the sound and feel instantly evoke happy memories of the classic Johnny Hodges small groups
Stunt Records STUCD24032
Giacomo Smith – (alto & soprano sax); Joe Webb – (piano); Anders Fjeldsted – (bass)
Snorre Kirk – (drums); Alexander Honey Boulton – (guitar)
Denmark also became new home for an astonishing army of expat US musicians including Stan Getz, Oscar Pettiford, Kenny Drew, Dexter Gordon, Ben Webster, Stuff Smith, Thad Jones, Duke Jordan, Ernie Wilkins and Doug Raney. I once had a drink in a garden bar in Copenhagen and sussed that the pianist in the corner was Horace Parlan.
Especially relevant here, Oscar Peterson’s drummer Ed Thigpen lived and taught in Denmark from 1974 until his death in 2010. And one of his pupils was Snorre Kirk the Dane who produced, composed for and drummed on on one of two CDs which recently arrived from Scandiland – both recorded at The Village studios in Copenhagen.
What a Day! released by Danish label Stunt Record pairs drummer Snorre Kirk with fellow-Dane Anders Fjeldsted on bass, and three Brit-livers, Italian-American Giacomo Smith, Welsh pianist Joe Webb and New Zealand-born guitarist Alexander Honey Boulton.
Eight tracks, Opening Night, Palagio Shout, Fontainbleu, Honey, A Thing Like That, One for the Road, Blues Beat abd Meditations in Blue run for nearly 44 minutes, which is decent value for money. The translated liner notes are useful, too. Most important, the music is toe-tapping and melodic pure pleasure. It’s all that anyone familiar with the swing-driven music that came out of the East London Kansas Smitty’s club could hope for.
Covid may have killed the club venue but the house band and its alumni and spin-offs thrive on. Giacomo Smith is now close to big name status. He may look like a too-young accountant, with dazzling musical technique, but he swings tunefully like the clappers and is a musical force of new nature to be reckoned with. I’ve usually been blinded by his clarinet in clubs, but here he’s a revelation on alto and soprano, giving a lie to the old joke Art Themen tells and then disproves – about the soprano being an out-of-tune ill wind that no-one blows good.
If I had to try and give potential purchasers a steer on what to expect from the Snorre Kirk group, I’d say the sound and feel instantly evoke happy memories of the classic Johnny Hodges small groups. The songs are all originals by drummer Snorre Kirk. Not show-off clever-dick showcases, just nice new tunes, often with an intangibly familiar feel thanks to the chord sequences and Smith’s catchy quotes and allusions. So there are no jarring surprises, just good swinging listening without retreading old boards.
Pianist Joe Webb romps quietly; sometimes a tad too far back in the mix for me on this recording.
My big surprise thrill was hearing Alexander Honey Boulton playing Freddie Green style accoustic guitar on three tracks. No solos, no fireworks, no nothing except that much-missed rock solid foundation to the Basie rhythm section. You probably won’t immediately notice it. But you will when it stops.
