Roy Potts Five and a Penny - Jazz on a Sunday

Photo: Valerie Bracken

Roy Potts Five and a Penny

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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”.