Concert review - Tribute to Ruby Braff, Lichfield
It was the jazz concert that buzzed off . . . from a Staffordshire church to the nearby village hall.
Jazz At St Peter's, Elford, Lichfield
By John Watson
It was the jazz concert that buzzed off . . . from a Staffordshire church to the nearby village hall.
A Tribute To Ruby Braff was to have been staged last night at St Peter's Church in Elford, near Lichfield, but after two massive swarms of bees invaded the building the musicians had to pack up quickly and leave.
But their village hall session was a musical triumph.
American cornetist Ruby Braff was one of the most extraordinary players in the history of jazz. Braff, who died in 2003, was a notoriously abrasive character, and regularly upset fellow musicians, promoters and fans.
But the entertaining trumpeter Digby Fairweather had plenty of happy personal memories of Braff to share with the audience.
With two superb guitarists – Colin Oxley and Dominic Ashworth – and the great bassist Len Skeat, Digby swung through a host of favourite tunes from the Braff repertoire.
Highlights included They Can't Take That Away From Me, Yesterdays, and some lovely ballads: When I Fall In Love, What's New, and Over The Rainbow. This last tune is associated with film legend Judy Garland, who became a friend of Braff's.
