A BITING wind and swirling snow kept attendance low and meant that the absentees missed an evening of sparkling music from the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

Bury Jazz Society's president Mr Jim Rimmer, gave a two-part programme to members, concentrating first on a concert by the orchestra and then on a re-issue of a long-forgotten but worthwhile recording by 'the Duke'.

The concert took place at the Pasadena Auditorium, California, in March 1953. The opening composition was The Tattooed Bride, which the Duke said was a portrayal of a honeymoon couple. It was a work of two contrasting themes, starting brassy, loud and energetic, dominated by the shouting trombone of Britt Woodman followed by a languorously romantic section played on the clarinet by Jimmy Hamilton.

Tenor man, Paul Gonsalves, was the featured artist on Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue, backed by powerful drumming from Butch Ballard and high notes from trumpeter, Cat Anderson.

After the Duke's piano introduction, Ballard's tom-toms took over the more of Cat Anderson's high-flying trumpeting on The Hawk Talks. A rather dated humorous piece, Pretty and the Wolf, recited by Ellington and backed by his clarinet players, followed. St Louis Blues was taken at a fast pace with Ray Nance doing the vocal, Gonsalves soloing on tenor and Ballard bashing away on his drum kit. Nine members of the band got the chance to shine on VIP's Boogie/Jam with Sam and at the end of the number, Duke instructed them all to take a bow and look handsome! Jimmy Grissom stepped up to the mic to belt out Street Blues ably supported by a swinging tenor solo from Jimmy Hamilton and a rocking band.

The concert's finale was a medley of the band's greatest hits mostly played at the piano by the Duke himself.

Six years after this concert, the band entered Columbia Studios in New York and laid down an album of mainly blues. Yuri Gagarin's venture into space was commemorated by Blues in Orbit which also became the album's title.

The beautiful alto sax-playing of Johnny Hodges was outstanding on Smada, while Ray Nance and Jimmy Hamilton shone on Pie Eye's Blues. Taken at a slowish tempo, Sweet and Pungent gave Booty Wood the opportunity to play some great muted trombone. Ray Nance's irrepressible violin is the highlight of C Jam Blues but there is also good work from the trombonists, Matthew Gee and Booty Wood.

Harry Carney, playing baritone sax, takes the honours on In A Mellow Mood and then changes to bass clarinet for Blues in Blueprint, backed by finger-clicking from Duke and chordal piano by Billy Strayhorn.

Having spent many hours travelling across the USA by train, Duke Ellington often incorporated their sounds and rhythms in his music and none illustrated it better than Happy Go Lucky Local and Track 360, both numbers capturing the pounding of the steel wheels and moaning whistles of the steam train era.

Drummer, Sam Woodyard, set a rocking tempo for Perdido, and there were solos a-plenty with Hamilton outstanding on clarinet. Duke Ellington said the whole essence of Harlem was encapsulated in the sounds echoing around the air shafts of the tenement blocks. With this concept in mind, he composed Harlem Air Shaft. This colourful tone poem brought a most enjoyable recital to its conclusion.

H.I.