Last week I attended one of the greatest performances that I have witnessed at Ronnie Scott’s in over 50 years. Guy Barker was presenting the premiere performance of an original 90 minute piece fully scored for an 18 piece orchestra, actors and singers. I arrived intrigued by the unusual premise a big band within a semi-theatrical setting and left blown away by its daring, originality, brilliant playing and singing and quick fire one-liners.

I might not have grabbed a ring side seat had I not seen a preview focused on my friend Rob Ryan who wrote the script for Inferno 67. Rob is a celebrated writer who has collaborated with Guy Barker before, on two extended works; a piece called Underdogs dating from 1999 and The Amadeus Project, a modern jazz reimagining of Mozart’s Magic Flute.  (you will find two tracks from this album in my playlist) . Rob writes a fortnightly jazz column in the Camden New Journal and shares my deep affiliation with jazz. I was intrigued to see what he and Guy Barker had cooked up.

As to Guy Barker. He burst on to the London jazz scene as a trumpet prodigy scaring the life out of older players with his astonishing technique and brilliance on the trumpet. I heard him many times in the 80’s and 90’s mainly in small combo sessions. I still listen to his landmark Soundtrack album, a concept album where all the original tunes were designed to exemplify the vibe of film noir movies from the 1940’s and 50’s. Since the early 2000’s Barker has focused almost exclusively on writing for and conducting increasingly large orchestras, often combining both jazz and symphonic elements. He has a particular affinity in writing for vocalists and appears regularly at London’s Albert Hall.

Ronnie’s could not provide a more different environment to the Albert Hall to showcase a work that took 18 months to create with a scripted storey line to accompany the big band score. The cast were led by narrator Danny Sapani, a classically trained actor who I had seen earlier this year in an exciting contemporary production of King Lear at London’s Almeida Theatre. The  songs were delivered by Joe Stilgoe and Vanessa Haynes.

Here is how Ronnie Scott’s previewed this unique presentation. It definitely captures the intended vibe

Inferno 67 features Guy Barker’s 18-piece big band plus Danny Sapani as narrator plus vocalists Vanessa Haynes and Joe Stilgoe. It reflects Guy’s love of every stage of jazz’s evolution, from the 1920s to the contemporary, and his abiding affection for film noir and classic TV series.

Inferno 67 began with a simple instruction to his long-term collaborator, author and screenwriter Robert Ryan: imagine an episode of The Twilight Zone, but one written and directed by David Lynch and scored by Miklos Rosza, Bernard Herrmann and Johnny Dankworth…and maybe the Beatles.

The powerhouse Guy Barker Big Band is filled with world-class soloists, can manage every switchback that its titular leader can throw at it and much more besides. The firebrand soul and funk come courtesy of the incomparable Vanessa Haynes and the wit and devilish charm is supplied by the urbane Joe Stilgoe. 

The narration is provided by Danny Sapani, one of our most powerful and versatile actors, who has appeared on TV (Misfits, The Crown, Killing Eve), in film (Star Wars, Black Panther) and on stage (Medea, Macbeth, King Lear). The Guardian called his Lear “a supremely moving performance” and The Telegraph declared it “a triumph”. The shape-shifting love story is performed by Demetri Goritsas and Emer Kenny, two of the UK’s finest actors.

A world where time, music, people and sexuality are fluid and malleable. A place where sixties funk and soul rub up against the outer limits of John Coltrane. 

Welcome to hell.  Welcome to love. Welcome to Inferno 67.

So, to the performance

As I have said the orchestra were playing without a break from start to finish- while this complemented the vocals fine, the sheer volume of the band often drowned out some of the dialogue-my only criticism.

The score managed to capture the filmic zeitgeist of the 60’s (& I would say 50’s too) with nods in the direction of what Ellington, Basie, Ray Charles and Quincy Jones and Bernard Herrmann- the pre-eminent film composer of that era- were recording in that period. In addition, veering into both full on R&B and nods to classic tin pan alley and echoes of Cabaret the score was fundamentally a showcase for Barker’s imagination and genius as a big band orchestrator. 

The writing for the sections-trumpets, trombones and reeds, particularly the latter were all exemplary and together added up to a joyous, funky, swinging vibe throughout. I understand that the band had less than 2 days to rehearse the piece, and they certainly rose to the occasion both as a collective and in the brief solo interludes that dotted the score which provided a bracing test for the rhythm section, particularly the drummer and they all contributed superbly.

I must mention Per “Texas” Johnson who had a contrabass clarinet among his arsenal of horns and contributed amazing low register growls and whoops to the proceedings. This is the first time I have seen or heard this instrument which resembles an elongated bass clarinet.

Special mention for Vanessa Haynes who belted out two soul classics from that era Headshrinking/Voodoo Working and generated a real charismatic presence on the cramped bandstand/stage and to Danny Sapani who embraced the tricky challenge of narrator and rapper throughout. Musicians, actors and singers were having a ball.

This was a performance that could easily be turned into a Broadway or West End show. The particular delight of last week’s show was to hear it in the intimate environment of one of the world’s greatest jazz clubs. I can only hope that a recording is in the works.

The Playlist

Guy Barker’s appearance on the jazz scene in the 1980’s coincided with the emergence of a stellar crew of ingenue UK jazz musicians most of whom have now achieved jazz elder status. I had planned to populate my playlist with a selection of recordings of that generation of highly talented musicians at the early stages of their jazz careers. I was keen to include some tracks from the legendary and short lived big band Loose Tubes which had a volcanic impact on the London jazz scene in the 1980’s and provided a launch pad for many individual and distinctive musical lives in jazz in the U.K. and in Europe.

Unfortunately for the first since I’ve been posting mylifeinjazz Spotify has let me down Hopefully this won’t recur. Not wanting to deprive you of a playlist I’ve put together a selection of tracks from UK musicians of that generation.

I hope you will enjoy.