man’ then, recalling the age of the “flappers”, ‘The Charleston’.

He continued with some classic Bix Beiderbecke by way of ‘Singing The Blues’ before songster extraordinaire Gerry conjured up some Sophie Tucker to finish the first set with ‘Some Of These Days’.

Opening the second we had ‘Let Me Call You Sweetheart’, the authentic brassy sound of New Orleans in ‘Franklin Street Blues’ and Original Dixieland Jazz Band cornet player Nick La Rocca’s composition ‘Fidgety Feet’.

Another Wilson vocal ‘I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now’ followed, ‘Hiawatha Rag’ was New Orleans pure and simple then after perennial favourite ‘Tin Roof (Café) Blues’ the set ended with the full ensemble off in ‘Hindustan’.

The third and final set began with Owen on wings of song and ‘Down By The Riverside’ then either side of Wilson's show-stealing rendition of ‘West End Blues’ he led on clarinet on ‘Clarinet Marmalade’ before switching to alto for 'Its Only A Paper Moon', remaining for a last hurrah with ‘You Took Advantage of Me’.

With the hour starting to get increasingly advanced Wilson urged everyone to come to the ‘Cabaret’ and led the audience in ‘Shine’ before proceedings came to a most satisfying close with the jaunty ‘Tia Juana’.