Jazz on a Sunday – Washington Whirligig

Washington Whirligig

Past winners of Jazz on a Sunday's Band of the Year award, Barnsley-based Washington Whirligig were in town recently for another of their regular visits to Castleton.

Hot-footing, or more likely webbed-footing, it across from a sodden South Yorkshire came leader David Hepworth on reeds, his wife Liz on double bass, Wil Robinson on trumpet, Andy Bramall on banjo and guitar and Rob Cotterell on drums.

As ever they hit the ground running, with an attention grabbing Milenberg Joys the precursor to a well thought out mix of Chicago, Dixieland and Mainstream numbers and another thoroughly entertaining evening at the New Town National Club.

Highlights, and there were many, embraced the 'expected' – standards Avalon,  Bad Penny Blues, Hiawatha Rag, St Louis Blues, Struttin' With Some Barbecue, That's A Plenty, Wolverine Blues for example; the largely 'unexpected' - witness David with Thelonius Monk's seminal Blue Monk and the 'requested' - although JOAS chairman Tony Sheldon's wisdom on the occasion of his thirty-ninth wedding anniversary in asking for Who's Sorry Now? may well prove to have been his undoing. Has Open Up The Dog House perhaps become the order of the day in Higher Crumpsall?

Also heard were The Continental, Love Is Just Around The Corner and Saint Thomas with David on tenor and Rob on drums at their respective bests, together with a whole host of vocals - from Liz, I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me, My Baby Just Cares For Me, then (whisper this!) Who's Sorry Now? and The Nearness Of You; from Wil, It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing and When Shadows Fall (also known as Home) and finally from Andy, Pasadena.