Jazz on Sunday - The Pedigree Jazz Band

Roger Marks, The Pedigree Jazz Band

On Sunday 7 June 2015, almost a year to the day since their last visit The Pedigree Jazz Band, under co-leaders Chris Walker and Roger Marks (clarinet and trombone respectively) in company with Graham Trevarton (trumpet, cornet and vocals), John Noddings (banjo and guitar), Tony Mann (double bass) and Colin Larn (drums), were back at The New Town National Club with their continually evolving Tribute To Trad Jazz offering and over the course of the evening’s three sets entertaining an appreciative Jazz On A Sunday audience to the tune of twenty five numbers and more.

Although the names Barber, Ball and Bilk will unquestionably always loom large over the British traditional jazz scene, the band’s performance as it had on their previous appearances reflected context just as much as it did content. Yes, there was a good deal of material from the Three Bs. From the Ball repertoire for example came 'Mid-night In Moscow', 'The Green Leaves Of Summer' and 'Sukiyaki' but there was appre-ciation also of the impacts of bands like those of Ken Colyer (with 'Going Home'), Mike Daniels (and 'Hiawatha Rag'), Alex Welsh ('Tansy'), Bob Wallis ('I’m Shy Mary Ellen'), Terry Lightfoot ('There Is A Tavern In The Town') and of sometime Barber Band stalwarts Monty Sunshine ('Lonely' aka 'Si Tu Vois Ma Mere') and Lonnie Don-egan ('It’s Tight Like That') who had eventually elected to go their own ways.

From the Barber back catalogue we heard blues (both the 'Chimes' and 'Livery Stable' persuasions) together with 'The Martinique', that perennial concert favourite 'Ice Cream', a nod in the direction of Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra courtesy of 'Shout ‘Em Aunt Tilly' and, echoing Bing Crosby, 'White Christmas', while the Bilk element comprised a couple of marches, namely 'Under The Double Eagle' and 'Blaze Away', appropriately enough (given Acker’s own origins) 'Summer Set' then, if surprisingly, Irving Berlin’s 'Easter Parade' and finally 'Ackers Away' – this being his take on 'Over The Waves'.

Also, making this a palpable 'warts and all' reflection of trad, were those unavoidable 'fillers' that in retrospect most of us had the time secretly hated, exemplified here by jazzed up versions of 'The William Tell Overture', of 'Mack The Knife', of 'Margie' from trombonist Roger and of a pair of music hall songs, namely 'Last Night On The Back Porch' and 'The Curse Of An Aching Heart', from Cornish nightingale manque Graham Trevarton.