Charlie Watts Tentet - Live Tokyo 2001

As a contrast to the free jazz postings we've had recently, here's something a little more melodic. Charlie may not be the greatest drummer in the world, but his contribution to British jazz is unquestionable. He's been putting togther big bands, and smaller combos for around 20 years in between his day job with the Stones.

This gig, part of a tour which brought together some of the best of British jazz musicians, reunited Charlie with guys he's almost grown up with. I've no idea of the finances involved in putting a project like this together, but I guess Charlie could pay the entire band out of his own pocket and not notice it.

Interesting to see Evan Parker playing bebop alongside that great veteran altoist Pete King. The performances may not be as polished as an Ellington or a Baisie band, but this band can't be beaten for enthusiasm and excitement. Played in front of a polite Japanese audience who applaud everything, the pleasure that the band have in playing together is obvious. This a very good quality audience recording (taper unknown). The tracks featured on this post are the first set (plus the A train thrown in from a later set). I have the entire concert, but it's much to long to upload in one go. If there's enough interest I'll post the rest another time.

Details:

Charlie Watts & His Tentet
Date : November 3, 2001
Venue: Blue Note TokyoCity : Tokyo, Japan

Charlie Watts - drums
Dave Green - bass
Luis Jardin - percussion
Brian Lemon - piano
Anthony Kerr - vibraphone
Mark Nightingale - trombone
Gerard Presencer - trumpet, flugelhorn
Henry Lowther - trumpet, flugelhorn
Peter King - alto & soprano saxophone
Evan Parker - tenor & soprano saxophone
Julian Arguelles - baritone saxophone

1: Main Stem
2: Anthony's Dice
3: Satisfaction
4: Roll'em Charlie
5: Body and Soul
6: Take The A Train

MP3 and Flac links in comments. My thanks to whoever seeded this at dime