Above : Duke Ellington in 1942
I’m told that this concert in Chatswood was sold out. Once again the standard of excellence which has become characteristic of this series – ten monthly jazz concerts per year at the 300-seater venue known as The Lounge – was upheld courtesy of Culture Bites, Willoughby City Council’s unique program of arts and culture.
Drummer Andrew Dickeson has been a regular participant in various bands which have graced the Lounge stage over the years, with vocalist Gregg Arthur’s band more than once, and also with other groups led by luminaries such as pianist Peter Locke, and expatriate bassist Nicki Parrott, now resident in Australia after 30 years in New York.
On this occasion Dickeson led his own quartet Blue Rhythm Band, which included Brad Child (tenor sax), Peter Locke (piano) once again, and Jacob Graham (double bass) plus guest artist Todd Hardy (trumpet), playing a program of Duke Ellington compositions and (needless to say) some miscellaneous compositions from Ellington’s alter ego Billy Strayhorn, and a couple of tunes indelibly associated with Ellington but written by his valve trombonist Juan Tizol.
Before proceeding further, it’s worth pointing out that, in my reviews of jazz performances, I try to document as accurately as possible who was responsible for the formats in the music, that is to say, such things as arrangements played, time-feels adopted, and so on. In the case of the Blue Rhythm Band I’m advised that many of the compositions played by this group are based on so-called “head arrangements”, devised chiefly by bandleader Andrew Dickeson. These are arrangements which are not written down, but are memorised by the musicians. Those formats may include specified intros, endings, rhythmic hits, different tempos and time-feels etc, which have been rehearsed by the band. Dickeson says: “As the group has been together for a number of years, a lot of the routines we have played many times; others were new for the Lounge gig”.
Dressed immaculately in suits and ties, the musicians opened with Ellington’s 1931 composition It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing), featuring a head arrangement as per what’s been said in the above paragraph. Characteristically, the tone was set immediately via an extended intro from the rhythm section before the horns came on, which ensured that the piece sounded rhythmically a little different to normal versions. The first horn solo of the night was played by Hardy, who has the ability to play short, concise improvisations which never go on too long – usually only one chorus, but rarely more than three choruses. Other than a cameo performance at The Lounge in July, 2025, with a group featuring the bassist Nicki Parrott, I had never truly heard Hardy play at length, so it was a pleasure to look forward to his consummate artistry every time he took a solo.
The fact that I had also never heard saxophonist Brad Child until this gig, made me wonder where I had been over many years. While apparently a regular at live gigs, I had nevertheless failed to encounter him. This has been my loss. I see from the internet that he’s been a fixture in Sydney jazz for 30 years, and also his Brad Child Orchestra was resident on Monday nights at the legendary Soup Plus restaurant for nine years.
As usually happens when I finally hear a player who is somewhat legendary in local jazz, I found Child’s playing a revelation. It was interesting that there was more than a suggestion of the great American saxophonist Ben Webster’s influence in Child’s playing, considering that Webster was a crucial sideman in the Ellington orchestra, spending three-and-a-half years between 1940 and 1942 with Ellington, at a time when the orchestra was perhaps at its most unique zenith throughout its long history. Of course Webster had other stints with Ellington, but the early 40s were the most memorable.
Child’s playing at this gig was highly distinctive, indeed unusual by today’s standards, in that he invariably played very soft, sensitive solos, which were miked up enough to be clearly heard by the appreciative Lounge audience. In the slow ballads, such as (In My) Solitude, which was played during the first set, Child’s soft, breathy sound, played at a whisper, authentically emulated Webster’s signature sound.
What I loved most about the rhythm section’s approach was its moderate volume. I feel this has to be put down primarily to Dickeson’s dynamics at the drums. We all know that a jazz band’s energy is mostly attributable to the drums, so if the drummer is soft, I believe that the players will feel encouraged to play their solos with added nuance and care. In other words Dickeson controls the band’s energy with a commendable virtuosity. His willingness to use brushes, and give the sticks a rest, was once again a notable feature of his approach, enabling the band to play often at a soft volume which, at the same time, did not preclude its ability to bring the volume up when necessary. When that extra volume was needed, Dickeson was able to go up several gears as always, and lift the music off the ground.
It should be noted that both the piano and bass players were given enough volume by an extremely capable sound technician so that solos played by Locke on piano and Jacob Graham on double bass could be heard clearly. What a luxury it is for me to sit back and relax, and not have to worry about certain instruments being down in the sound mix. That’s why I feel that The Lounge could well be the most rewarding venue to hear live jazz currently in Sydney. I’d be surprised if any other Sydney venue offers anything like comparable facilities.
I should have mentioned earlier that before (In My) Solitude, the band played Ellington’s 1940 composition In a Mellow Tone. After (In My) Solitude it played Ellington’s Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me, which originated also in 1940 as an instrumental entitled Concerto for Cootie. The band finished the first set with the showstopper Caravan (written not by Ellington himself, which is often assumed, but by his valve trombonist Juan Tizol in 1936).
The first two numbers in the second set were given over to Peter Locke, who played a solo piano version of the difficult Billy Strayhorn classic Lush Life and then, with the addition of the rhythm section, performed, with interesting rhythmic variations, a highly thoughtful version of the Ellington evergreen Satin Doll, co-composed by Ellington and Strayhorn in 1953.
Then it was on to Ellington’s beautiful 1930 composition Mood Indigo, with all five musicians back on stage. On this piece Child really stepped up and, abandoning for the moment his soft, breathy approach played a full-throated solo. This was a reminder that Ben Webster, on the other side of his coin, also was capable of playing fierce, raspy, and growling solos, which is why he was called The Brute. Consider Webster’s 1940 version of the Ellington classic Cotton Tail, which is considered a masterpiece, featuring Webster’s outstanding solo on it.
The music of Billy Strayhorn’s Take The A Train, written in 1939, was notoriously rescued from a rubbish bin in that year after Strayhorn had thrown it away, thinking that the tune didn’t work. Ironically, given its unusual gestation, this great tune was to become Ellington’s signature theme for the rest of the orchestra’s life. This was played in The Lounge after Mood Indigo before what I consider to be the highlight of the night’s performance: What Am I Here For? which is seldom heard in Ellington tributes in Sydney, but is palpably one of Ellington’s greatest compositions, written in 1942.
Only two tunes remained before the inevitable and highly deserved standing ovation, Strayhorn’s Chelsea Bridge, once again highlighting the artistry of Child on tenor sax; and the closing number in bright four, Perdido, once again written, not by Ellington, but by Juan Tizol in 1941. The latter featured a killer solo from Hardy.
The Jazz At The Lounge series at The Concourse is curated by Cinque Artist Management, and presented by Willoughby City Council as part of Culture Bites, its program of arts and culture. This concert took place on August 27, 2026, and featured the Blue Rhythm Band, including Andrew Dickeson (drums), Brad Child (tenor sax), Peter Locke (piano), Jacob Graham (double bass) plus guest artist Todd Hardy (trumpet).
