Swing From Paris, Kilpeck Village Hall, Kilpeck, Herefordshire, 13/10/2023.

Fenner Curtis – violin, Andy Bowen – electric guitar, Sam Hughes – acoustic guitar, Tomasz Williams – double bass

This was the second jazz event to be presented at Kilpeck Village Hall by local resident James Rush, a jazz fan who has recently moved to Herefordshire from Kent. September 2023 saw a visit from the Scottish duo of Ian Millar (saxophones) and Dominic Spencer (piano), who helped to get the series off to an enjoyable, if slightly low key, start. My review of that performance can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/ian-millar-dominic-spencer-duo-kilpeck-village-hall-kilpeck-herefordshire-22-09-2023

The Millar / Spencer performance had attracted a modest audience of around twenty but this was more than doubled for Swing From Paris with around fifty in attendance. With the audience seated cabaret style the hall seemed pleasingly full and the band responded well to the positive and supportive atmosphere.

Based in the Cotswolds Swing From Paris are comparatively local to Herefordshire and the size of tonight’s audience suggested that they have developed quite a following for their distinctive brand of ‘gypsy jazz’. I enjoyed a successful performance by the group at Kidderminster Jazz Club earlier in the year (May to be precise) and the following biographical details are largely sourced from my account of that event;

Swing From Paris is a gypsy jazz quartet from Cheltenham, founded by violinist Fenner Curtis and guitarist Andy Bowen during the first decade of the 21st century.

The group made its recording début in 2009 with the album “Menilmontant”, which was favourably reviewed by the Jazzmann in 2011.  At this time the band featured Curtis and Bowen plus rhythm guitarist Stefan Doucette and double bassist John Vickers.
Link to review here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/swing-from-paris-menilmontant

“Menilmontant” is no longer available but was followed in 2012 by “Quasimodo”, which introduced a new line up featuring guitarist Andy (AC) Wood and bassist Steve Laming. This album is still available in digital form only via the group’s Bandcamp page, as is a previously unreleased EP recorded at the same sessions.
https://swingfromparis.bandcamp.com/music

The Curtis / Bowen / Wood / Laming line up was around for quite a while and in 2015 released the album “Webster”, which is currently available both on CD and digitally. They also gigged extensively, building up a healthy following in their heartland of the Cotswolds and appearing on the Fringe programme at both the Brecon and Cheltenham Jazz Festivals.

The current edition of SFP features Curtis and Bowen plus guitarist Sam Hughes and double bassist Tomasz Williams and this was the line up that I saw at the Cheltenham Jazz Fringe in 2022 and at Kidderminster in 2023. It’s these musicians that appear on the latest album “Afternoon in Paris”, which was released in 2022.

Almost inevitably tonight’s show included many of the numbers that had featured at Kidderminster earlier in the year, but this didn’t detract from my enjoyment of another excellent performance from Swing From Paris. The band have an extensive knowledge of the gypsy jazz and bebop repertoires and despite their primary influences being Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli they avoid the usual gypsy jazz staples, so there was no “Minor Swing”, “Django’s Tiger”, “Nuages” “Limehouse Blues” etc. Indeed many of tonight’s song choices were drawn from the American jazz tradition, albeit presented in an instrumental format and playing style pioneered in Europe.

James Rush introduced the band in French, which was a nice touch, before handing over to Fenner Curtis. As at Kidderminster Curtis proved to be a humorous and informative spokesman whose announcements added to the enjoyment of the music.

Things got underway with an arrangement of “Jumpin’ At The Woodside”, a tune made famous by the Count Basie Orchestra. Curtis stated the melody on violin with solos following from Bowen, Hughes and Williams. Bowen plays a solid bodied Gibson electric guitar, resulting in a traditional ‘American’ jazz guitar sound, while Hughes favours a  a vintage Maccaferri acoustic guitar specifically designed for playing gypsy jazz and for giving maximum unamplified projection. It’s an effective contrast and gives Swing From Paris a distinctive group sound that helps to differentiate them from other gypsy jazz acts.

The Cole Porter song “I Love Paris”, originally written for the musical “Can Can”,  was the first of a series of tunes to name check the French capital. Bowen’s electric guitar solo borrowed from bebop and even hinted at early rock’n’roll. Hughes’s acoustic guitar feature was more obviously rooted in gypsy jazz, with Curtis’ violin providing melody and punctuation between the solos.

Even more quintessentially French was Charles Trenet’s “La Mer” with Curtis and Bowen sharing the solos.

“Afternoon in Paris”, the title track of SFP’s most recent album, was written by the pianist and composer John Lewis, co-founder of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Lewis and Django Reinhardt had become friends when the latter toured in the US in 1946. Tonight’s performance saw Bowen and Hughes trading solos, with the latter sneaking a cheeky quote from the “Coronation Street” theme into his feature.

