The Maine Street Jazzmen

Herbie Hudson

Jazz On A Sunday welcomed a previous winner of its Harry Cameron Memorial Trophy for Band Of The Year, North East based combo The Maine Street Jazzmen, back to Castleton and to the New Town National Club.

Led as usual by Herbie Hudson on trombone and blues harmonica they had Ray Harley, now happily restored to the trumpet chair, alongside regulars Jim McBrighety on reeds, Alan Rudd on double bass, wife Olive Rudd sharing the vocal duties with leader Hudson and McBrighety, Ian Hetherington on drums and an eleventh hour replacement in the shape of the redoubtable Colin Haykinney deputising on piano.

The evening began with Herbie asking ’Is It True What They Say About Dixie’, then followed Louis Armstrong favourite ‘Once In A While’ with Ray’s trumpet to the fore after which Jim took the mike with ‘I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None Of My Jelly Roll’.

Dixieland standard ‘Riverboat Shuffle came next’; Olive urged us to ‘Swing That Music’; Herbie was in reflective mood with ‘When I Grow Too Old To Dream’; we had ‘At A Georgia Camp Meeting’ and the first set ended on a decidedly up tempo rendition of ‘Beale Street Blues’

Opening set two was ‘Wolverine Blues’, Olive was back with ‘Meet Me Tonight In Dreamland’ and Jim ensured that everybody continued to have ‘Fidgety Feet’.

Three vocals followed in quick order, the first a positively lyrical offering from Herbie in both trombone and blues harmonica personae with ‘Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans’, the second courtesy of Jim a novelty number popularised in the nineteen twenties by The Jack Hylton Orchestra ‘Gonna Get A Girl’ and the third the plaintive ‘Living With The Blues’ from Olive before the set ended with the front line blowing up a collective storm on ‘Wabash Blues’.

Responding to an audience request set three kicked off with ‘Hiawatha Rag’ then Jim was back again with another of his novelty numbers ‘Smiles’ before Olive and Herbie respectively gave us ‘Baby Face’ and ‘Basin Street Blues’.

Then as the evening wound to a close it was up tempo again for ‘Stevedore Stomp’, Herbie assayed the sometime Louis Armstrong vocal hit ‘Where There Is Sunshine That’s Where You Are’ and The Maine Street Jazzmen sent us off home singing along with Herbie, Olive and Jim now in chorus and in concert on ‘Bourbon Street Parade’.