Over the past few months, torch singers, jazz-rock groups and blues have dominated the Coast jazz scene.
The Bayou Jazz Band with their spontaneous Dixieland style has not been heard from since the Pender Harbour Jazz Festival last September. The group came back last Saturday night with an evening of jazz at the Sechelt Legion.
The brand of music was traditional. Harry Busby led with his hot trumpet and some vocals while Joe Hatherill's clarinet provided the cool. Hatherill also played baritone saxophone (bull sax), reminiscent of the great Gerry Mulligan.
The rhythm section was made up of Boyd Norman, on a new instrument for him, the acoustic bass, Al Burns on drums and Jerry Tehan on piano. Gordon Catherwood played trombone for one set - this instrument is a necessity for the Dixie style and we look forward to more from Catherwood. Bob Ethridge's tuba, another important instrument of the style, was missed. The selection of music was straight from Basin Street and included "Honeysuckle Rose" (Fats Waller), "Indiana" (James Hanley), "Rosetta" (Earl Fatha' Hines) and "Dr. Jazz" (Jelly Roll Morton) - all of it great music for dancing. Some highlights were Hatherill's bull sax rendering of "All of Me," Tehan's stride piano style and his organ contribution to "Pennies from Heaven." Busby's vocals, followed directly by his trumpet, were a reminder of Louis Armstrong's later work. Burns played only brushes all night to great effect and his 'tic-tock' sounds fit right in with the style. If you missed the Bayou Jazz Band this time, you can pick them up again at the Gibsons Jazz Festival in June.
