The Early Jazz Clarinet
St Cecilia’s Hall 15/8/25
Tom Gibbs clarinet, Alex Handyside guitars, Timmy Allan bass
Alex Handyside, who plays two guitars in this afternoon’s concert, tells how he was invited by St Cecilia’s Hall to “come and meet the guitars – I like that!” This is a concert for the many people who also “like that” – the opportunity to hear original instruments played in this splendid acoustic by expert musicians.
Handyside, along with Tom Gibbs on clarinet and Timmy Allan on bass, form an ad hoc trio to explore repertoire from the earlier 20th century through instruments from the collection. The concert is given in honour of Sir Nicholas Shackleton, who gave his collection of instruments, including over 800 clarinets, to the Museum.
It’s been a good Festival for interesting clarinets with both the basset clarinet and its older relative the basset horn both in action in the SCO’s ‘La Clemenza di Tito’. Tom Gibbs plays the Bb clarinet made by Buffet Crampton, Paris, in the 1930s which is ornately finished in blackwood with German silver ferrules and keywork. He chose this from the collection, but is having his first performance on it today. It’s intriguing to see an experienced musician get to grips with a new instrument – some of its notes are in different places, he points out, and he laughingly discovers that the very top notes sometimes squeal.
‘Winin’ Boy Blues’ (Jelly Roll Morton via Dave Wilson) gives the clarinet a good workout. Impressively Gibbs, who teaches jazz clarinet at the Conservatoire, improvises his parts in all the arrangements, with Allan and Handyside also improvising solos from a fairly minimal score. Bix Beiderbecke’s ‘In a Mist’ follows (he claimed to be influenced by Delius – not many jazz musicians say that, Gibbs notes!) Then a medley comprising Fat’s Waller’s ‘Jitterbug Waltz’, ‘Two Sleepy People’ and ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ contrasts different speeds and rhythms, with plenty of opportunity for individual flourishes.
Alex Handyside who’s played a 1960s Arch top guitar by Gibson, Kalamazoo, until now, shows us the magnificent Resonator guitar – a cross between a guitar and a banjo. With a body of nickel-plated steel giving it a mirror finish, this was made in 1928 by National, Los Angeles. He’s clearly very smitten with it and it sounds pretty good too, with a clear carrying tone in ‘Django’s Castle’, an arrangement of a piece by Django Reinhardt.
It remains for Timmy Allen (playing in an EIF concert at the Hub tonight), to talk about his modern bass. Made in London, and just three years old, it’s a three-quarter-size bass in Romanian wood, which cost £7000. Perhaps one day it may take its place in the Museum…
Some stop-start syncopation by Benny Goodman, and Louis Armstrong’s ‘Musk Rat Blues’ round off the concert. This entertaining and enlightening concert is warmly applauded by the large audience.
This was the third concert of the Sounds of St Cecilia’s series, with two more concerts due on Wednesday and Saturday of this week. See: Events – Friends of St Cecilia's Hall & Museum
