Jazz Experts with J-Force

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 473, 16 July 1948, Page 16

Jazz Experts with J-Force

_ (By Airmail-Special to "The Listener" from

R. C.

DERHAM

Official Correspondent with ]-Force )

EVERAL new records have just been made by New Zealanders in Japan. They are not the kind of records which usually reach the headlines, being the more. common-or- garden variety which one puts on a gramophone turntable, but interest in them is not likely to be confined to members of | J-Force. Credit for them belongs in ‘the first instance to Jimmy Thorne, of Masterton, who thought that it would be worthwhile to have some permanent ’ of the dance band he had formed from among members of the 2NZEF Brass Band. As the band’s duties took it fairly ‘frequently to Tokio it was not difficult to make arrangements with one of the recording companies there. The cost3,000 yen for a master-copy and 100 yen for each disc taken from it-did not amount to very much when spread over the 10 members of.the dance band. Needless to say, the recordings were not -made.on a commercial basis. In all, about 150 copies have been taken from the eight sides cut-four by the dance band and four by the brass band-and these have been bought by the band members themselves and some of their friends. The best of the four dance band re--cordings is that of Duke Ellington’s "C Jam Blues," a jazz classic with plenty of opportunities for the instrumentalists to go through their paces.-In the other three sides there are too many "blue" notes for the liking of the players, though to the wunpractised ear they sound pretty good. It would, of course, be surprising if perfect recordings were turned out by a newly-formed combination, half the members of which have never played in a band before. Under the direction of Allan Ford, the 32-piece brass band made competent recordings of the fantasia "Colonel

Bogey on Parade" (12-inch double-side), and the marches "Steadfast and True" and "Appreciation." Jimmy Thorne is no beginner in the dance-band business. Some six years ago he formed the Silver Star Orchestra in Masterton. With him in that band, as in the J-Force group, were his two younger brothers, the twins, Clive and Colin Thorne. Jimmy plays alto saxophone and clarinet, Clive the tenor sax. and the drums. While in the Air Force during the war Jimmy played for a combination known as the Delta Boys. Combining with Jimmy Thorne in arranging many of the pieces for the band is Norm. Silk, of Auckland, a trumpeter who has sat in on occasions with one of Epi. Shalfoon’s bands in Auckland. From the Merrymakers in Morrinsville to the present band has come Joe Mathis (of Te Aroha) with his alto sax., and completing the band’s line-up are Jack Snowsill, of Masterton (trumpet), Darcy Christiansen, of Patea (trombone), Doug. Burns, of Nelson (guitar), Tony Sutherland, of Nelson (bass), and Barry Walden, of Wanganui (piano). Though the band is unlikely to continue as a permanent combination in New Zealand (the members’ homes are widely separated), a plan for a tour of the country is being considered by Jimmy Thorne and the players. At the moment, it is just an idea. More recordings had been planned by the band, but that idea has now been abandoned. With so little time left for 2NZEF in Japan the band does not consider it worthwhile to do more. However, those discs they have made will be a source of constant pleasure in years to come. They have the usual red labels and on them, in gold lettering just below the title and composer’s name, is printed "Jimmy Thorne and his Orchestra"-and below that "Tokio, Japan."