1. Brotherhood of Man
2. Blues for Sandy
3. Autumn Leaves
4. Come Sunday
5. Moonglow
6. Isis Blues
7. Hedonism
8. Just Friends
9. Like Someone in Love
10. St Thomas
Alvin Roy – Clarinet
Roger Barnes – Piano
Pete Billington – Bass
Mark Doffman - Drums
First
I must declare an interest. I know Alvin Roy
as he (like me) lives in Oxfordshire and I
have even played gigs with him. Alvin has
actually been on the jazz scene since 1960,
when his trad band won the Soho Jazz Contest
and immediately turned professional. His band
even had a top 20 hit record in Japan with
a tune called True Blue.
As
the former leader of a trad band, you might
expect Alvin to play Dixieland numbers like
The Saints or Bill Bailey but
his repertoire is more modern and varied,
embracing jazz standards, Ellingtonia, show
tunes and original compositions. Of the three
originals, Blues for Sandy is Alvin’s
tribute to Sandy Brown, one of his idols;
Isis Blues is an easygoing swinger;
and Hedonism is a bouncy bossa nova
with an attractive melody.
Alvin
Roy has a pleasant clarinet sound, staying
mainly in the middle register but occasionally
in danger of becoming slightly shrill when
he reaches higher. At his mellowest, as in
the sensitive performance of Duke Ellington’s
Come Sunday, he may remind the listener
of Acker Bilk’s liquid tone.
He
is well supported by the rhythm section. Pianist
Roger Barnes supplies some interesting solos
and intelligent comping, while bassist Pete
Billington – a graduate of NYJO and the Royal
Academy – underpins the band with rich and
varied playing. Autumn Leaves includes
a neat contrapuntal duet between clarinet
and double bass. Drummer Mark Doffman also
provides solid support and gets a chance to
shine in the final St Thomas.
The
album is clearly recorded, although the title
track sounds a bit fuzzy and the drums are
frequently low down in the mix so that you
can’t always hear the ride cymbal. The rather
lurid album cover may create the wrong impression
with its phallic overtones, as this is actually
a CD of accessible, swinging jazz.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
