Chris Hodgkins / Lenore Raphael

“Pennies From Heaven”

(Bell Records BELL CD523)

Chris Hodgkins – trumpet, Lenore Raphael – piano

“Pennies From Heaven” is a new duo recording from the British trumpeter and jazz administrator Chris Hodgkins and the American pianist Lenore Raphael.

The pair are long time musical associates and I recall enjoying seeing them perform at Brecon Jazz Club back in 2017 as part of a ‘chamber jazz’ quartet that also included the American guitarist Wayne Wilkinson and the British bassist Alison Rayner.. A previous tour by the same line up minus Rayner in 20i6 had yielded the concert recording “Live at PizzaExpress Live, Dean Street”, which was being launched at Brecon. My account of the Brecon performance can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/lenore-raphael-friends-brecon-jazz-club-neuadd-theatr-christ-college-brecon

Hodgkins has long been a regular presence on the Jazzmann web pages, beginning with the albums “Present Continuous” (2005) and its follow up “Future Continuous” (2006), both recorded with a trio featuring Rayner, a bandleader in her own right, on double bass and Max Brittain on guitar. I was also fortunate enough to see this trio perform live back in the day.  The group was later expanded to a quartet with the addition of saxophonist Diane McLoughlin.
The “Future Continuous” album is reviewed here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/future-continuous

Several years later Hodgkins recorded the duo album “Back In Your Own Backyard” with the recently deceased pianist Dave Price, a stalwart of the jazz scene in Herefordshire and the Welsh Borders. I was able to see this incarnation play live too. My review of the “Back In Your Own Backyard” album can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/back-in-your-own-backyard

2022 was something of a banner year for Hodgkins with the simultaneous release of three very different albums.

“My favourite of the three, Festooned With Trumpets” was recorded in 2019 following an Arts Council supported tour featuring Hodgkins’ International Quartet, a line up that included Korean born, New York based pianist Jinjoo Yoo, plus Wilkinson and Rayner. In a sense this group represented a continuation of the earlier “Continuous Project”.

In November and December 2021 Hodgkins and a stellar hand picked band embarked upon a lengthy UK tour with a show paying tribute to the late Humphrey Lyttelton (1921 – 2008). The eleven piece line up included many of Hodgkins’ regular associates, among them Brittain, McLoughlin and Yoo. The album “Salute to Humphrey Lyttelton” was recorded live at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Dean Street, Soho, London, Hodgkins’  second live album from this venue.

The third in this trilogy of releases was an archive recording “Vic Parker at the Quebec Hotel” dating back to 1976 and featuring Hodgkins on cornet as a member of a trio led by the late but still well remembered Cardiff based guitarist Vic Parker (1910-78) that also featured the late Jed Williams (1952 -2003) on drums. Documented over the course two sessions at the long disappeared Quebec Hotel in Tiger Bay the album represents the only available recording of Parker’s playing..

The three albums are reviewed together as part of a Jazzmann feature here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/features/article/chris-hodgkins-festooned-with-trumpets-a-salute-to-humphrey-lyttelton-vic-parker-at-the-quebec-hotel

In addition to leading his own projects Hodgkins is currently a member of the Pete Allen Jazz Band, led by saxophonist / clarinettist / banjoist / vocalist Pete Allen, an act that is still a hugely popular attraction on the UK trad jazz circuit.

Hodgkins is also well known for his role as a jazz administrator and in the 1970s was the founder of the Welsh Jazz Society. After moving from Cardiff to London he spent twenty nine years as the head of the Jazz Services organisation, a role for which he was recognised with many “Services to Jazz” awards. Currently he is the secretary for the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Group and plays a key role in the presentation of the annual Parliamentary or APPJAG Jazz Awards.

After leaving Jazz Services he presented his own radio programme  “Jazz Then and Now”, a weekly show on Jazz London Radio.  Currently he presents “Jazz Is” for the specialist station Pure Jazz Radio.

 He also runs his own record label Bell, an outlet both for his own recordings and for those of others, among them Pete Allen, trombonist Mike Nash and the late clarinettist John Evans.

Lenore Raphael is acknowledged as one of America’s leading mainstream pianists and has a dozen albums as a leader or co-leader to her credit. Endorsed by the Steinway company she has played many leading jazz venues and festivals both in the US and internationally. Among those musicians with whom she has performed are trumpeters Clark Terry and Warren Vache, saxophonist Harry Allen, guitarists Howard Alden, Jack Wilkins and Bucky Pizzarelli, bassists Hilliard Greene, Paul Beaudry, Drew Merrill and Terrie Burrell, drummers Todd Reid and Dwayne Cool Broadnax
and vocalists Jack Wood and Scotty Wright.

She acknowledges the influence of Oscar Peterson, Bud Powell and Bill Evans among others. Raphael also broadcasts for Pure Jazz Radio and presents her own programme “Lenore Raphael’s JazzSpot”. She hosts Jazz Master Classes at schools and colleges in the US and internationally and is jazz director at Halle Cultural Arts Center in Apex, North Carolina.

