SAMMY RIMINGTON AND HIS INTERNATIONAL BAND

23-10-2006

Renowned as a hot bed for old-timey hoofing, the long-running Waterworks
Jazz Club enjoyed its biggest booking of the year on Saturday when Sammy
Rimington blew into town. Coincidentally, the reedsman also provided
2005's key date, with his visit last November. Prior to that, he'd left
an incredibly long gap, although the clarinet and saxophone tootler was
something of a regular at the original Waterworks haunt in Edgbaston.

Back then, the band looked more like a bunch of rock'n'rollers, but
Sammy's hair does still remain slightly bushy, and his energy levels
rise up much higher than those of the average veteran tradder. Indeed,
Rimington's stamina is flabbergasting, as his sustained soloing prowess
is the core feature of each number. He floods out dancing lines of
invention on the clarinet, then hoists his saxophone to deliver some
seething blues licks.

Nowadays, the fortnightly Waterworks session can be found at the
Gough Street United Services Club, in the shadow of the Radisson tower.
Last year, Rimington played in its large upstairs room, but for his
return visit he was wisely positioned in the club's accustomed
downstairs haunt. This had the immediate effect of creating a much more
intimate atmosphere, with Rimington reaching out onto the bustling
dancefloor, and even promenading through it as the gig climaxed.

Sammy's International Band features players from Denmark and Sweden,
the latter being this Londoner's partial home for many years. Rimington
was a teenager when he started blowing saxophone and clarinet with the
New Orleans-obsessed Ken Colyer Jazzmen in the early 1960s. Towards the
end of that same decade he actually went to live in the Crescent City,
befriending, and being taught by, clarinettist George Lewis.

Unusually, Rimington avoids the expected front line conventions,
playing without a trumpeter. Could this be to leave more room for his
own capering solos, as well as the almost as lusty parpings of
trombonist Fredrik John? The rhythm section too is notably thrusting,
with drummer Keith Minter taking several rattling breaks.

The UK bass and banjo team of Eric Webster and Annie Hawkins also provides an almost
percussive edge. Webster has an inventive turn of phrase, striking
angular chords with vigour, whilst Hawkins must surely be a closet
rockabilly fan, with her slapping attack on the strings.

The repertoire is admirably broad. When the band plays fast, the
dancers have a tough time keeping up the pace, but then they'll gently
recline with a hymn, delivered in the jazz ballad fashion. This is a
Rimington speciality: he regularly plays gigs in churches and has
released albums concentrating on spirituals. These tunes are taken at
the New Orleans funeral procession pace, and are imbued with a curiously
morbid tone, with Hawkins bowing her strings, emanating a glorious
groan. This is an especially effective contrast to the mainline jazz
material's celebratory bounce.