GEOFF COLE'S HOT FIVE
Do What Ory Say

Jazz Crusade

Trombonist Geoff Cole is a native of Exeter, England, and has been playing since the 1950s. After moving to London, Cole landed a position with the famous Ken Colyer Jazzman group, which he held for 10 years. He joined Georgia Jazz, later becoming the band’s leader, and toured with Brian White’s Magna Jazz Band before forming his own Hot Five. Cole’s group has recorded a number of CDs, including tributes to Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Waller, but this set, recorded in 1995 at the Pizza Express in Maidstone, England, is a particularly hot session by the band.

Cole has listened to Ory inside and out, and he is an interpreter, not an impersonator. Rather than attempt to merely sound like Ory (which he certainly does, at times) he tries to think like him, to offer interpretations that evoke Ory without slavishly imitating him. He is quite successful in this, and though some of the arrangements here are all Ory, Cole does not offer note-for-note solos or ensemble passages. The opening salvo, “Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula,” of which Ory’s version is definitive, lets you know right away that you are in the company of some wonderful musicians and will be having an enjoyable time in their company.

Most of the tracks included here are either Ory compositions or were recorded and widely performed by Ory, but there are a few interesting exceptions. “White Cliffs of Dover” is included because, as Big Bill Bissonnette recounts in his liner notes, all of England was celebrating the 50th anniversary of VE day on the very date of this recording session. The performance is exceptional, embracing the New Orleans spirit as well as evoking the melancholy tinge of the song. Cole and clarinetist Tony Pyke, who played together for many years in the Colyer band, play with something bordering on telepathy, echoing the ability possessed by many early New Orleans musicians to improvise incredible ensemble passages together that are beyond the ability of many of today’s formally trained jazzmen.

Pianist Pat Hawes, who has also played with Brian White’s bands, is also in fine form here, as evidenced by his fine work on “Song of the Wanderer.” For those who don’t think that traditional jazz can be subtle or evoke a variety of moods besides the raucous “party-mode” overplayed by less skillful outfits, the range of dynamics and emotions here will be a revelation. This is a band that can offer more introspective playing to go right alongside the jubilation. Cole is clearly a musician with a great deal of intelligence and maturity who has studied his instrument and the music of the great early jazz players and is capable of putting his own spin on the music while still treating it with respect.

Do What Ory Say is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys jazz, and outstanding trombone playing in particular. You don’t even have to be much of a trad jazz fan to enjoy this one—the quality of this performance is obvious to anyone with ears.