In 2020 she appeared as part of the Brecon Virtual Jazz Festival with a trio performance recorded at three separate locations in North Carolina, New York and South Wales with Raphael joined by bassist Hilliard Greene and Cardiff based alto saxophonist Glen Manby. The resultant video was then edited by Emily Darlington at Ratio Studios in Merthyr Tydfil.

The “Pennies From Heaven” album was recorded over the course of a single day at World Heart Beat Studios in London with Luc Saint-Martin engineering. The premise of the album is simple with the duo playing a selection of jazz standards, as Hodgkins explains,  “We just selected some tunes you don’t hear very often these days. It’s about celebrating the timelessness of the repertoire and enjoying the music together”.

Victoria Kingham’s sleeve notes offer valuable insights into the duo’s chosen songs, commencing with “Rosetta”, composed by pianist Earl Hines who first recorded it in 1933. It was later covered in the swing era style by Fats Waller and by Benny Goodman.  Later interpretations have approached it as a ballad but Hodgkins and Raphael treat it as a vintage swing number with exuberant, blues inflected trumpet underscored by swinging, highly rhythmic piano. The duo work together very effectively and Raphael also enjoys a concise unaccompanied piano solo.

The duo maintain the energy levels with their version of “Exactly Like You”, a song written by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields.  Written for the 1930s show “Lew Leslie’s International Revue” it has been recorded by such jazz and other luminaries as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Django Reinhardt and Frank Sinatra. It’s a song that I’ve heard played, and sometimes sung,  pretty regularly at jazz gigs and this interpretation is as good as any with Raphael particularly impressive with a scintillating solo piano passage.

Raphael shines again with a solo piano version of the Duke Ellington composition “Prelude To A Kiss”. It’s an interpretation that gives full rein to her abilities and which is rich in terms of rhythmic and harmonic invention and full of colourful pianistic flourishes.

Credited to Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg and Billy Rose “It’s Only A Paper Moon” has been recorded by Benny Goodman, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and even Paul McCartney. Hodgkins returns for this instrumental version making a strong contribution on subtly vocalised trumpet as Raphael again provides vibrant accompaniment and sparkles on her own solo.

“There Is No Greater Love” was written by bandleader Isham Jones with lyrics by Marty Symes. Jones recorded it before eventually handing his band over to Woody Herman.  Notable other recordings of the song came from Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole and Duke Ellington. Raphael introduces the piece at the piano with Hodgkins’ trumpet kicking in later, before Raphael is given her head once more. It’s a joyous interpretation of the song from two musicians who have developed a very impressive rapport over the course of their many years of playing together.

Written by Cliff Burwell and Mitchell Parish “Sweet Lorraine” dates all the way back to 1928 but is still performed by jazz artists on a fairly regular basis. The duo’s relaxed but swinging interpretation allows both parties the opportunity to demonstrate their ‘chops’, with Raphael enjoying a couple of solo piano excursions, while Hodgkins is featured with a solo trumpet cadenza.

“Lady Be Good”, by George and Ira Gershwin is delivered in exuberant fashion by Raphael in a brief solo piano performance that is strong in terms of both melody and rhythm.

The title track, “Pennies From Heaven”, is another much loved standard written by Arthur Johnston and Johnny Burke. Hodgkins returns for this one, taking the lead on trumpet before handing over briefly to Raphael. It’s another lively and energetic performance.

The pair tackle a second Ellington tune, “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me”, which the Duke wrote in conjunction with lyricist Bob Russell. It was also recorded by Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole, among others. Here it is treated to another superb solo piano performance from Raphael, a brilliant combination rhythm, harmony and melody.

The penultimate piece, “Blue Room”, is sourced from the musical “The Girl Friend”, written by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart. It’s one of the genuinely less familiar items on the album but more than justifies its selection. Hodgkins returns to deliver some of his best playing of the set, deploying a wide range of trumpet sounds.

The album concludes with the only original tune of the set. Co-written by Hodgkins and Raphael “Heartbeat Blues” fits in well with the rest of the material and genuinely does sound as if it could have been written in the 1920s or 30s. Introduced by Raphael at the piano it features Hodgkins on what sounds like muted trumpet as the duo enter into a series of engaging instrumental exchanges.

Recorded in less than a day -  “we got back in time for afternoon tea” declares Hodgkins – “Pennies From Heaven” is an unpretentious, swinging album which sees the duo delivering an impressive range of sounds from just two instruments, the listener doesn’t feel the need for any additions. Much of this is down to Raphael’s left hand work and her superb command of rhythm and swing. Hodgkins’ subtly vocalised trumpet sound has its roots in New Orleans and he and Raphael make a very effective team. However one can’t help feeling that the pianist rather steals the show, not least because three of the tracks are superb solo piano performances, although she’s excellent elsewhere too.

I wasn’t sure whether I’d enjoy a set of such familiar standards but the pared down duo format actually breathes new life into these old tunes and I actually ended up enjoying this recording far more than I thought I would. Engineer Saint-Martin also deserves credit for the quality of the recording, which effectively captures the musical chemistry of the duo.

As Kingham puts it in her liner notes “Hodgkins and Raphael have paid tribute to American songwriting, classic performances, and the longevity of the jazz standard”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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