Martin Wheatley is a London born master of all string instruments with a specialty in the banjo styles of the ragtime and early jazz era. He plays with the Vitality Five among other groups, has featured on a number of albums and leads the Arcadian's, a quartet featuring Tom "Spats" Langham, Mike Piggott, Louis Thomas, and a haul of stringed instruments from violins to mandolins and everything in between.
The liner notes to their new album, Strings Ain’t What They Used To Be, lay out the mission clearly:
"Once upon a time jazz was fun. It didn’t turn its nose up at popular music. It hadn’t forgotten the blues and ragtime. It even shook hands with country music occasionally. Sometimes it sang silly songs and played funny instruments. It could be virtuosic without taking itself too seriously."
Virtuosic fun is at the heart of their accomplishment on this thoroughly enjoyable record. 15 tracks draw on a variety of sources from 1890s material delivered in Fred Van Eps style to a "Nagasaki" done as if the Mills Brothers had strings, there are even moments reminiscent of Les Paul.
Other titles are straightforward string ragtime. "Old and Only in the Way" borders on folk music, but more of a choral presentation of Stephan Foster than any later variety. "I'll see you in my dreams" is lovely with a Hawaiian sound and smooth vocal.
"Besame Mucho" simply by its romantic drive
