Jazz on a Sunday - Frank Brooker’s Happy Chappies

Rod McNamara - Frank Brooker’s Happy Chappies

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Back at Jazz on a Sunday were Frank Brooker’s Happy Chappies comprising Frank on clarinet and tenor sax, the excellent Trevor Vincent called in at perilously short notice deputising on trumpet and flugelhorn, Jim Wright on banjo and guitar, Phil Kampen on bass and Rod McNamara on drums.

A rich mix of sounds and styles ranged from Twenties classics through Forties and Fifties Tin Pan Alley songs, from film tunes through big bands, from the sounds of Africa and the Caribbean to novelty numbers, through sixties ‘trad’ to unashamed rock and roll.

A rousing version of ‘Indiana’ set the tone and Brooker took the microphone with ‘If I Had You’, then it was Wigan’s second son a Formby-esque Jim Wright with ‘I May Be Wrong But I Think You’re Wonderful’ and Brooker again with the lilting ‘Breeze’.

Acker Bilk’s Sixties hit ‘Creole Jazz’ followed then there was a first venture into big band territory as Brooker’s clarinet and Vincent’s trumpet interplayed on ‘Mood In-digo’ before the set ended with an outstanding rendition of ‘Stomping At The Savoy’.

Set Two began with another Jim Wright offering ‘When You And I Were Young Maggie’ then prior to joining Vincent for trumpeter (and flugelhornist) Clark Terry’s ‘One Foot In The Gutter’ leader Frank took time out to explain that here was an example of contrefact, which is the practice of overlaying an existing and familiar chord sequence with a new melody line. The tune proper, he implied, those present would of course recognise as ‘Way Down Upon The Swanee River’. Yeah.

Back to the big bands and Duke Ellington’s ‘Satin Doll’ then Wright celebrated his roots with ‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’ and Brooker took the mike for a samba-oriented version of the Ink Spots number ‘That’s My Desire’ before the sounds of the South African townships and of the kwela were recalled via Abdullah Ibrahim’s arresting ‘Mandela’ and the set ended with drummer McNamara at full throttle, Wright’s banjo ringing and Brooker again on song for ‘Shine’.

With its obvious Rochdale associations ‘Isle Of Capri’ has always gone down well here and Wright did it full justice when opening the final set. A lilting ‘Polka Dots And Moonbeams’ from the film ‘Pinocchio’ found Vincent in fine form soloing on flugelhorn then Wright’s banjo took the lead with Brooker assuming clarinettist Johnny Dodds’ role on ‘Oriental Man’.

Brooker reassumed his Ink Spots persona for ‘I Would Climb The Highest Mountain’, the tempo switched to unadulterated rock and roll with ‘Route 66’, slowed for Hoagy Carmichael’s get out of jail card ‘Old Rocking Chair’ with Brooker and Wright up front and Vincent’s plaintive trumpet in support and picked up again for a lively en-semble version of ‘Saint Thomas’ before they played us out sing along style with ‘Bourbon Street Parade’ and a medley encompassing ‘The Saints’ and ‘Viva Espana’.