Harlem Hot Stompers

Reporter: Tony Sheldon
Date online: 12 June 2008

If you have never seen the Harlem Hot Stompers, then you have missed a treat and an unusually absentee audience will realise from this review that this was an evening to relish as Manchester's Stompers set the place alight!

The Panama Band's trumpeter Jon Critchley was guesting for the evening alongside regular trombonist John Rowland and reedsman/leader Tony Foulkes. A strong frontline led the seven piece outfit throughout an excellent programme of Blues and traditional favourites.

Beginning the first set with 'Wolverine Blues', a rousing rendition left the fingers supple and the lips well lubricated. Handy's 'Memphis Blues' brought out Foulkes rich sax tones, a muted trombone and a multi-solo blend of musicianship.

A neat cameo of pianist John Reade and stick drumming Dave Berry on the strangely named number 'South' also featured Foulkes' soprano sax in a fine arrangement.

A long first set brought many delights including a superb 'Snake Rag', 'Savoy Blues' and a mellow version of Carmichaels 'New Orleans' with excellent guitar work from Ian McCann and an Ellington performance of Duke Ellington's 'The Mooch'.

The popular number Gatemouth began the second set followed by a great arrangement of 'Apex Blues' in which a powerful front line was complemented by a duo of McCann and Dave Parr on bass.

Joplin's 'Maple Leaf Rag' was given the real 'Joplinesque' treatment by that Iguana of the ivories, John Reade and McCann's banjo solo left no-one in doubt with 'Nobody's Sweetheart Now'.

A short final set had Berry's drumming expertise prominent on 'Washboard Wiggles' and a rare vocal had Berry looking skywards with 'My Blue Heaven' a classic Reade interpretation of the spiritual 'A Closer Walk With Thee' led into the finale with the naming a acclaiming of band members in 'Algiers Strutt' and we were sent home to our beds with 'When I Get Too Old To Dream' and we left Harlem for the cool Castleton air.

October 2002