Aided by the narration of Geoffrey Smith, Big Band Britannia took its audience from the early days of Anglo-American big band jazz, with arrangements from the likes of Spike Hughes and Benny Goodman, to the works of contemporary arrangers Stan Tracey, Neil Ardley, and Sir John Dankworth.

The performance brought an incredible number of featured soloists to the stage, including Joe Temperley, Norma Winstone, Stan Sulzmann, and, notably, Denys Baptiste, Peter King, Elliot Mason, and music director Guy Barker on a high-energy rendition of ‘Suddenly Last Tuesday’ at the end of the first half.

Although the soloists garnered most of the attention, the rhythm section of the band deserves special recognition; the band needed Barker’s direction at some points, but ultimately played best when left in the hands of the excellently grooving Mitch Dalton on guitar, Ralph Salmins on drums, Jim Watson on piano and especially Alec Dankworth on bass, who were equally solid in every genre represented.

The concert ended with a tribute to the late Sir John Dankworth, who passed away in February. Except for the cheers of a few devoted fans, the reception of Wynton Marsalis as a featured soloist on Dankworth’s ‘Zodiac Variations’ was limited to polite applause, an odd reminder of the political undertones of the JALCO residency. Despite an overwhelming atmosphere of collaboration from both sides of the pond, it was clear that Wynton’s past comments rankle among some fans of British jazz. The audience failed to warm to him even after the interaction between Wynton and the band encouraged both parties to some of the better playing of the night.

However, Dame Cleo Laine received a warm reception and well-deserved rapturous applause after incredible renditions of ‘It Amazes Me’ and ‘Hallelujah, and luckily, the final pieces, Dankworth’s ‘World Jazz’ and ‘Andromeda’ by South Africa’s the Blue Notes, brought back the collaborative spirit (and some excellent improvised duets between trumpeters Claude Deppa and Byron Wallen and saxophonists Soweto Kinch and Jason Yarde) to end the concert with a joyous celebration of the directions big band jazz has yet to go.

– Nivedita Sarnath