This was my second sighting of versatile violinist/fiddler (take your pick) Dan Cassidy within in a couple of weeks. Firstly I saw him as part of a folk/roots duo with guitarist/vocalist James Hickman at a village hall gig in nearby Worcestershire and a review of the duo’s long awaited “Severn Street” album subsequently appeared on this site.

Now it was my turn to see Cassidy with his jazz hat on. Refusing to be pigeon holed Cassidy operates across a refreshingly wide range of musical styles. His Swing Quartet is inspired by the work of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli- as are countless other groups- but Cassidy and his colleagues give the old format something of a twist with imaginative arrangements of the old gypsy jazz favourites plus the adaptation of some pretty unlikely items into the Hot Club format.

The quartet released their début album “Introducing” in 2009 and the nine selections from that record formed the core of tonight’s material which was spread over the course of two entertaining sets. The concert took place in the magnificent surroundings of the Adam Brothers designed Ball Room at The Lion, one of Shrewsbury’s oldest and grandest hotels. A large and enthusiastic audience were in attendance reflecting the fact that this was almost a home town gig for Cassidy. He may hail from Maryland in the US and now reside in Iceland but he did live in Shrewsbury for a time, lodging in the Belle Vue area of the town with the Hickman family.

For rhythm guitarist James Hickman this genuinely was a home town gig and a further element of local interest was added by the presence in the line up of young Herefordshire based guitarist Remy Harris (twenty two) whose own Django inspired trio have already been reviewed elsewhere on this site. Harris was depping on the whole tour for the group’s regular guitarist Gunnar Hilmarsson who was detained back home in Iceland for family reasons (not the ash cloud as many had supposed). Hilmarsson’s ill fortune was a stroke of luck for Harris for whom the tour represented a high profile gig and a great opportunity to get his playing noticed. Playing all the lead guitar parts he rose to the occasion magnificently, turning in what Cassidy reckoned was his best playing on the tour thus far.
The discipline of playing in Cassidy’s quartet seemed to bring out the best in Harris, relieved of leadership and announcing duties he seemed to flourish and this was the best I’d ever seen him play. Rising to the challenge indeed.

With Larry Melton, Cassidy’s old friend from the States, completing the line up on double bass the quartet kicked off with Gershwin’s “Lady Be Good”. Harris took the first solo and immediately hit his stride, this young guy is seriously good. Cassidy followed him and virtually every tune featured solos from these two. Cole Porter’s “Night And Day” was next with the solo order remaining the same.

As the quartet gathered momentum Cassidy led off “Limehouse Blues” and took the first solo, his brilliant work with the bow spurring the increasingly confident Harris on to his best solo thus far. Cassidy seems to have a particular affinity for the music of Cole Porter and “My Heart Belongs To Daddy” followed with the quartet giving it an unusual tango twist.

“Swing 39” marked a return to the Reinhardt/Grappelli repertoire with a slightly slowed down arrangement that incorporated strong solos from Harris and Cassidy. Slower still but very beautiful was “Gloomy Sunday” which Cassidy informed us was sometimes referred to as “the Hungarian suicide song”. The achingly sad melody is derived from Hungarian folk music and the song was later recorded by Billie Holiday. Cassidy’s version saw Melton’s bowed bass doubling up on the melody line with the leader’s violin. After some of the breakneck playing on some of the Hot Club pieces this change of mood and pace was most welcome and despite the sombre feel the piece enjoyed a hugely appreciative response.

“I Only Have Eyes For You” closed an enjoyable first half with an imaginative arrangement giving the tune an unusual Latin feel.       

The second set maintained the standards set by the first and included a couple of tunes not normally part of the gypsy jazz repertoire. The great jazz ballad “Body And Soul” made famous by the tenor saxophone of Coleman Hawkins became a violin feature for Cassidy and worked surprisingly well.

Even more unusual was an instrumental version of Gilbert O’Sullivan’s old hit “Clair” which boasts an attractive melody and which also worked well in concert. I’m not so sure about the piece on record though where there’s a tendency to reflect more on O’Sullivan’s lyrics. These are either sweetly saccharine or deeply disturbing depending on your point of view. In certain respects the tune hasn’t exactly worn well with age.

“Couer Vagabond” was another violin feature for Cassidy in an imaginative arrangement of an old accordion tune from the cafés of Paris.

Elsewhere there were still plenty of items from the Reinhardt/Grappelli repertoire including a suitably coquettish “Coquette” and a wonderful version of “I Got Rhythm”. The latter was led off by Hickman’s rhythm guitar and featured dazzling solos and exchanges by Cassidy and Harris. A word too for Caz Horton’s lighting effects which seemed to be exactly in tune with the music.

Cassidy dedicated “Minor Swing” to his late sister the singer Eva Cassidy. The piece was a particular favourite of hers and the tune she always requested when attending one of her brother’s gigs. Harris soloed first but the piece was also a feature for bassist Larry Melton who soloed before entering into dialogue with Cassidy, the violinist playing pizzicato in an unusual and colourful arrangement.

The inevitable encore was a good natured, high energy romp through “Tiger Rag” with Cassidy leading the way. Good humour was a constant throughout the evening. Both Cassidy and Hickman are amusing interlocutors between tunes with Cassidy taking the lion’s share of the announcements tonight. He talked of the ghost of Paganini stalking the room (apparently he’d once played The Lion too) and made light of the volcanic ash cloud- “it’s a big bonfire of IOUs” or “there’s no letter C in the Icelandic alphabet so we’re sending you ash” and so on. Occasionally he talks too much but mostly it’s pretty amusing stuff.

There’s humour in the music too, Cassidy loves throwing in teasing little quotes that illustrate his diverse musical background, everything from Mozart to an Irish jig by way of Glenn Miller. Cassidy is a born entertainer and a bit of a showman but behind the bonhomie he’s a tremendously talented musician loved by fans and peers alike. The previous evening the quartet had played in the Worcestershire town of Bewdley and were checked out by none other than Robert Plant (yes, the Led Zep one)-  “he was cool” said Cassidy.

The Shrewsbury gig had been a triumph for all those involved. A successful home town gig for Hickman and Cassidy and a great showcase for the increasingly mature talents of Harris, a gifted guitarist who is sure to become better known whichever musical path he chooses to adopt-he’s also a talented rock guitarist.

Cassidy is due to visit the UK again in the Autumn. Whichever musical hat he chooses to wear he’s well worth seeking out.
In the meantime there’s the “Introducing The Dan Cassidy String Quartet” album featuring Cassidy, Hickman, Melton and Hilmarsson. Track listing as follows;

Coquette
Tiger Rag
I Only Have Eyes for You
Clair
Coeur Vagabond
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
Oh! Lady Be Good
Limehouse Blues
Body and Soul

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