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AN IDEAL XMAS PRESENT!
(THE CD, NOT ZELDA……)
The Rhythm Boys featuring Spats Langham
- RED HOT MAMA!
One More Time; This Year’s Kisses; Give Me A Ukulele
(And A Ukulele Baby)
No Moon At All; A High Hat, A Piccolo And A Cane; Church Street
Sobbin’ Blues
I’ll Be A Friend “With Pleasure”; Who’s Gonna
Take You Home Tonight?; I Just Couldn’t Take It, Baby; I Can’t
Get Started; Red-Hot Mama; Someone Stole Gabriel’s Horn; My
Future Just Passed; I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan; No
Foolin’; I Love Mountain Women; Wasting My Love On You; Can’t
We Talk It Over
Mike Durham, trumpet; Paul Munnery, trombone; Norman Field or Matthias
Seuffert, clarinet, alto, C-melody & tenor saxes; Tom “Spats” Langham,
vocal, guitar, banjo & ukulele; Keith Nichols or Martin Litton,
piano; John Carstairs Hallam, double bass; Frans Sjöström,
bass sax; Nick Ward, drums: recorded 12 April & 21 September
2010
£12 postpaid from Mike Durham, 60 Highbury, Newcastle
upon Tyne NE2 3LN or pay via PayPal from mikedurham_jazz@hotmail.com
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SPATS & HIS RHYTHM BOYS
Spats & His Rhythm Boys came about when pianist Keith Nichols made a chance remark that a
lot of great tunes are seldom played because they are primarily thought of as vocal numbers.
Mike Durham took this observation and decided to revive some of these now-obscure tunes and at
the same time pay tribute to the men and women who sang them. The period selected was 1924 to
1936, and a show was finally put together to include some well-known classics of that era plus
a few items that had virtually fallen off the musical map.
Besides himself on trumpet, the
musicians Mike selected for this original presentation were Keith Nichols, Norman Field,
Paul Munnery, Spats Langham and John C. Hallam and Nick Ward (sometimes replaced by Pete
Soulsby) on drums. Keith is of course an acknowledged master of the piano styles of the
twenties and thirties, while Norman has the uncanny ability to capture the sound of the
great reed players of the era. Paul’s trombone, by turns tender and declamatory, was also
ideal for this project, while John, Nick and Pete all have a perfect understanding of the
rhythm section requirements.
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Norman Field |
Spats Langham |
Keith Nichols |
Spats is the totally indispensable member of the crew, providing
superb period vocals as well as virtuoso performances on banjo, guitar and ukelele. As a
special bonus, whenever he can make it, the band includes the great Swedish bass sax player,
Frans Sjöström – the big horn lends a real extra dimension in both solo and ensemble
(Frans is on our CD). All the chaps have a great deal of knowledge of an affection and respect
for the music, music that originally came to the listening public on 78 rpm records “With Vocal
Refrain”. We hope that shines through in our public performances, as well
as on our recordings.
The Rhythm Boys show, entitled "With Vocal Refrain", lasts for
two hours and is ideal for theatres, arts centres, jazz and other music festivals.
The band is also available to play private functions. Contact Mike (see Home
Page) for details of cost and availability.
Please see the WJRK Recordings page for track listing and how to order the CD.
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