Food for Thought

The Jazz Club got off to a very good start this year with its combined A.C.M. and concert on Tuesday, Juno 30. The formal part of the meeting was mercifully short, and the following is the list of members of this years committee:—President. Trev. King; secretary. Ken Brian; treasurer. Garth Young: assistant secretary. John Doran; committee. George Fraser. Peter Donovan. Dan Donovan. Ex-president John Doran explained that many difficulties had prevented an early start this year, including the lack of a suitable room. Last year's committee collapsed, and John was left to organise this concert almost singlehanded. He introduced the guest band, which plays under the name of "Johnny Tucker's Steamboat Stompers."

This group has the traditional New Orleans line-up and interpreted jazz in its original idiom. They gave the enthusiastic audience seventeen numbers of non-stop Dixie, ranging from the slow and dreamy "When Day is Done" to numbers like "Alexander's Ragtime Band." Johnny Tucker with his slow and expressive clarinet breaks made "Up the Lazy River" a pleasant journey, and Nip Spring on the trumpet nearly blew all his tubes in "Steamboat Bill." But these boys are not only energetic, we have it on reliable authority that they play the best Dixie to be heard around Wellington. It must be admitted that they played only well-rehearsed set pieces with no attempt at real collective improvisation but this did not detract from the general exciting effect, rather gave a more polished result.

Garth Young would be an asset in any group Judging from his solid piano backing and his Jelly Roll Morton solo in "Hillary's Blues." Trombone man Bruce Foster was also proficient in the choruses and his break in "When You're Smiling" brought applause. Bill Crowe, however, used too much high-hat cymbal and we would rather have seen a drummer who was not so reserved and who could have thrown in an appropriate break.

Future activities of the club Include the formation of a band, record evenings, lectures by leading jazzmen, and more concerts by guest bands.

—Harcus P.