Duane Thamm & the Chuck Hedges Swingtet - Tribute to Hamp

Delmark 552

By most accounts, Delmark impresario Bob Koester can be a curmudgeon of the crankiest kind. His impromptu tantrums at the Jazz Record Mart are the stuff of infamous legend (I’ve actually witnessed several myself), but his dedication to jazz is just as famous. What’s even more special about Koester is his abiding love for less popular styles within the music. His affections for traditional Dixieland and swing styles coexist alongside his open ears toward the avant-garde. As such there’s usually a traditional jazz ringer released in every four title-batch of new releases from the label, often by bands unknown out of their own regional enclaves.

Duane Thamm is just the sort of local hero Koester adores. Conceived as a tribute to Lionel Hampton, an influence not usually audible in Thamm’s playing, the live concert taped at the Harold Washington Library Center features coarse fidelity by audiophile standards. The vibrancy and freewheeling feel of the presentation circumvents any cosmetic concerns with the music. Eight standards commonly associated with the Hamp songbook zoom by in the equivalent of a vinyl album’s duration. Running time may be a bit terse in comparison to the typical Delmark title, but the brevity actually works in the band’s favor.

Thamm is pretty much all over his planks most of the time, wielding his mallets, sometimes two to a fist, like a Benihana chef twirling razor-sharp Ginsus. His colleagues seem equally enthused. Chuck Hedges’ clarinet darts and cavorts, spilling out legato streams that capitalize on his instrument’s flighty upper register. He often plays Goodman to Thamm’s Hamp. Bassist John Bany shears away at his strings with bow and fingers on the bass-friendly “The Man I Love” sustaining a steady momentum. Guitarist Frank Dawson and drummer Charlie Braugham complete the package. Braugham is perhaps the most ebullient of the bunch, stirring up a rhythmic lather on pieces like “Seven Come Eleven” before rinsing off with supportive accents to his partners’ constructions. He can play it mellow and easy too as his sparse brushwork on “Memories of You” decisively demonstrates. In line with the band’s velocious tendencies, Dawson’s plectrum is also a frequent blur, alternating bright strumming chords with stinging single notes. What comes through most in the interplay of the five is a consensus on conveying a swinging good time spirit.

The surprise standout cut of the set is “I Surrender Dear” where Thamm turns his attentions to a set of chimes. Stating the melody on the less tonally elastic instruments proves a challenge he rises courageously to match. During his ensuing solo the brittle sound of the chimes begins to grate and his switch back to the more familiar vibes for the finale is almost welcome. Even so, it’s an intriguing experiment just the same.

Ripe readings of “Autumn Leaves,” “Moonglow” and “Avalon,” while less adventurous, round out the program with a solid symmetry. If the disc’s notes are any indication, Thamm’s chances to record have mostly been the province of sideman gigs with the likes of Hedges and departed drummer Barrett Deems. This invigorating live concert will hopefully foment renewed interest in the man’s work and yield fresh additions to his discography.

~ Derek Taylor