Troy Andrews & Dennis Rollins

Being back in Leeds for the rest of the year almost can only mean one thing for me; its time to get back to the Wardrobe jazz club! I went along with Dave Falcus on Monday night to catch a load of some great Trombone playing from Troy and his band with special guest Dennis Rollins.

Their style was wonderfully funky with a really deep jazz feel to it all. From the first note you really felt involved in the music. Troy and his band played a few opening numbers to get the crowd in the mood and did a superb trumpet solo that had everyone cheering afterwards. Dennis joined the group on the stage and they both played “against each other” each coming up with a more amazing set of notes than the last, a thrill to watch (see photo below).

I first saw Dennis Rollings with his own band, Bad Bone and Co and it was a great experience to see him this time with another band. Not having to lead the group almost seem to make him relax more which really brought out a superb performance on stage although his playing was excellent as ever.

What was most interesting about the gig was to watch two trombone players together. Its fairly rare in the jazz scene to have a trombonist lead the band, but to have two playing together is a rare thing indeed, but most certainly sounds superb. One of the highlights of the evening was near the end where the band got together in the middle of the stage in what I can only describe as a huddle and when they went back to their positions they each had each others instruments. Amazingly it would have been difficult to tell they had done this if you had just walked in for the first time; clearly all are very tallented musicians with an ability to lend their hand to almost any instrument.

As usual when it gets a bit funky at the wardrobe, the dancfloor was full for most of the night and all in all it was a great way for me to get reaquainted with my favorite club in Leeds! Unfortunately, being from New orleans, Troy and his band don’t often play in the UK but if you do get a chance to see him live I would most certainly recommend it, especially if you already enjoy listening to Dennis Rollins and Bad Bone and Co. You can find a biography of Troy Andrews, links to buy his cds and samples of his music on his website. A rarity for me, I also took some viewable photos at this gig, you can check them out here.

Dennis Rollins and Troy Andrews live at the wardrobe

 

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1 Comment

  1. doctorj Said,

    September 17, 2006 @ 3:09 pm

    Trombone Shorty is great! Try his early CD “Orleans & Claiborne” if you want a true feel of the New Orleans street scence.

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