Packed with bodies and with its futuristic chandelier lights dimmed, the potentially soulless recital room at the City Halls becomes a suitable jazz venue - especially if the jazz is being played without amplification. It's a room in which the late, great clarinettist Kenny Davern would have enjoyed playing, so it was particularly apt that his one-time colleagues the Swedish Jazz Kings paid tribute to him on several occasions during Tuesday night's sell-out concert in the Swedish Jazz Festival season. This long-established group is one of the most highly respected bands playing the 1920s-style jazz of Louis Armstrong, Clarence Williams and Jimmie Noone.
Trumpeter Bent Persson and clarinettist/soprano saxophonist Tomas Ornberg have played at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival in other bands, but this was a rare chance to hear them with the rest of the Jazz Kings line-up of tuba, banjo and piano - and a rare chance to hear such classic tracks as Oriental Strut and Santa Claus Blues brought thrillingly back to life.
After taking much of the first half to get warmed up, Persson hit his stride with the memorably titled Whip Me with Plenty of Love, the first of a string of knock-out numbers (including Wild Man Blues and Old-Fashioned Love) to showcase the magnificent Armstrong-style breaks that helped make his name 30 years ago.
Ornberg's raw and commanding clarinet, meanwhile, peaked with a terrific take on Apex Blues. Only the rather anorakish announcements threatened to spoil the musical fun - though they did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of a capacity crowd.
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