<div dir="ltr">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt 40px;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">Sorry about last night - I sent my message around 2AM. Now it is WITH the text!<br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:center;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif" align="center"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">THE
WHITLEY BAY JAZZ FESTIVAL<span> </span>- MIKE
DURHAM'S C ASSIC JAZZ PARTY<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">I have attended
quite<span> </span>a few jazz festivals over the
years, but none like the Mike Durham's Classic Jazz Party in Whitley Bay.<span> </span>If I am not saying unique it's only because I
have not attended all jazz festivals the world round.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">The Whitley Bay festival
does not feature bands, but rather is a repertory one .<span> </span>The only regular band featured at this year's
festival was The Vitality 5, but that band itself is topic oriented.<span> </span>Sure, other festivals feature tributes to
musicians and bands of the past, but that is in addition to working or
specially organized bands.<span> </span>The Whitley
Bay features first-class musicians from all over.<span> </span>This year, in addition to British players, there
were Americans, Germans, Norwegians, Australians and Frenchmen.<span> </span>The Aussies and one American have fore the
last few years been UK residents.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">Listing all the
musicians would take a page, but some were internationally recognized stars,
such as the reed players Matthias Seuffert<span>
</span>and Claus Jacobi (both German), Enrico Tomasso (British despite the
Italian name), the Norwegian Morten Gunnar Larsen and the American <span> </span>Duke Heitger, <span> </span>Josh Duffee and David Boeddinghaus.<span> </span>Not that the others were slouches, on the
contrary, just less well known.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">They paid tribute to the
founder of the late Mike Durham, the founder of the festival and the excellent
trumpeter, louis Armstrong, Bix, Jean Goldkette, Jelly Roll Morton, the
Louisiana Five, King Oliver, Clarence Williams, various washboard bands, Harry
Reser, Joe Venuti and more.<span> </span>Altogether
there were 36 "topics," some half-hour, the others an hourlong.<span> </span>And the standard of playing was astounding!<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">The bands varied in size
– from duos to 13 strong big bands.<span> </span>And
there were three solo piano shows (The Professor 1, 2 and 3).<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">Some of the young
musicians – the pianist Andrew Oliver (an American who lives in the UK), the
multi-instrumentalist Michael McQuaid (an expat Aussie), Josh Duffee, the
British drummer Nicholas D. Ball - turned out to be real jazz
"archeologists" who dug less well-known musicians as well as some
less well-known sessions and paid tribute thereto in programmes such as
"Clarinet Squawk" (tribute to the Louisiana Five), <span> </span>"Jelly Roll Morton is Other Bands," "New
Orleans Echoes" (tribute to such largely forgotten bands as the Halfway
House Orchestra, Johnny De Droit and His New Orleans Orchestra, Johnny
Beyersdorfer and His Jazzola Novelty Orchestra, the Crescent City Jazzers, the
Sam Morgan's band, and the early bands of Armand Piron and Papa Celestin. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">"Duke' Big
Four" hinted at Duke Ellington but was rather a bow to the Bechet-Spanier
Big Four.<span> </span>Heitger didn't sound like
Spanier, Stephane Gillot didn't sound like Bechet, but the result was just
great!<span> </span>When I saw "Emma's Hot Strings"
was a tribute to Joe Venuti, with Emma Fisk playing very hot violin.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">On "Bands within
the Bands" Joan Viskant proved a better singer than Edythe Whyte.<span> </span>In her own show, Ms. Viskant sang some
"risqué" songs (she beats you, Bob, and you cannot even adopt her
songs for your "R<span> </span>Rated", as
they are all feminine in gender).<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">I have always held that
jam sessions<span> </span>are the soul of a jazz
festival, and here it was even more conspicuous: the free wheeling playing at
the jam sessions was like a breath of fresh air after all the arranged shows,
wonderful as they were.<span> </span>The jams started
almost as soon as the "official" sessions ended – 11:00PM, and lasted
till 2:00-2:30 AM.<span> </span>On the first night
there were just a few changes in personnel, and the indefatigable David
Boeddinghaus and Josh Duffee played for two and a half hours unbroken.<span> </span>On the other two nights it was like a musical
kaleidoscope, with too many changes to remember.<span> </span>The last night it was madness – towards the
end there were 9 brass, three drummers, two pianists (four hands on one piano),
and I don't recall how many reeds on stage.<span>
</span>It was just great!<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">Not that there were no
snags: "The Days Before Jazz" was hardly appropriate for a jazz
festival, and the "Music of the German Weimar Republic" with its
spoken vocals in German was even worse.<span>
</span>I expected something more "jazzy," as there was a lot of jazz
in Germany at that time, but no trace of jazz could be found; rather, they
played Weil's songs as played before adaptation for jazz, and other equally
unswinging things.<span> </span>I was not the only
one to walk out; on lady shouted "Are they preparing us for
occupation?" before walking out.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%">Nevertheless, the sum
total is: An excellent and well-organized festival, and I am hoping to be able
to make the next one!<span> </span>It merits great praise
not only for the quality if music, but also for the excellent sound and for
having the piano tuned during every longer interval.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif" lang="HE"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:107%"><span> </span></span></p>
</div>