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Recent Testimonials
George Duncan, Jazz In Scotland (May 2009)
Menno Van Der Reijden, Dutch Hot Club de France
Jack Fields, Djangology.net (April 2006)
Alison Kerr, Glasgow Herald
Sandy McCurdy, McQueens MusicRoom
Graeme Scott
Moira Starks
Alan Steadman, Jazz Waves, Radio Tay
George Duncan, Jazz In Scotland
Havana Swing
Having been associated with Jazz in Scotland for nearly ten years at the Major Jazz Festivals including The Edinburgh International Festival, Nairn Jazz Festival, Islay Festival, Lockerbie, Glasgow, Fife and Dundee Festivals, I flatter myself that I know a great sound and a great group when I hear them! And Havana Swing certainly deserve that description. Five guys playing music they love and enjoy (and communicating that to their audiences) rock (if you’ll pardon the expression) any venue where they appear! Their Gypsy Swing music (based, of course, on the music of the great Django Reinhardt) is a joy to hear, and interspersed with their own compositions plus some easy listening standards make an evening spent with them a real treat. The combination of three guitars / bass and clarinet may sound slightly unusual, but believe me it works. For the life of me I can’t understand why they aren’t better known. I feel it’s up to all of us who see the talent they have, to shout it from the rooftops!! If there is any group guaranteed to send an audience home full of the feel-good factor it’s Havana Swing. And the greatest accolade I can bestow on these guys is that, in my opinion, an evening spent listening to their music and humour will make any of us forget our troubles for a short time… and send us on our way with our hearts filled with music… and that’s a superb gift, not given to many… that’s what we get from Havana Swing! … Thanks Guys!!
George Duncan
Jazz in Scotland
gdscotjazz@aol.com
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Menno Van Der Reijden, Dutch Hot Club de France
Today I got the CD from a Scottish group with the surprising name Havana Swing. This Cd has got Django’s Lion for a title. A bit of correspondence went on to make this happen. Calum got my address from the Japanese website Yellow Django s Revival. Thus this is also a thank you to them. The group exists of John Whyte guitar; Calum McKenzie, double bass and vocals; Walt Smith, Clarinet; Ashley Malcolm, guitar and Alan Le Grand, guitar and vocals. I’m not sure of Alans’ name, it might be Alain, I’ll stick to Alain; both names are on the leaflet.
The numbers they put on the CD are:
Alors Voila!: A Tchavolo Schmitt number that is brought in slightly lesser tempo than Mr. Schmitt put on his own CD Alors Voila!, but not with less fervour. Nice changes between clarinet and guitar solo’s with a backing of strong guitar pulse and a wonderful bass.
Hotel du palais de Pam: A composition by Calum, written during a gig in the palace hotel in Aberfeldy, hence the naming. It starts up with a beautiful mysterious clarinet after which the band comes to life. The guitar player is very confident and proves this time and again. The amount of echo behind the clarinet is sufficient. The band is really well played in which shows at the right times that silence is invoked, The end takes a nice bit of downward chromatic run.
Anouman: A Django tune with a short intro by the clarinet overtaken by the guitar. Beautiful long bass lines rhythm pieces in Django shuffle to make it a bit suspenseful but soft enough to remain following the lead.
Sweet Sue: What surprise, voicing by Alain. This Harris and Young tune is dedicated here to Walts’ daughter Suzanne. Alain has an easily appreciated voice, that makes this a song, nice to listen to.
Minor Swing: This about best known piece by Django Reinhardt starts out with clarinet which is followed up by guitar. They rotate at the verses in a pleasant way. Near to the end the guitar attack is stronger, almost Alfonso Ponticelli like, thus louder, but it is the topping of the cake.
Djangology: Django’s tune with Walt on solo. The clarinet is played very nicely almost velvet like, whereas the guitar solo is performed in an almost Nolanesque way. The band moves very good together. It seems like they do this for years already, yet this is the first CD to reach us. (although they made one before: Django Ecossais, so if you´re interested. . .I know I am.)
Montagne Ste. Genevieve: also a tune by Django. Ashley has a very nice and slow solo, sometimes he runs ahead of the rhythm, but always finds it back in time. The tremolo is sensitive to say the least.
Gypsy Fire: a tune by Romane, sounds good and everyone is on tempo this time. The by now well known interaction between guitar and clarinet is performed as it should. Again the Django shuffle is used to enhance the suspense, like Robin Nolan showed us. In this particular song you’d say there were two guitarists soloing in turn.
Black and Blue: by Razaf and Waller, is a nice jazzy tune with Walt performing on the clarinet like Mr. Ackerbilk himself. The number ends surprisingly with the theme from Gershwin’s Rhapsody in blue.
Tchavolo Swing: from TS himself lets you hear a guitar solo by John. They hit it on the button when they start out and the band once again shows how well they are played in.
East of the Sun: a Bowman tune, lets Calum not only play the double bass but also sing for a change. His velvet voice reaches out to you. He reminds me of Jarrod Coombs of the group Hullabaloo (incidentally also a singing bass player). Once more the guys show us how well the sound together.
