WELLINGTON HEADS: A Night on the Town

By Bing Turkby

Smoky bluesy jazz (and more) from a core trio of accomplished Wellington musicians, with various talented friends roped in to add pizzazz. In just the first three tracks you get an idea of the scope of the songwriting skills of the core members Neil Worboys, Bill Wood and Geoff Keith. It goes from Calloway-style scat, a brisk rhythm and hot guitar and sax solos, to ‘baby-done-left-me’ slow blues territory, and then into a doo-wop intro and the big band swing feel of Hot Blue Jazz. The album is divided into sides one and two, complete with vinyl-meets-needle crackle at the start and finish. The band felt they had two strong sets to present and I agree. The end of Side 2 is an eerie ’60s country-pop number where the narrator’s lover takes off with a trombone player from the Manawatu. Crikey, that’s pretty specific! I’m off home to hide my horn (as it were…). The song has a great Some Velvet Morning atmosphere with haunting horns and tremolo guitar. In The Palace of Dreams is all Italian lounge, complete with what I assume are actual Italian lyrics, and not just a collage of words like ‘paparazzi’. Dreamy trumpet solos intertwine with wispy slide guitar. Alan Norman takes a Louisiana-style accordion solo on Over This Line – bravo! And what a beautifully anguished sax solo on the Waits-esque title track – I think that’s Jabin Ward. The playing here is top-level at all times, the Heads sound like they would indeed show you a great night on the town.

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Issues

NZ Musician

June/July 2009