The composer and pianist David Mann was the personal pianist of President Harry S. Truman and his 1947 song “No Moon At All” was performed tonight in an arrangement by the celebrated jazz pianist George Shearing. Introduced by the combination of Bowen’s electric guitar and Williams’ double bass the tune accelerated rapidly with the addition of violin and acoustic guitar. Curtis played pizzicato violin as an accompaniment to Bowen’s electric guitar solo, while Hughes’ solo was embellished by classical flourishes borrowed from Beethoven, notably a quote from “Moonlight Sonata”. Curtis was also to feature on violin and Williams on double bass.

The group was temporarily reduced to a trio with Bowen sitting out as Hughes was featured on the jazz waltz Montagne Sainte-Genevieve” , written by Reinhardt’s rhythm guitarist Matelo Ferret. Originally from the nearby Herefordshire town of Bromyard Hughes is an excellent technician and a fluent guitar soloist. He relished his opportunity to shine here.

Bowen returned for the John Lewis composition “Django”, the pianist’s homage to his friend, written following Reinhardt’s death in 1953. A complex but beautiful piece tonight’s performance included features for electric guitar and double bass.

SFP’s version of “I’m Confessin’” was inspired by the 1935 recording by Reinhardt and Grappelli and was ushered in by a passage of unaccompanied guitar from Bowen. A series of exchanges between Bowen and Curtis was followed by an acoustic guitar solo from Hughes and a melodic bass feature from Williams.

The first half concluded with a high speed rendition of the Benny Goodman tune “Airmail Special”, led by Curtis’ violin and featuring virtuoso solos from Bowen, channelling the spirit of Charlie Christian, Hughes and Williams. A fantastic way to end an excellent first set.

Set two opened with “The Grabtown Grapple”, written in 1945 by clarinettist and bandleader Artie Shaw for his then current ‘squeeze’, the actress Ava Gardner. This was a suitably upbeat opener with solos from Bowen and Hughes.

The enduringly popular and highly adaptable Duke Ellington / Juan Tizol composition “Caravan” followed, with solo features for all four musicians.

The 1930 song “Parle-moi D’Amour” was the second piece of the evening to be performed in a trio format, with Hughes now sitting out. Introduced by Bowen on electric guitar this piece was also notable for Williams’ arco bass playing.

SFP share a collective fondness for the music of the American guitarist George Barnes (1921-77), a popular and influential musician in his day, but now largely forgotten. Nevertheless Curtis considers Barnes to be “the American equivalent of Django Reinhardt.  Barnes was also a skilled arranger and the latest SFP album contains two pieces arranged by the American. One of these is the Jimmy McHugh song “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”, delivered here in a high energy Barnes arrangement featuring multiple key changes and with Hughes and Bowen sharing the solos.

Dating from 1947 and written for the film of the same name Bronislaw Kaper’s enduringly popular jazz standard “On Green Dolphin Street” was ushered in by Williams’ bass and featured Curtis and both guitarists as soloists.

The Gershwin song “The Man I Love” appears on SFP’s “Webster” album. With 2023 representing the 125th anniversary of Gershwin’s birth the song has been reintroduced to the band’s set lists and was ushered in here by the twin guitarists, with bass subsequently added. More expansive solos were to come from both guitarists, plus Curtis on violin.
A passage of unaccompanied guitar from Bowen provided a segue into the 1936 ballad “These Foolish Things”, which was notable for solos from Hughes on acoustic guitar and Williams on double bass.

More Gershwin on “But Not For Me”, a song written for the 1930 musical “Girl Crazy” . This was delivered in lively fashion with Hughes and Curtis exchanging ideas and featuring as soloists.

The most recent item in SFP’s repertoire is their version of Astor Piazzolla’s now classic “Libertango”, written in 1974. Introduced by the sounds of electric guitar and pizzicato violin this was another of the more complex items in the band’s songbook and included further solos from Bowen and Curtis.

A crowd pleasing “Sweet Georgia Brown” rounded things off with Bowen, Hughes and Williams soloing as Curtis carried the tune.

An ecstatic audience reaction ensured that the band remained on stage for an ‘official encore’, a jazz waltz arrangement of “La Foule”, a song made famous by Edith Piaf. Although co-written by the Peruvian Angel Cabral SFP ensured that it still sounded convincingly French.

This was another impressive performance from Swing From Paris and the standard of the playing was excellent throughout. With Curtis at the helm the show was presented in an informative but good humoured manner that communicated itself well to the audience. SFP’s love for, and knowledge of, their chosen material is wide and deep, but nevertheless they put on their own stamp on it. It’s an approach that has won them a considerable following in their catchment area of the South West and the Midlands and tonight’s show was a hugely successful event that clearly delighted James Rush and the members of the Village Hall committee.

Unfortunately there won’t be any more jazz events at Kilpeck Village Hall until 2024, but let’s hope that following this triumph the momentum can be carried on into the New Year.

In the meantime Swing From Paris continue to gig prolifically. For details of Swing From Paris recordings and future live performances please visit;

http://www.swingfromparis.co.uk

https://swingfromparis.bandcamp.com/music

 

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