Uncle Frank: is a tune that Calum has written for his uncle. It has a slow start just to pick up the rhythm. This clarinet player has a very long breath.
Si tu savais: again a tune of Django’s, is brought to us as it should. John has an invigorating solo and places some really nice accents in which he very adequately adjusts the volume to the tune at the proper times.
The fifth man: a bonus track, but what a bonus: Invitee George Carmichael is invited in on his accordion. This virtuoso plays background and solo as no other (however he reminds me of Gert Wantenaar with Jan Brouwer and Reinier Voet in Pigalle 39) The tune lets me think of Patrick Saussois´ Alma Sinti in his CD La Roulotte. And although it is a composition by Calum McKenzie himself I must applaud him for making such an easy to listen to song. It shows great marksmanship to make a new tune and on hearing it make everyone think they already know it. Even Lollo Meier does so on his Hondarribia CD.
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Jack Fields, Djangology.net (April 2006)
It’s a sultry late Summer evening. Stars swirl brightly in the deep indigo sky, evoking Van Gogh. A pretty wait person has just delivered your second Pernod, which you sip lazily as “Anouman” wafts sweetly through the air like thick smoke from a hookah…. The sounds from the Scottish Gypsy Jazz group, Havana Swing, easily make me forget that it’s really April, it’s mid-day and it’s freezing cold and wet here in Monterey.
Hailing from Dundee, Scotland, Havana Swing has been “delighting audiences since 1986.” The quintette, featuring three guitars, a bass, and the sweet sound of a clarinet, is reminiscent of Django Reinhardt’s war time line up.
The first thing I thought of when I heard Havana Swing was, “Wow, these guys are really in the pocket!” Their selection of Django compositions, as well as Romane and Tchavalo pieces are flawlessly executed. What sets these guys apart, however, are their original compositions. Composed by Bassist and vocalist, Calum McKenzie, numbers like Hotel Du Palais Pour Pam, Uncle Frank, and The Fifth Man exhibit not only fantastic musicianship and musicality, but a penetrating cognition of the method in which songs were composed in the 1920′a and 30’s.
Review by Jack Fields, April06 www.djangology.net
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Alison Kerr, Glasgow Herald
Glasgow Jazz Festival: The advertised line-up for Saturday afternoons free music in George Square should really have included the pipes of the Orange marchers, since they took up more than half an hour of an otherwise superb set by the five-piece Havana Swing. Jazz on the Big Stage ground to a halt while wave after wave of marchers passed through the square.. Anticipating a musical clash, the band’s leader announced an intermission, but the group only managed one number before being blasted back into silence. Before and after the Orange invasion, Havana Swing were providing the perfect soundtrack to a balmy Saturday afternoon. This Dundee-based group are misleadingly monikered; their inspiration is Django Reinhardt, so their style and sound is inspired by Parisian jazz of the l930s. A wonderful Minor Swing established their credentials (and introduced the band’s trump card – Walter Smith’s lovely clarinet playing), but their repertoire takes in Latin jazz, standards (their gently swinging East of the Sun was a real treat), gypsy numbers and even Nat King Cole’s Hit That Jive Jack.
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Sandy McCurdy, McQueens MusicRoom
MusicReview:
Havana Swing concert
Wednesday 5th 2006
McQueens MusicRoom, 1 Boat Brae, Blairgowrie, Perthshire
Gypsy jazz musicians call non-gypsies who play their style of music, “gagios”.
Havana Swing, the gypsy jazz group from Dundee, comprise 5 very talented “gagios”. What a wonderful, happy night of swing music the audience at the intimate venue that is McQueens MusicRoom were given by this engaging bunch of enthusiasts .
McQueens looks and feels for all the world like a small, Parisian café. So everything was in place for an atmospheric night.
Some devotees of this style of music consider the rhythm guitarist as being the most important part of the band, Frenchman Alan Le Grand (guitar & vocals) lays down a swing that is a rock on which the rest build their solos. Alan is more than matched on bass by the accomplished Calum McKenzie.
John White has a strong, direct and clear solo guitar style. This is complimented by the more liquid and lightening quick arpeggios of the guitar of Ashley Malcolm. Walt Smith’s clarinet solos added a quirky, haunting edge to the band. During the guitar solos, Walt appears to be asleep, but he wakes up on cue to take some wonderful solos himself!!
Recently, the band have moved away from playing jazz standards, and concentrated back on what they love – gypsy jazz. They have just released a new cd entitled Django’s Lion, and they played several of the tunes on the night. There are so many great tunes in the band’s repertoire that it is difficult to pick out only a few.
It is a crime that this group of “gagios” who play such tight swing music, are not famous. Although, on consideration, if they were, then we would not be able to see them in such a lovely little venue as McQueens.
