What happens when five extremely good and high experienced jazz musisicians beliebe that swing, musically and good humour are more important than labels and categories, and get together to prove it ? Superjazz !
After two immensely sucessful European tours, here´s their first record, with a selection of tunes which are es finely arranged and brilliantly played as they are refreshingly diffeerent.
Here are tunes by Ellington, Basie and the Gershwin borthers. Up tempo swingers, soft ballads, shuffle beat foot tappers and exquisitely arranged standards. The way these five musicians blend together and set off each other´s playing, all working together to make the band sound good without losing their individuality, is a tribute to their musicianship and seasoned jazz sense, which somes from years of playing in all kinds of bands for all kinds of audiences, accompanying American jazz greats and learning from them, and being dedicated to the principle “It Don´t Mean A Thing If It Ain´t Got That Swing”.
Ths music certainly has got that sing – It is, in a word. Superjazz” (taken from the original liner notes by Jean Pierre Weber)
Indeed, this is high quality traditonal jazz … it was their first and last album …
Bob Barton (born in Birmingham) lives today in Switzerland.
Bob Barton with his new jazzband in 2015
Personnel:
Ray Ball (drums)
Bob Barton (piano, vocals)
John Defferary (clarinet, saxophone, vocals)
Chris Haskins (bass, vocals)
Andy Lawrence (trumpet, vocals)
Tracklist:
01. Just You, Just Me (Greer/Klages) 3.59
02. Your Feet’s Too Big (Benson/Fisher) 4.17
03. What’s New (Haggart/Burke) 4.19
04. Rockin’ In Rhythm (Ellington/Mills/Carney) 4.39
05. I Was Doing All Right (G.Gershwin/I.Gershwin) 4.28
06. Blues March (Golson) 4.36
07. Around The World (Young) 3.22
08. Blue And Sentimental (Basie/Livingston/David) 4.15
09. S’ Wonderful (G.Gershwin/I.Gershwin) 3.24
10. Caravan (Ellington/Tizol/Mills) 4.13
11. Silver Dollar (Palmer/v.Ness) 3.39
12. Echoes Of Spring (Smith) 4.08
13. Groovy At The Movie (Defferary) 3.22
ManyFantasticColors 