Nagasaki –Ian Arnott/Climax Jazz Band 1986.
About 5 years after Ian Arnott left our Climax Jazz Band as a permanent member he would come and join our band for local concerts in the Toronto area.
This clip is from one of these in 1986 during a performance at the Toronto Harbourfront Jazz Club.
Ian grew up in the Edinbrough, Scotland where he played quite a lot with another clarinet player called Sandy Brown. He moved to Toronto and had a job as a master printer but fortunately didn’t gave up playing the clarinet.
We always seem to have taking him for granted, but already then and even more now, after seeing these clips again, I realize what a talented man he really was.
He also had the ability to switch styles. Depending of a tune being played he would adjust his style approach. All somewhere between Goodman and Dodds.
In Nagasaki Ian performs in the more technical style approach and sings one of his favourite tunes which pleased audiences all over.
Next to Chris Daniels on bass and Jack Vincken on banjo we also had a guest drummer. Graham Scriven, a professional drummer from England, would make an annual trip to Toronto to visit family and he was always a very enjoyable and skilful addition to our hardswinging rhythm group. Nagasaki was a clarinetplayers feature so trombonist Len Gosling and cornetist Bob Erwig had a chance to get themselves a beer.
