Chris Pearce’s Frenchman Street Jazz

Chris Pearce, leader of Chris Pearce’s Frenchman Street Jazz

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Reeds player Chris Pearce was back again at Jazz On A Sunday fronting another varied and outstandingly entertaining offering with long time associates Tony Pipkin on cornet, Richard Leach on trombone, Phil Probert on banjo and guitar, Tony Sharp on bass and Graham Smith on drums.

Things got off to a rousing start with an ensemble rendition of 'I Found A New Baby', Leach’s trombone was prominent on 'Muskrat Ramble' then Pipkin on cornet and one time boy soprano Pearce, fittingly on soprano sax, shared the spotlight on 'Wabash Blues'.

The evening’s first vocal offering found Leach at the microphone and Probert on guitar with 'All The Girls Go Crazy' and although belying its lilting introduction, the supposed lullaby 'Schlaffen Mein Prinzen, Schlaffen Ein', with Pearce and Pipkin 'cotside' turned out instead to be positively jaunty. There followed a no less positively plaintive 'Tin Roof Blues' before the first set ended with everyone in attendance 'At The Jazz Band Ball'. 

Pearce and Probert being Merseyside born might have been assumed to know all about stevedores and stomping so accordingly 'Stevedore Stomp' began the second set.

There were diversions then into the big band worlds of Stan Kenton with 'Harlem Folk Dance' with Leach and Probert again in concert here and that of Duke Ellington with 'Saratoga Swing', as assayed by Pearce and Pipkin.

Drummer Smith, along with Pearce on tenor, featured in the Andrew Sisters’ hit 'Bei Mir Bist Du Schein'.

Pearce soloed to loud acclaim on clarinet with 'When You Wish Upon A Star', switching to soprano to join the rest of the band in a New Orleans street style version of 'When My Dreamboat Comes Home'.

Then it was Pipkin on cornet with 'Dear Old Southland' before the Leach/Probert combination brought the set to an end with 'Louisian-i-a'. 

Leach led from the front as the final set kicked off with 'Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble' then Pearce put his health at considerable responding to an audience request for the physically demanding 'St Philip Street Breakdown' but recovered sufficiently to join Leach on 'Sweet Like This'.

'Russian Lullaby', no doubt that country’s equivalent to 'Sclaffen Mein Prinzen', was next up.

Pearce and a (muted) Pipkin gave us 'Last Mile Blues' and then came 'Eccentric', a tune written by the Russo-American jazz pianist Art Hodes.

There was a final vocal offering from Leach, namely trombonist-cum-vocalist’s favourite 'That Old Fashioned Love'.

The audience was cajoled into joining in on 'The Battle Hymn Of The Republic' (aka 'John Brown’s Body') after which, and to loud audience acclaim, Frenchman Street Jazz made a run for the hills (albeit the Malvern hills) with 'California Here I Come'.