The Harlem Hot Stompers

The Harlem Hot Stompers

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The Harlem Hot Stompers arrived on a stomping hot evening, but that didn’t deter the fans from hearing one of the most popular bands on the circuit.

Veteran drummer Dave Berry had hung up his drum sticks, and brass bass man Dave Parr was holidaying on a Greek island - Dave it was hotter in Castleton and more financially friendly!

New drummer Grant Taylor and Colin Turner on brass bass blended easily with Ian McCann on banjo and guitar and the effervescent John Reade on piano.

A nice mix of first set featured the Ma Rainey number "Jelly Bean Blues", the sliding trombone of John Ronan on "Bogalusa Strutt", Bill Smith's cornet and leader Tony Foulkes soprano sax playing the nuptials for "Magnolia's Wedding Day".

A gentle version of "Mabel's Dream" led into the first set closer, a rousing attack with Bill Smith on vocal and harmonica "Down by the Riverside".

"Jazzin' Babies Blues" brought Turner's brass bass to the fore, before the grammatically correct Smith gave us Jelly Roll Morton's "I'm Goin' to Give Nobody None of my Jelly Roll".

A superb version of Fats Waller's "Blue Turning Grey Over You" with the smooth strains of trombone, piano and a McCann's guitar solo gave way to Reade's fine piano solo "Chrysanthemum Rag".

"Put on your old Grey Bonnet" gave Smith another vocal opportunity and the set closed with the front line in full flow backed by piano power, and a duo for banjo and brass bass in the appealing "Avalon".

Into the final straight and in Jubilee years the band jazzed up Hoagy Carmichael's "Jubilee".

The slow drawl of Jimmy Noon's "Apex Blues", led by clarinet and featuring guitar with brass bass and Taylor's drums then changed tempo as Smith asked "I Double Dare You".

The country air filtered through with "Flow Gently, Sweet Afton" and the front line powered through Keith Nicholl's "It's Shuffling Time".

Smith's "Just Like a Woman" brought out his chauvinistic worst and we needed Foulkes vocalising "Ice Cream" to bring the gig to a cool conclusion.

27/05/12