Gilded Balloon Teviot
Aug 26-28 (14:30)
I must confess I am quite in love with the Jive Aces. I first caught them here in Edinburgh several years ago, & then last December travel’d all the way to London to catch a fascinating ‘medley’ performance of cameo singers & players. Then, the other day, while cruise & carousing thro the Fringe boiling streets of Edinburgh, I saw some of them in the distance, bright yellow beings from the planet ‘Cool’ plugging their show to the people. Like a moth to a custardy flame, I was soon embrac’d by their warm amiabilities, had bagg’d me a press comp, & was now extremely excited for my third dose of the Jive Aces. Y’see, I know them now, I know their act & I know they’re really good at putting a smile back on my face & the swing back in my step.
This year they have a nice room at the Teviot Buildings, taken over by the Gilded Balloon, but are on a tad early, & despite general encouragement from lead singer, ever excellent Ian Clarkson, for us all to all get up & have a dance, the vibe is not quite drunk-a-clock boogie time. But, y’know what, it gave me a great opportunity to enjoy the performers more than the performance; the double bass player (Ken Smith), the pianist, the trombone (Alex Douglas), the sax (Big John Fordham), the drummer (Vince Hurley), female vocalist Noelle Vaughn, & Grazia playing her accordion are all wonderful musicians, & work together incredibly tight. Of them all, it was Vince’s mad scientist solo work on his piano providing me with the highlight of this Fringe. It’s just mental like, his fingers & feet like radioactive atoms being heated up pre-nuclear – & he does it all with his eyes closed, pure feel, pure brilliant.
The other chief pillar of the Jive Aces experience is their choice of tuneage. There’s some reyt numbers in the repertoire, such as 1931’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Irving Mills; Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” from 1936; the original version of ‘Hound Dog’ which inspir’d Elvis & Henry Mancini’s 1963 theme for the film Pink Panther, which I swear down is the best version I’ve ever heard. Each of these & all the other classic numbers, are then divided into segmented show-offiness & sing-a-longs, all of which put the ‘woah’ back into sh-ow-bizness. Nice one guys, can’t wait til next time!
Words: Damo
Photography: Byron Turner
Mumble Music 