A Swinging Afternoon with the Palm Court Orchestra

Ain't Misbehavin'

Palm Court Orchestra

Karel Roessingh, piano

Charles Job, conductor

Charlie White Theatre, Sidney
February 11, 2006

By Deryk Barker

"It don't mean a thing," as Duke Ellington memorably remarked, "if it ain't got that swing. Doo-wat, doo-wat, doo-wat, doo-wat, doo-wat, doo-wat."

Saturday afternoon's concert from the Palm Court Orchestra may have been short on "doo-wats" (let's be honest, I didn't count a single one) but it must have meant something, as there was plenty of swing on offer.

Saturday added three saxophones to the usual Palm Court lineup, bringing the ensemble, according to Charles Job, into line with the famous Paul Whiteman Band. (Maybe, but I searched in vain for the banjo). A small change you might think, but what a difference to the sound! The three saxes, either acting as an independent unit or in tandem with the bassoon or clarinet, provided a wonderfully suave, louche, almost - and I mean this in the best possible way - sleazy edge to the music.

The repertoire, while including a number of Palm Court favourites, had a more distinctly North American tone, with items by Fats Waller, Cole Porter, George Gerswhin and Scott Joplin. And it was here that the music swung.

For once, the biggest laughs of the afternoon were not provided by Job - although his now-mandatory pair of jokes were certainly new to me and elicited chuckles all round - but during the eponymous "Ain't Misbehavin'", superbly played by Karel Roessingh in a trio with percussionist Lou Williamson and bassist Alex Olsen.

Olsen's bass solo - rhythmically flexible, full-toned and pulsating - was excellent but it was drummer Williamson who stole the show, not just because of his technique, but because of the panâche and sheer cheek of his solo: he threw a stick into the air and caught it, not once, not twice, but (count 'em) three times. And his deadpan expression as he suddenly stopped

and then started again, was priceless. And did Roessingh really quote the theme from The Odd Couple in his solo? Marvellous.

Among more "traditional" PCO fare, I was most taken with Jack Strachey's "These Foolish Things" (those saxes again); Charlie Chaplin's "Eternally", played without sentimentality but with no lack of sentiment; and the lushness of Eric Maschwitz's "A Nightingale Sang", a song which, for no reason I can adequately explain, sends a shiver down my spine.

While in some ways the PCO might be viewed as curators of a vast collection of melodious and carefully constructed music, there is nothing of the museum in their playing or Job's infectious enthusiasm for it.

I do, however, have one serious problem with the Palm Court Orchestra and it is simply expressed: they make me feel old.

I should explain: when I see an item like "Selections: Night & Day by Cole Porter" on the programme, I expect to recognise the title song, but am always taken aback when I can not only name but even provide quite a few of the words to the other tunes in the medley - in this instance "You're the Top", "Let's Do It", "I Get a Kick out of You", "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "Begin the Beguine".

Curse you, Charles Job!