For more info:-
Sandy McCurdy
Phone: 01828 63 2744
Mobile: 07725 47 22 43
E-mail: imcurdy@aol.com
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Graeme Scott
HAVANA SWING Django’s Lion
Self Release
What a real pleasure it is to be able to write this review. I know that for many the music of Django Reinhardt and his contemporaries may not be Blues enough for them and more aligned to Jazz for their particular taste. However whilst this CD does sit more on the Jazz side of the spectrum it is definitely well worth a listen. This five piece from the Perth and Dundee areas were completely unknown to me prior to the recent Blues Bonanza and judging by the crowd they pulled in the audience see no problem either. I was very taken with what I heard live and so it is on ” Django’s Lion”. From the opener ‘Alors Voila!’ these guys have got the sound and atmosphere beautifully recreated. It smacks of class, romance and warm relaxed summer evenings spent with good friends and fine wine. Vocals are handled by double bass player Calum McKenzie mostly and whilst they are not strong they fit nicely into the style of music. The rest of the band consists of John Whyte, Ashley Malcolm and Alan Le Grand all on guitar with Walt Smith on clarinet. Not content with playing the music of a maestro Calum has also written three and, just listening, you can’t spot the join so well immersed in the genre are the band. ‘Sweet Sue’ with Alan on vocals, ‘Hotel Du Palais Pour Pam’, and the lovely ballad ‘Anouman’ are a joy. ‘Black And Blue’ with its ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ ending and ‘East Of The Sun’ continue the swing feel. ‘Si Tu Savais’ and the upbeat ‘The Fifth Man’ bring this fine CD to a close. Go on step outside of your comfort zone and open your heart and tell me that this is not good.
Graeme Scott
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Moira Starks
HAVANA SWING
Friday, 23 March 2007
I first came upon Havana swing at the Bute Jazz Festival in 2006.
They were superb! And the proof of their popularity was shown at each performance – full to capacity.
Based in Dundee, each of the five musicians in the band display great skill in technical performance, and artistically there is no doubt of their ability. There are three guitar players, an acoustic bass player who also sings, and Walt, who plays clarinet so naturally that you are convinced he must have been born playing it!
The band is based in Dundee, although the lead guitar, Alain LeGrand, hails from France. They describe themselves as a ‘Gypsy’ band, but the music is swing, with a variety of tunes included in their repertoire which have been influenced by the jazz genre from Django Reinhardt to Latin.
Django was a Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist who was the first European to have an influence on American jazz. He worked in Paris in 1922, and having tragically mutilated his left hand in a fire in 1928, he devised a fingering technique to overcome the difficulty.
Havana Swing was formed in 1986. Then there were three guitar players, two of whom (Alain LeGrand and John Whyte) are still with them. The third founder member was Kevin Murray. They joined forces in a mutual admiration of Django, and a love of swing and jazz music generally. The name of the band derives from the nature of their music – i.e. ‘swing’, and Alain’s great love of Cuban cigars.
In 1987 they were joined by Calum McKenzie the double bass player, and Walter Smith, the clarinettist. Jimmy Deuchar who played flugelhorn was in the audience at a gig in Dundee, and he couldn’t resist joining in. He became the lead instrument until his untimely death in 1993.
These five have remained together until in 2003, when Ashley Malcolm replaced Kevin. Ashley is a classical guitarist who brought his own individual slant to the band
The band is in great demand throughout Europe. In 2000 they took part in the Queen’s hall Jazz Festival.
2002 brought the release of their first CD “Django Ecossaise”
In 2004 the band was stronger than ever, and introduced “New Gypsy Swing”.
2005 saw them performing at the Glasgow Jazz Festival, the Bute Jazz festival and Dundee Blues Festival. The same year they played at the Edinburgh Festival, where there music was taken seriously and their reputation began to build, bringing many bookings.
Nothing matters more to Havana Swing than playing their music. In April 2006 Critic Jack Fields wrote, “It is a crime that this group of ‘gagios’ who play such tight swing music are not famous. Although on consideration, if they were, then we would not be able to see them in such a lovely little venue.”
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Alan Steadman, Jazz Waves, Radio Tay
Django’s Lion
Django Reinhardt has been only one of a few Europeans to make a significant mark on the history of jazz. And such has been the contribution of this gypsy guitarist, that several bands throughout the world still base their repertoire on his style of acoustic swing.
Dundee’s representatives on this front are the 5 members of Havana Swing and their new album does both themselves and Django proud.
The bulk of the lead guitar work falls to Ashley Malcolm and John Whyte and both demonstrate not only the technical ability but also the feel for this type of playing. (It wasn’t only Django’s left hand that dazzled, his right was equally significant.)
The band’s clarinettist, Walter Smith, shows a lightness of tone reminiscent of the some of the famous hot club recordings, his playing on “Black and Blue” being particularly pleasing.
The other members of the band, Alain Le Grand, guitar and Calum McKenzie, bass contribute in laying down the swing that is so fundamental to this style of jazz and also take the vocals on “Sweet Sue” and “East of the Sun”, respectively. These days it is not enough for bands to simply recreate the music of days gone by. They should also include some of their own material and this album does indeed have 3 of Calum’s originals.
The 14 tracks on this CD have been recorded well, are refreshingly uncluttered and have been chosen to demonstrate the style and ability of this fine Scottish band.
If you come across them at any of the festivals that they are now beginning to appear at, you’ll want to take home a copy of Django’s Lion.
Alan Steadman, Jazz Waves on Radio Tay
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