Universal Hall, Findhorn, Thursday 12 August 2004

CLARINETTIST CHUCK HEDGES disarmingly describes himself as a ‘saloon player’, but they clearly have a superior class of saloon band back in Chicago (then again, Frank Sinatra used to claim he was just a saloon singer as well). Apparently the players felt on more familiar ground in a crammed Knockomie Hotel the previous day than in the spacious concert-hall ambiance of Universal Hall, but it did not stop them delivering a highly enjoyable set of swinging jazz.

Chuck Hedges

The Swingtet uses an instrumentation usually associated with another more famous clarinettist, Benny Goodman. The front-line trio of Hedges on clarinet, Duane Thamm on vibes and the excellent Dave Sullivan on guitar were supported by sterling work from bassist Stewart Miller and drummer Charlie Braugham.

That combination brings a lightness of sound and texture to the ensembles, but no lack of either energy or drive. The soloing was lucid, inventive and entirely to the point throughout their two sets. The material was largely familiar staples swing and traditional, including Fats Waller’s ‘Jitterbug Waltz’, a couple of Ellington tunes, and standards like ‘Get Happy’, ‘Autumn Leaves’ and ‘Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise’ (in a very different treatment to the Coltrane-ish approach of the Herlin Riley Quartet the previous evening).

The only direct incursion into the Goodman repertoire was a spirited ‘Air Mail Special’ at the beginning of their second set, but they did unearth one or two less familiar tunes as well, notably ‘Nina Never Knew’. The ensemble ethos of Eddie Condon’s famous Chicago bands was recreated in the rambunctious ‘The Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gave To Me’.

The late loss of a projected big name for the final night of the festival, and the impossibility of bringing Jane Monheit’s concert on Monday at the Newton Hotel forward to Saturday, has left a feeling of the festival tailing-off rather than ending with a bang, but it has been another notably successful event, both musically and in terms of audience attraction.

© Kenny Mathieson, 2004