Rose Room – It’s Been A Long, Long Time

Rose Room

Scotland’s premier award-wining gypsy jazz band Rose Room, led by violinist Seonaid Aitken, celebrate their fifteenth anniversary with a new album that introduces new guitarist Conor Smith along with long-time members rhythm guitarist Tam Gallagher and bassist Jimmy Moon.

It’s Been A Long, Long Time is their first album in ten years, but that time has been well spent honing their skills live and by the sound of the virtuosity on offer here, this selection of jazzy standards have definitely been part of their repertoire.

The tracks alternate between vocal-led and instrumental, and generally it is the instrumentals that carry the ’30s style Hot Club momentum, with opener “Joseph Joseph” illustrating their irresistible street café vibe, the hyperactive violin leading the rhythm guitar and bass in perfect unison. Conor’s lead outburst pushes Seonaid on and this tag-team baton-passing is perfect. In reaction, they take Sammy Cahn and Julie Styne‘s “It’s Been A Long, Long Time” and add a string quartet to warmly envelop Seonaid’s vocals, which have a touch of Sarah Vaughan‘s purity in their delivery.

Rose Room do a great job with the standards, imbuing them enough with the quartet’s personality and you can’t help but be swept along by the irrepressible nature. Although the four maintain a level of quality all the way though, they are joined at some points by treasured guests; so accordionist Artek Siwak adds a playful swing to Charles Trenet‘s “I Wish You Love”, in which you can’t help but be transported to a Left Bank coffee shop, while Owen Gunnell adds the most delicious vibes to Django Reinhardt‘s “Nuages” and the duet with guitar adds a delightful moonlit calm to the proceedings.

It feels like a lovely trip back to a simpler time and the infectious nature and the group’s willingness to bring something fresh to familiar songs means that each track is made their own. To change things up a bit, Tam takes vocal lead on their slinky version of “Everybody Wants To Be A Cat” and then everybody joins in with the backing vocals, giving it a rousing send-off; while melancholy is injected into Django’s “Troublant Bolero” and Hoagy Carmichael‘s “The Nearness Of You” is lushly romantic.

The momentum is increased with the addition of fiddle player Bryan Gear on “Lady Be Good” and this certainly causes the two to spark off one another. In fact, the two-violin attack is an intriguing premise which perhaps they will explore on further adventures; but for now they take a final bow with Frank Loesser‘s “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”, which was released as a single last year and is a delightful conclusion to a very enjoyable album.

If gypsy jazz and the Hot Club sound is for you, then Rose Room’s It’s Been A Long, Long Time is an essential purchase.

-Mr Olivetti-