ArtSpoken & Reviews
The Best of BritishDon Albert06/21/2012 08:44:34 
Jazzaholic by Don Albert: Recently in London it was a first for me to visit what is known as a Gentleman’s Club. I’ve been to jazz concerts and sessions in many places in my life, from Carnegie Hall to the Vienna Opera House, from District Six in Cape Town during the apartheid era to Harlem‘s Apollo Theatre, from dingy dives to private homes. Then my friend Keith McDowall, CBE, who I met on a Jazz Cruise island hopping in the Caribbean in 2004, and who I subsequently found out was a great cricket follower as well, took me to the Reform Club, which was founded in 1836 and is located at 104 Pall Mall. Originally it was for gentlemen only, but in 1981 it changed the rules and allowed women to become members. The place reeks of history from the stunning architecture, furnishings, carpets and paintings to its members who included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and HG Wells, I even saw a picture of General Jan Smuts there. One gets a very special feeling when surrounded by so much history. Voices become hushed, eyes enlarge taking it all in, and the mind boggles. The Club has also been used as a location in a number of films, including the fencing scene in the 2002 James Bond movie “Die Another Day“, The Quiller Memorandum" (1966), "The Man Who Haunted Himself" (1970), Lindsay Anderson's "O Lucky Man!" (1973), "Quantum of Solace" (2008) “Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) and "Sherlock Holmes" (2009). One thing I never thought I would hear in a place like this was jazz, but Keith changed all that. He presents a monthly jazz evening starting at 7pm in the majestic Reform Club Library which boasts a full time librarian plus three assistants to curate the many thousands of books located throughout this magnificent building. The night I was there the trio comprised pianist John Critchinson, guitarist Dave Cliff and bassist Alec Dankworth. It was Nat “King” Cole who originated the piano, guitar, bass trio format, which was later used by Art Tatum and today is accepted as a norm. Critchinson came to South Africa with Ronnie Scott when he played the Guinness Jazz Festival in Johannesburg in the 90s. He and Cliff are delicate, thoughtful players with flowing ideas, and Dankworth plays with similar taste keeping a solid beat. His most exuberant outing was on his feature “Alone Together”, proving he was a good soloist to boot. The repertoire was impeccable and included “Dream Dancing”, “Fools Rush In”, “Pick Yourself Up”, “Poinciana“, “Love Walked In”, “Blues March”, “Skating in Central Park” and “My Shining Hour“. The latter featured some contrapuntal playing and creative ‘fours’ between piano and guitar. Critchinson told some vintage Ronnie Scott stories and all in all it was classy music played by fine musicians befitting the ambience of the Library. Afterwards we went into the Coffee Room for supper, which was the best meal I had in London. In typical British tradition the roast beef was brought to the table on a trolley, sliced as you preferred it and cooked to perfection. It was a most impressive and enjoyable evening of history, jazz and good food. Don Albert is a saxophonist and jazz journalist. He spent 12 years with The Star Newspaper on the Tonight! section writing about jazz. Currently he writes jazz CD and book reviews for Financial Mail and is the South African Correspondent for Downbeat (USA) and Jazz Journal International (UK). He has presented radio programmes on jazz and served awards.as judge at prestigious competitions. He has also won numerous awards. |
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