The Golden Swing of Black Dyke

Black Dyke Band
Soloists: Brett Baker, Adrian Hirst, Garry Reed, Roger Webster, Lee Skipsey
Obrasso Recordings: CD899
Total Playing Time: 63.02

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Can brass bands swing? Can Black Dyke swing for that matter? The answer to the former is a fairly definitive, no; the answer to the latter – well, let's say the jury is still a little undecided.

The reason why brass bands in general can't swing is due to two main facts. The first is that there is little or no understanding in the movement of how to play the genre from either the players or conductors – if you haven't been brought up listening or playing this type of music, then trying to mimic it is a forlorn hope. Secondly, very little genuine swing music has been either written or transcribed for brass bands to play.

There is an almost elliptical feel to good swing music; the ability for the music to flow freely with an elasticity that although measured has an almost liquid viscosity. Brass bands cannot do this because they adhere to closely to the need to maintain a rigid rhythmic structure  - and as a result, whole sections of a brass band play together as a homogenous body of sound, unable to free themselves from each other or the connection to the conductor.  

Swing music should feel like the unclasping of the brassiere of Sophia Loren and certainly not that of the surgically enhanced model Jordan. One will result in a natural swing movement - the other will stay as rigid as pair of policemen's helmets.

For Black Dyke, this recording certainly doesn't help either, and to be perfectly honest, the listener could very well have a case for taking this one to court under the Trade Descriptions Act.  This is not a CD of ‘swing music' at all – although there are a few items that could possibly, and loosely come under that description; and it is certainly not ‘Golden' in any sense of the word. 

Black Dyke are somewhat ill served by this release. They perform all 18 tracks with a slick professionalism that is wonderful to listen to and admire, but you are left wondering why Obrasso then lumped them together under this heading, when it is plainly obvious that the content bears little or no relation to the title.  This is not the bands fault – Obrasso release numerous recordings of the music that is to be found in their vast catalogue of brass band titles, but you do think they could and should possibly have been consulted, and allowed a little more control over its production. This is a very fine CD of easy listening items from different genres – full stop. It is not a swing album.

The problem is that Black Dyke is like one of those super models who act as fantastic ‘clothes horses' for the biggest and best fashion houses around in Paris, New York and Milan. They always look beautiful whatever they are wearing, even when the clothes themselves are made of material that wouldn't last five minutes when you wear it to work. And this release is a bit like that.   Dyke sound great, but it is like them trying to wear a pair of Wellington boots with a fur coat – they don't just go together.

Alan Fernie for instance is a very inventive and skilful arranger for brass, but even he has been tested to the full with some of the material he has been asked to develop here. It is a great credit that the vast majority of his nine items work well, but in doing some just become a melange of neatly jointed items, stitched together to make a musical outfit that sounds enjoyable enough but doesn't stand up to any greater scrutiny. His good stuff  (such as ‘Opus One', ‘Satin Doll' and ‘Motherless Child') is as good as you get, but many of the others are just not in the same league.

The same also goes for the other material from the likes of Goff Richards, Barry Forgy, Bruce Fraser, Sandy Smith and Ray Woodfield – all fine arrangers for brass. The good stuff is great, but some of the other bits are not quite as polished or enjoyable.

Again, the problem lies with the selection from the producers. How on earth they could think Sandy Smith's fine arrangement of ‘Sparkling Diamonds' from the film ‘Moulin Rouge' would qualify under the ‘swing' moniker is beyond us, whilst someone there is in need of a musical history lesson if they think they could slyly slip in ‘That's A Plenty', ‘Putting on the Ritz', ‘Mack the Knife' and even ‘New York, New York' and get away with it. As for ‘Boogie, Woogie, Bugle Boy' and laughably, ‘Chanson d'Amour' – come off it! 

Still, take away the false title and you have Dyke and soloists on fine easy listening form. Pieces like the Louis Prima ‘Sing, Sing, Sing' and the Fluff Freeman ‘pop pickers' inspired ‘At the Sign of the Swinging Cymbal' work well enough (although there is a real brass band bit of playing from the bass end on the former which does grind), whilst the selection of soloists are excellent as you would expect.

All that was really needed was for Obrasso to have given this release a lot more thought. Once more there are no sleeve notes (which really is a big minus point), whilst the executive producers, Werner and Manfred Obrecht should have taken a crash course in swing music appreciation before they decided to mix and match this content together.  The result has been a good idea gone to waste. 

Iwan Fox

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