Mike Lovell’s Fylde with Rosie Harrison

Reporter: Tony Sheldon
Date online: 22/07/2008

Mike Lovell’s Fylde ensemble ‘6 in a bar’ with Rosie Harrison entertained another ‘light in numbers’ audience, with a fine balance of standards and jazz classics, and if you can have better value than an evening of twenty-six numbers then tell me about it.

The blonde attractive Rosie is the main singer with a fine range to deal with. Numbers from Al Bowlly's “Midnight, The Stars and You” to Bessie Smith’s “Send Me To The 'lectric Chair” but most of the guys in the band like to present the odd vocal or two.

Certainly fine banjo exponent Chris Howes must be on double time integrating the rhythm section with brass bass player Colin Turner and drummer Pete Eddowes, finger picking solos and cameo pieces and vocals in the mode of Bowlly and the Temperance Seven such as “You’re Driving Me Crazy”, “I’ve Got A Feeling I’m Falling”, “When I Take My Sugar To Tea” backed by two clarinets – reedsman Willie Entwistle and who else, but the talented Rosie. Howes also presented his self written “Mustapha, The Dancing Camel” – could I ever be temperance again.

Trombonist Mike Lovell leads the band using neat nuances accompanying his own vocal of “Shine” and also the popular “Bourbon Street Blues” with Rosie on soprano sax – wow!. Powerful cornettist Andy Henderson presents his own arrangement and vocal of “Sweet Lorraine” and has the range and touches, using the muted tones to great effect in Ellington’s “Mood Indigo”.

There really were so many highlights. “Lady Be Good” sung by Howes with the clarinets or Entwistle and Rosie and Eddowes brush drumming – a touch of Grapelli / Reinhardt, a lovely muted trombone solo from Lovell with “Memories Of You”, Rosie’s smooth clarinet solo “Sophisticated Lady”, a seafaring “Whistling Rufus” with Entwistle on Penny Whistle and Eddowes on bones.

Many fine vocals from Rosie included, “Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone”, “ You Always Hurt The One You Love”, “You’re Nobody’s Sweetheart Now” and “Beale Street Papa”. To end the evening; “Hello Central, Get Me Doctor Jazz” and “After You’ve Gone” with Henderson’s cornet and the rest of the band playing out to a great crescendo. And that’s Jazz!