I’m always in two minds about whether to call a jazz tune a “banger.” On the one hand, I’d like to think I’m a bona fide jazz critic and it doesn’t seem all that jazzy to describe music so nuanced with the same term used for party anthems boasting little more than a booming bass and a catchy hook. But sometimes I just can’t think of a better term—occasionally, “banger” just seems to fit.
I’d argue for its suitability in the case of Russ Wilson’s newest work, made in conjunction with his new Wrong Crowd outfit. Blues, Riffs & Standards could not be better named, for the record is stuffed with all three. And while some of its thirteen tracks are contemplative, others are apt to blow one’s socks off. In other words, they’re bangers. Take the opener, “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles”—in Britain it’s the anthem of football club West Ham United, generally sung to Vera Lynn’s waltz version or the Cockney Rejects’ punk update.
Wilson’s swinging version sits somewhere between the two, in terms of energy, featuring a thumping, Krupa-esque drum-and-sax duet bookended by two minute-long, foot-stomping choruses of the century-old music hall standard. (In fact, it’s a close copy of Krupa’s 1950 recording of the same.) I was washing the dishes when I first heard it, through my bassy Bose wireless cans and it’s a wonder nothing got broken, the way i
