Jazz on a Sunday: The Roberts-Exall Quintet

Reeds playing duo Amy Roberts and Richard Exall with the The Roberts-Exall Quintet

On Sunday 20 October, for their first professional appearance together since the arrival of baby Jago, reeds playing duo Amy Roberts and Richard Exall were back at Castleton's New Town National Club for Jazz on a Sunday.

With Geoff Tooley (guitar and banjo), Bill Coleman (bass) and Nick Millward (drums) complementing the new parents' assortment of clarinets, saxophones, gripe mixture - and the Roberts flute - it was an evening that had something for everybody.

New dad Richard had, unsurprisingly, been deputed to do all the ‘heavy lifting’- ‘MC-ing’ as to the manor born, taking the microphone for 'I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter', 'It Had To Be You', 'Looking At The World Through Rose Coloured Glasses' and the 1930's comic song 'Ever Since I Kissed Her On The Volga' as well as fronting on tenor with 'Deep Purple' and 'The Nearness of You'.

For her part, mum Amy was on flute for the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra inspired jazz arrangement of Chopin's Minute Waltz and Gilbert O'Sullivan's ‘oldie’ 'Alone Again Naturally'; going ‘Latin’ with 'Receita Da Samba' before duetting on clarinet with Richard for 'Sentimental Journey', 'Mood Indigo' and 'Creole Love Call'; indulging her inner self with a bit of a ‘tear up’ - witness '8.45 Stomp' - and harking back to her days as an ‘allegedly’ penniless student 'It's A Sin To Tell A Lie' remember when we first welcomed her to Jazz On A Sunday, the more traditional jazz oriented 'Rosetta' and 'Wild Cat Blues'.

Jazz on a Sunday programme: 
www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/events/search?searchtype=text&searchvalue=jazz