Reporter: Tony Sheldon
Date online: 12/06/2008

The Antique Six are a top class outfit from the Midlands. They dropped off in Rochdale on their way home from a Scottish tour, and very welcome too!

Now led by Richard Leach on trombone they entertained with 23 numbers which is good value by any criteria.

Opening up with “South Rampant Street Parade” – must have been still thinking of their gig near Edinburgh’s Holyrood Castle – there followed a variety of marches, blues, favourites and rarely played songs, quality renditions from quality musicians.

Trumpeter Chris Mercer performed the only vocal of the first set with “Cake Walking Babies”. The slow Latin beat of “Spain” featured the muted trombone of Leach, the guitar of Clinton Sedgley, the bass of Andy Robins and the soft drumming of Graham Smith.

In contrast, the twenties “Chicago Buzz” saw the duo of Chris Pearce’s soprano sax and Mercer’s muted trumpet with Sedgley's banjo and Smith's percussion, the set finishing with a nice arrangement of “South” and a ‘driving’ front line going at formula one pace with “Back Bottom Stomp”.

Multi integration got the show back on the road with “Magnolia's Wedding Day” and vocals came from Leach with “Bourbon Street Parade” and Pearce singing “Bye Bye Blackbird” complete with Smith’s whistles dedicated to two Russian lassies visiting the club for the first time.

“Peridido Street Blues” featured trombone, Pearce’s clarinet and Mercers’ melancholy trumpet, whilst an unusual arrangement of “Aint Misbehavin” started with guitar intro with melody blend of tenor sax with muted trumpet and trombone with an interlude of Robins' bass solo and the brush drumming of Smith.

The set finished in style with a clarinet solo and powered trombone in Armstrong’s “Keyhole Blues” and Sandy Brown's “Go Ghana” (celebrating independence) with a blasting front line and rhythm crescendo.

There was no let up in the final offerings. A Creole style twenties “Mabel’s Dream” – new tone – and very relaxing, was then followed with them all shuffling to “The Riverboat Shuffle”.

A superb Pearce clarinet solo left everyone drooling at “Burgundy Street Blues”, before the contrasting Spanier’s “Eccentric” – front line majesty 'with all the twiddly bits'.

Pearce’s vocal “When the Midnight Choo Choo leaves for Alabama” signalled the ‘journeys end’ as did “Last Mile Blues”, a terrific presentation of Leach’s trombone interspersed with duo of Pearce’s soprano sax and Mercer’s muted trumpet.

With the band flying it was off into the cold night air of “Nagasaki”, 'sushi' night, it really was!

The Antique Six
The Flying Horse Hotel
Sunday 11 November 2007