Old Green River Band - Jazz on a Sunday

Photo: Valerie Bracken

Old Green River Band

Martin Bennett’s Old Green River band rolled into Rochdale straight from the Kirkcudbright Jazz Festival bringing guest trombonist George Kidd south in place of the indisposed Johnnie Finch. The band went straight into a full blown “When You and I Were Young Maggie” with solo interludes for bass man Roscoe Birchmore and drummer Stuart Smith.

Bennett’s piano complemented the front line in “Yellow Dog Blues” with Mac McDonald’s banjo blending the standard “Can’t Believe That You’re in Love With Me”. The blues driven “Pretty Woman” (not Roy Orbison’s) found Bennett’s piano and voice in full flow, fuelled by Howard Murray’s baritone sax and Dave Copperthwaite’s trumpet.

The inviting “Linger Awhile” included a slap bass solo supplementing muted trumpet and tenor sax before gospelling to the break with “Lord, Lord, You’ve Sure Been Good To Me” sung by Copper, parade marching to calypso strains with the integral drumming of a fired up Smith.

Unusual arrangements were the order of the day for set two. A funky performance of “You Are My Sunshine” with Bennett’s vocal, alto sax and muted trumpet, a streetbeat “St James Infirmary Blues” led by Murray’s plaintive alto sax and Kidd’s vocal version of the Sophie Tucker favourite “Some of these days”. The melancholy “Into Each Life” received the Bennett treatment with Kidd’s trombone finishing the set with “My Memphis Baby” backed by piano and tenor sax.

Piano, drums and Bennett’s vocal turned back the years with “When Your Hair Has Turned to Silver”, Kidd’s vocal and trombone asked “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home” and Copper completed a trio of vocals with the sentimental “That Same Old Love”.

A calypso and bossanova beat brought a different slant to “Algiers Strutt” with some neat stick on stick drumming and some nice Murray clarinet play.

An alto sax driven “Saturday Wabash” gave way to pure rock ‘n’ roll with Bennett’s piano and vocal, Murray’s baritone sax and Birchmore’s bass solo raising the decibels with “Rockin’ My Baby”.

And on a steamy night in June, the band played out with what else but “June Night” as the strains of the music drifted away into the balmy night air.