Roger Marks • Bring Me Sunshine

A very skilled British swing and trad trombonist, Roger Marks has, with the release of Bring Me Sunshine, now recorded exactly 100 albums since his debut with trumpeter Rod Mason’s band in 1977. He led the Armada Jazz Band (a pianoless sextet) during 1975-2017, recording regularly with the group starting in 1986. Marks has also been heard in other settings through the years including leading his Brass Farthings (a quartet with clarinetist Pete Allen) and his current Fiesta Five.

The latter group is featured on Bring Me Sunshine, a set of 15 songs that Marks had not previously recorded. In addition to the leader, the Fiesta Five includes Nick White (the current leader of the Chris Barber band) mostly on clarinet but also flute, soprano and alto, James Clemas on both piano and Fender Rhodes, banjoist John Baker, and drummer Jim Newton.

The slightly unusual instrumentation is reflected in the wide-ranging repertoire. The first two numbers, “Ida, Sweet As Apple Cider” and “Over The Waves,” are hot and swinging trad performances which seem to ask the question: “Who needs a trumpet or a bass anyway?” Things change a bit with a pleasing rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” which features electric piano and alto while still retaining the banjo. A slightly tongue-in-cheek rendition of the lowdown “Dog McWoof” which could be used for a burlesque show is followed by the distinguished classical melody “In An English Country Garden,” a song often quoted but rarely performed.

The other selections include five vocals by either Marks or White that, in Eddie Condon’s words, “don’t hurt anyone.” The tunes range from “Sway” and a successful Dixieland version of “Amapola” to Marks’ feature on the obscure swing number “One, Two, Button My Shoe,” and a rollicking “In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree.”

With Roger Marks often taking the lead on trombone, Nick White (in inspired form) and James Clemas displaying versatility, and John Baker and Jim Newton keeping the music swinging, Bring Me Sunshine makes for a very enjoyable listen.

Roger Marks • Bring Me Sunshine
Upbeat URCD 353
www.upbeatrecordings.co.uk

Scott Yanow

Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings. Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.