Forest New Orleans Jazz Band - Jazz on a Sunday

Photo: Valerie Bracken

Forest New Orleans Jazz Band

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The Forest New Orleans jazz band is exactly as their title states, a band playing an acoustic set of traditional New Orleans style, impeccable attired, seated and standing in unison as each particular number requires and providing a professional performance par excellance despite having to include three deputies due to sickness. Arthur Stead, the leader, on trumpet has directed the band ‘since Adam was a lad’ and he runs a very tight ship.

‘Jazz on a Sunday’ tries to cater for all tastes and provides a balance between the different genres of traditional jazz from the slow and sleepy to the wild and woolly and dependent on choice you can’t please all of the people all of the time but Jazz on a Sunday has built up devotees who now ensure that all styles of bands have a healthy attendance.

Getting the gig underway with nice arrangements of “Martha” and “Bogalusa Strutt”, Stead’s vocal led the way fpr the keyboards of Tom Culbert in “Make Me a Pallet on the Floor” with a smooth front line of clarinettist Barry Aldous, trombonist Alan Matthews and powered muted trumpet from Stead.

Brahms lullaby “The Cradle Song” had Jazz on a Sunday's 'petite fleur' gliding across the floor to the music and the rarely played “I Saw Your Face in the Moon” provided an interlude for Keith Simkin on banjo to the vocal of Stead.

“Franklin Street Blues” featured Pete Vickers on double bass and drummer Dave Stanley accompanying trumpet and keyboards with mini cameos for clarinet and trombone.

A long first set presented the spiritual “Sweet Fields” in slow respectful harmony, “Budoy’s Habit” gave everyone the opportunity to contribute before dedicating “Lady of Spain” to barmaid Lynda who was leaving to live in – guess where – Spain, with the sax of Aldous in full flow.

Set two began with a ragtime medley from Tom Culbert including “The Bells” and “Cakewalk” with the rest of the band back on stage for “Bourbon Street Parade” with a vocal duo for Stead and Aldous.

“Lady be Good” had Aldous in New Orleans clarinet mode for this popular number and a superb “Marainey’s Travelling Blues” found Stead in good voice with railroad whistle, driving sax and ragtime keyboards.

The frontline then wandered to serenade birthday girl Barbara Booth followed by “New Orleans Hopskotch Blues”.

“Rip ‘Em Up Joe” had trumpet flying sax swinging and trombone sliding all over the place and a fine blend driven by Culbert’s keyboards in “Climax Rag” brought the set to a close.

“Algiers Strutt” played the last set off in style, slowing to the 1878 bunk Johnson number “In the Gloaming” – smooth keyboards, soft clarinet, gentle trombone and precision trumpet.

“Waltz of the Bells”, sung by Stead with powered keyboards and trombone had Castleton’s apparition “strutting her stuff”, followed by the south seas strains of “Don’t Sing Aloa When I Go” and it was now time for Stead to lead out the band with “The Train to Home Sweet Home” and back to the forest.