Leslie Bricusse and Traditional Jazz

July 20^th – My musical tastes are fairly catholic. I’ll listen to almost anything (almost) and because I’m a drummer I can find something intriguing in most of the musical output, both ancient and modern. There we are; brag of the day.

The almost codicil above surrounds (sorry TJ lovers) traditional jazz. I know lots of folk really enjoy it, Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk and suchlike, but it just doesn’t contain enough variation and ragged-edge playing for my taste…with that revelation you can now watch as the traditional jazz world collapses. I always considered Traditional Jazz was invented by the deaf to get their own back on the hearing...so I exercise my voting right and don’t listen to it, as I’m sure do many of you when it comes to getting within earshot of The Devil Wears Prada or Animals as Leaders, and rightly so. That’s what makes music so diverse and sometimes surprising, a subject of agreement and sometime violent disagreement…oh, and then there are musicals.

You all know my take on the modern catalogue (too many on too many silly subjects not even worthy of a two-line poem let alone a two-hour musical extravaganza) so I’ll not re-run old ground but instead double back on the statement above by sharing one of my pleasures that does come from musicals; writing the preceding just caused me a puzzled frown; never mind, onward.

Leslie Bricusse is, without doubt, one of the very best. For me he stands alongside Messer’s Porter, Carmichael, Sondhiem…you name ‘em they’re worthy of his company. Doctor Doolittle, Willy Wonka…., and one of my all-time favourites, Scrooge which contains one of the all time set pieces of musical theatre, Thank You Very Much; just sublime in content and execution. Don’t take my word for it, call up YouTube and type in Thank You Very Much and don’t just watch the lead players (though it’s hard to switch from Mr. Rodgers) watch the band of also-rans…near perfect choreography and synchronicity. Who’d’ve thought it…Anton Rodgers? And Albert Finney, who was a revelation considering he was third choice, after Rex Harrison and Richard Harris (caused by a complex of wives, I believe, for the latter).

What it is, you see, is that the original storyline and the musical both carry a message that transcends time and is as relevant now as then. I quote Scrooge: -

“How shall I ever understand this world? There is nothing on which it is so hard as poverty, and yet, there is nothing it condemns with such severity as the pursuit of wealth.”

Whatever we think of Dickens, the man could turn a phrase.

Mr. Bricusse had a writing partnership going with one of our better, home-grown performers, Anthony Newley; now there was an enigma. It would seem he had everything needed to make and maintain both longevity and quality in the entertainment business, crossed the barrier from UK to Hollywood and yet… A roller-coaster of a career, lots of highs and plenty of lows and a way with a song that really appealed to the US audience, brought up on the Vegas/Tony Bennett/Judy Garland/Liza Minnelli experience as it was.

On this day in 1961, Mr. Newley opened in one of his come-back shows, Stop the World-I Want to get Off; it did just that in 1999, shortly after he started work in East Enders…what a finish for such a talent… In memory of his contribution to the musical genre, I give you my entirely predictable top fifteen musicals: -

1) West Side Story

2) Singin’ In The Rain

3) Top Hat

4) Kiss Me Kate

5) Scrooge

6) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

7) On the Town

8) High Society

9) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

10) Chorus Line

11) 42^nd Street

12) Oliver

13) Chicago

14) Its Always Fair Weather

15) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes