The Millenium Eagle Jazz Band

Matt Palmer, The Millenium Eagle Jazz Band

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

Another club favourite this time the Midlands-based Millenium Eagle Jazz Band visited Jazz On A Sunday.

With leader Matt Palmer on clarinet and on alto and soprano saxes, Peter Brown on trumpet and on valve trombone, Terry Williams on slide trombone, adhesive tape and now and again on drums, Chris Etherington on banjo and CD sales, Jim Denham for the most part on drums and Brian Lawrence on bass and on sousaphone they have historically been and clearly remain a multi-talented outfit.

After beginning with Kid Thomas Valentine’s signature number Algiers Strut with the Brown/Palmer trumpet/clarinet combination to the fore they immediately launched into That’s A Plenty followed the evening’s first song I Double Dare You with Palmer at the microphone.

King Oliver’a blues composition Snag It found Lawrence hoisting his sousaphone into position in support of Palmer on clarinet, trumpeter Brown was on song with Somebody Stole My Girl, a Sidney Bechet tune known variously as Rubber Plant Rag and The Coffee Grinder followed, then Maple Leaf Rag and after a deceptively leisurely first few bars the set ended to sustained applause with Williams at the microphone and After You’ve Gone.

Swing Era pianist Freddie Johnson’s Harlem Bound opened the second set as the Wlliams/Brown trombone/trumpet duo of Williams took centre stage but with noteworthy contributions also from Palmer and from banjo player Etherington, the latter then coming forward to deliver novelty number You Meet The Nicest People In Your Dreams. Mozart’s cradle song Goodnight Sweet Prince was accorded a full swing treatment and Buddy’s Habit followed before Jim Denham ceded his drum chair to trombonist Williams in order to take the mike for Sugar. That Teasing Rag had Lawrence on sousaphone again in support of a Brown/Williams pairing before Palmer brought the set to a close with his regular party piece and an epitome of good time jazz namely My Little Bimbo Down On The Bamboo Isle.

The final set opened in style with Stevedore Stomp then, after Putting On The Ritz and Redwing, came what was unquestionably the highlight of the evening, It Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way That You Do It, an insanely fast trombone-cum-vocal offering showcasing Williams on slide trombone, Brown on its valve equivalent and the rhythm section galloping along in their not inconsiderable wake.

Williams was again on drums as leader Palmer in response to an audience member’s request soloed on clarinet with the strength-sapping Saint Philip Street Breakdown after which a seemingly fully recovered Brown reassumed singing duties with the audience, whether invited to or not, joining in alongside his pre-approved support vocalists Palmer and Williams on You Made Me Love You.

As the evening drew to an end we counted three rolls of adhesive tape being used to simulate the roar of the eponymous big cat in their penultimate number Tiger Rag before appropriately Millienum Eagle sent everyone off home humming Bring Me Sunshine. As indeed they had done.

Jazz on Sunday Programme