Alex Welsh - Strike One

Styles: Trumpet, Dixieland, Swing 
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:21
Size: 124,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:41)  1. Louisiana
(4:17)  2. I Wished On The Moon
(3:25)  3. Open Country
(5:06)  4. Davenport Blues
(4:17)  5. I Got Rhythm
(5:42)  6. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
(3:45)  7. Bluesology
(3:39)  8. Oh Baby
(3:19)  9. That Old Feeling
(4:00) 10. Strike One
(2:29) 11. My Blushing Rosie
(2:41) 12. When The Midnight Choo Choo Leaves
(3:35) 13. Sunday
(2:20) 14. Broken Doll

Highland high notes are what Alex Welsh blew. He was one of the great trad jazz players from the United Kingdom and one of the first Scottish musicians to make a name for himself in a genre far removed from bagpipes and haggis. He began his musical life in Leith on the smaller cornet, later switching to trumpet with either horn case in his hand finding an immediate home for his playing on the traditional jazz scene. That was fine with him, since he had loved jazz since his high school days. The teenage Leith Silver Band and later gigs with Archie Semple's Capital Jazz Band represented the earliest phases of his gigging. He moved to London in the early '50s, forming a new band that rushed to the head of its class like a genius dropped into the fourth grade. Showing the type of aplomb and taste that would serve him well throughout his bandleading career, Welsh made sure every position in the band was filled with an expert, exciting player. While some rival bands in this style focused on their stage costumes and antics or recorded in the pop style to break onto the charts, Welsh always put the integrity of the music first. 

His hope was to reach the type of intense, swinging interplay that was part of the best Chicago-style Dixieland jazz and at least some degree of success can be inferred from Welsh's following among trad jazz listeners, and even more from the respect he received from top American players such as Pee Wee Russell and Wild Bill Davison. Welsh's homegrown sidemen over the years included Archie Semple, Fred Hunt, Roy Crimmins, Roy Williams, John Barnes, Lennie Hastings, and Al Gay. In the '60s and early '70s, Welsh frequently toured, including several trips to the United States and performances with the likes of pianist Earl Hines and trumpeter Ruby Braff. Influenced by fellow trad jazz bandleader Chris Barber, Welsh developed a big repertoire, working from popular music as well as jazz and building up a large mainstream following for ensembles. If there was any real sense of blues to the proceedings, it would have been in memory of the first generation of sidemen who had built the band up from the ground, but who were no longer alive to enjoy the level of success the group had now achieved. By the mid-'70s, Welsh's health was also failing, but the trumpeter continued reaching for the high notes as long as he could. The BBC commissioned the '90s Lemonade King, described as "a 30-minute documentary about the life and music of the late, great Scottish jazz trumpet player Alex Welsh."~ Eugene Chadbourne https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-welsh-mn0000619892/biography

Strike One

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Wild Bill Davison - With Alex Welsh & His Band

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:55
Size: 139.5 MB
Styles: Dixieland, New Orleans jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[4:58] 1. Beale Street Blues
[6:45] 2. Sugar
[4:19] 3. Surf Side Samba
[6:45] 4. Oh, Baby!
[3:49] 5. Blue Again
[2:47] 6. Love Is Just Around The Corner
[5:03] 7. That's A-Plenty
[6:56] 8. If I Had You
[5:40] 9. Sweet Georgia Brown
[4:00] 10. Blue And Broken-Hearted
[7:06] 11. After You've Gone
[2:43] 12. Royal Garden Blues

Wild Bill Davison - Cornet; Alex Welsh - Trumpet; John Barnes - Clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax; Roy Williams - Trombone; Fred Hunt - piano; Jim Douglas - Guitar; Gerry Higgins - Double bass; Lennie Hastings - Drums.

If there was one British ensemble extremely well-suited to accompanying Wild Bill Davison, it was Alex Welsh's band. Wild Bill always sounded most at ease when playing with the groups assembled by Eddie Condon - and Condon obviously appreciated Davison, as he used him whenever he could. Alex Welsh's band was closer than any other British ensemble to matching the spirit created in Eddie Condon's jam sessions, with that easy-going Dixieland/Chicago style. This session was recorded at Manchester Sports Guild in 1966 when Wild Bill was visiting Britain - the first of many visits. It is a pity that the album mis-spells Bill's name as "Davidson" but otherwise this is a CD to enjoy.

The session opens with a bang, as drummer Lennie Hastings introduces Beale Street Blues with one of his perfectly-formed breaks. There is a fine baritone solo from the immaculate John Barnes, and an outspoken solo from Davison, who is clearly enjoying the occasion. Roy Williams, Alex Welsh and Fred Hunt stoke the fire with their solos, and Jim Douglas is slightly more restrained but melodic. Lennie Hastings leads back into the theme with a short but excellent drum solo. This stimulating opener sets the mood for an evening which was understandably enjoyed by the appreciative audience. The band members also shout encouragement to one another. Sugar includes further noteworthy solos from John Barnes (on baritone), the punchy but husky Davison, and the always dependable Roy Williams. You can credit Alex Welsh with good taste for choosing some of the country's best musicians for his band. The rather tinny-sounding piano is the only thing that lets this track down. Surf Side Samba is a piece of exotica - perhaps added to the programme because of the craze for the bossa nova, although it also has hints of the calypso. John Barnes wails on the alto sax, and his baritone is marvellous in the following Oh, Baby! Blue Again opens with the tinny piano but it is primarily a feature for Wild Bill, who switches between throaty emotion and uninhibited declamation, proving what a superb ballad player he is. Love is Just Around the Corner has a neat piece of counterpoint at the start of the final chorus. That's A-Plenty speeds along at an intense tempo, impelled by Lennie Hastings' driving drums. The number ends with one of those Eddie Condon-type series of four-bar swaps which always manage to raise the temperature. If only Lennie Hastings had resisted the temptation to add irritatingly random drum beats at the end of so many numbers! Matters calm down for If I Had You, where John Barnes blossoms on clarinet and Wild Bill solos with feeling, as do Roy Williams and Alex Welsh. The ending of this tune exhibits the band's sensitivity during Davison's closing flourish. Sweet Georgia Brown does its rabble-rousing work, after which Wild Bill again shows his ballad credentials on Blue and Broken Hearted. After You've Gone has excellent clarinet from John Barnes and classic cornet from Wild Bill. The concert closes with a short, flag-waving Royal Garden Blues which consists entirely of those irresistible four-bar sequences. Wild Bill Davison's first visit to the UK clearly yielded a night to remember, and we can thankfully experience it through this album. ~Tony Augarde

With Alex Welsh & His Band

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