Sold out for months, it took about 25 minutes stood in the queue to get into Ronnie’s last night. It was the first night of the Basie Orchestra’s latest tour of Europe. London dates first, then Sweden and on and on criss crossing the continent for a fortnight, 90 years after William James “Count” Basie founded the band.
It’s been a good year records wise for the Orchestra. The star strewn Basie Rocks! (click for a review above) was nominated for a Grammy just last week.
Conducted and led by Scotty Barnhart who took some trumpet solos judiciously stood on the packed Ronnie’s stage, stepping into the pit when guest the zany Swede besequinned blonde Gunhild Carling joined after a while. Carling pulled out some bagpipes – she had earlier played a “medieval” recorder, trumpet and trombone while playing for laughs as she bam-bam-bammed away with her feverish gesticulations. But better were the numbers without her – including a big highlight in former Basie bassist John Clayton’s ‘Blues for Stephanie.’
But Carling was funny when she tore into ‘Lady is a Tramp’ on recorder – every bit the trouper she doesn’t take herself at all seriously but is a formidable trombone player when she wants to be. She even on pipes channelled her inner Rufus Harley although these weren’t Scottish pipes more a sort of European dudelsack. She didn’t, mercifully, wear tartan.
There’s so much power in the band but that power is extremely fine tuned and pretty subtle in the voicings when needed. And I liked it when Barnhart directed the cats to play quietly, very quietly, even more quietly and then BANG! what power.
They’re back for more tonight. Be prepared to queue if you have a ticket. I’ll not pick out any of the players for mention apart from pianist Reggie Thomas whose touch distils that Basie swagger to the max and guitarist Will Matthews in the Freddie Green chair of honour who proved steadiness personified. You could cut a rug to that chug, chug chug – all night long.
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