Crash Collective Big Band, Corn Exchange Jazz Club, The Corn Exchange, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, 11/09/2026

Leader – John Bewick

Simon Powell, Gareth Howell, Liz Ralls, Keith White – trumpets & flugels

Joe Smith, Woodie Woodward, Paul Draper, Gur Rotkop – trombones

Steph Barnes, Charlie Wright – tenor saxes

John Bewick – alto sax

Becci Bernamot – alto sax, flute

Bob Jones – baritone sax

Liam Halloran – piano

Steve Hill – electric bass

Marcus Ingham – drums

The Corn Exchange Jazz Club’s latest event offered evidence that there is still a healthy audience for conventional big band jazz with promoter Dave Logan informing me that he had sold more than ninety tickets for tonight’s performance. Even more pleasing was the number of young people in the audience, and in this location it was unlikely that they were music students.

The ensemble that had attracted such a large and attentive audience was the Crash Collective Big Band, a semi-professional outfit from the Warwick / Leamington Spa area led by alto saxophonist John Bewick, one of the band’s principal soloists.

The CCBB are a popular attraction on the Midlands jazz circuit and sometimes work with guest vocalists. However tonight’s event was an all instrumental affair with the Band exploring a wide range of material, from traditional big band fare from the likes of Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson and Thad Jones to big band arrangements of tunes by small group composers such as Pat Metheny and Chick Corea. It was an adventurous and well chosen selection and was far from predictable. Bewick and the Band deserve praise for their willingness to include something a little bit different.

The evening got underway with Allen Carter’s “Ridin’ The E Train”, adapted from the chord changes of Duke Ellington’s “Take The A Train”. The sixteen piece ensemble generated an authentic big band sound that was strikingly loud, even without the benefit of amplification. The featured soloists were leader John Bewick on alto sax and Keith White on trumpet, who both delivered fluent statements on their respective instruments.

“Flamingo” featured a softer, sweeter, lusher big band sound with Liz Ralls on flugel stating the melody and taking the first solo. Liam Halloran was also featured, adopting an acoustic piano sound at his electric keyboard.

Maynard Ferguson’s “Tag Team” saw the pace increasing once more and lived up to its title with a series of vivacious exchanges between the tenor saxes and the trombones.

The policy of alternating fast, up-tempo numbers with slower, gentler pieces continued as the Band played a Bob Curnow arrangement of the ballad “My Foolish Heart”. The first number to feature the sound of brushed drums this piece was also notable for the lyrical flugel horn soloing of Keith White.

As its title might suggest “Sackbut City”, a strident,  fast paced composition by Rayburn Wright represented something of a feature for the trombone section, and particularly for principal trombone soloist Joe Smith.

The standard “Come Rain or Come Shine”, written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, cooled things down a little with Bewick the featured soloist on alto.

An intriguing big band arrangement of “The Londonderry Air” aka “Danny Boy” featured the sound of muted trumpets but also incorporated the Maynard Ferguson inspired open bell soloing of Gareth Howell. Becci Bernamot’s flute was also a notable feature of the arrangement, while the second featured soloist was tenor saxophonist Charlie Wright.

An up-tempo arrangement of George Gershwin’s “Soon” increased the energy levels once again with White on trumpet, Smith on trombone and Wright on tenor the featured horn soloists. The piece was also notable for a collective horn chorale as the rhythm section temporarily dropped out, only for Marcus Ingham to return with a powerful drum feature.

The final number of a thoroughly entertaining first set was a Bob Curnow arrangement of the Pat Metheny composition “Stranger in Town”, a tune from the 1995 Pat Metheny Group album “We Live Here”. Bewick admitted that this was a fiendishly difficult piece to play but his band more than did it justice. I’m a big Metheny fan and thoroughly enjoyed hearing this tune played in this context. Wright was the featured soloist with an extended tenor sax feature.

Set two commenced with Ingham’s drums ushering in a Bill Holman arrangement of Cole Porter’s “Begin The Beguine” with Howell on trumpet and Wright on tenor sax the featured soloists.

This was followed by another Porter composition, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”, famously sung by Frank Sinatra and arranged for big band by Frank Mantooth. This was largely played as an ensemble piece but did feature a concise flugel solo from Ralls.

Chick Corea’s jazz waltz “Windows” has become something of a modern day standard and has been interpreted in a variety of jazz styles, but tonight was the first time that I had seen it performed in the classic big band format. On a piece written by a pianist it was no surprise to see Halloran feature as a soloist, followed by tenor saxophonist Steph Barnes.

Next came an arrangement of the Quincy Jones tune “Quintessence”, the recording of which featured the late,  great alto saxophonist Phil Woods, presumably one of Bewick’s saxophone heroes. The piece was a feature for Bewick himself, who as the only featured soloist was able to stretch out at length.

Similarly “Undecided” featured as a vehicle for the hugely talented trombonist Joe Smith, whose other engagements include work with the party band Ibiza In Symphony.

“Ride The Wind”, written by the American composer Les Hooper, was a more reflective offering with a more contemporary feel. The arrangement included the sound of muted trumpets and incorporated solos from White and Bewick. Dave Logan later named this piece as his favourite tune of the night.

Maynard Ferguson’s “Coconut Champagne” introduced a Latin flavour to the proceedings and was a lively piece punctuated by Ingham’s playful drum breaks. Bernamot’s flute was again a distinctive element in an arrangement that included a solo from the long serving baritone saxophonist Bob Jones. This represented an effective contrast with the high register, Ferguson-esque trumpeting of Howell on an energetic piece that was very well received by the Corn Exchange audience.

The jazz standard “Just in Time” was arranged for the CCBB by Matt Harris. His swinging,  hard driving interpretation saw the piano and drums prominent in the arrangement with the feature solos coming from White on trumpet and Bewick on alto.

The evening ended with the gentle wind down that was an arrangement of the song “Time After Time” with Halloran at the piano and White on flugel the featured soloists.

The audience was very appreciative of this evening of high quality big band jazz and the standard of the playing was excellent throughout, with many fine soloists within the Band’s ranks.

I’m grateful to John Bewick for finding the time to have a short chat with me after the show and for providing me with a copy of the set list and a full listing of the band personnel. It’s not always easy to pick up all the necessary information from onstage announcements, so these two documents have been invaluable in the writing of this review. Thanks, John.

Thank you also to Dave Logan for providing press tickets and allowing me to cover this event.

If you live in the Midlands and enjoy the sound of big band jazz do check out the Crash Collective Big Band when they come to your town.

https://www.crashcollective.co.uk/

 

 

 

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