Ray O’Luby (Daily Echo)
Five Star Swing, Regent Centre, Christchurch
Fully living up to their five-star name, this London-based outfit under the direction of veteran Chris Smith (jnr) swept us along from the start with their excellent repertoire from Big Band’s golden era. And even if they’re not that “big” – there are only five of them – they make up for that with sheer versatility. The “brass” section alternate saxophones with flute, clarinet and even viola, while sharing vocals with the leader who plays piano and trumpet – sometimes both at once. The highlights came mainly from Sinatra’s inexhaustible songbook, with Chris Smith (jnr) extolling the delights of Chicago and dueting with the band’s female singer Simone Smith (who also happens to be his wife) on Something Stupid, while Stephen Davies made for a splendidly mean Mac the Knife. The instrumentalists took in all the musical genre’s shades, from Tommy Dorsey’s stomping Opus One to Dizzy Gillespie’s blasting Be Bop and Glenn Miller’s super-smoothly polished swing. There was some great instrumental work too, including Simone Smith’s sax on Errol Garner’s Misty and Stephen Davies’ clar
Ray OlLuby, Daily Echo