The Jabbo Five, formed in May 2010, was set up with the express purpose of playing in the style of Jabbo Smith - hence the name Dave Martin's Jabbo Five.The line-up of cornet/trumper/valve trombone, clarinet/saxophone, banjo/guitar, sousaphone and piano allows an exciting, lively and uncluttered interpretation of the music of Jabbo Smith and his Rhythm Aces, who recorded 22 tracks in 1929. After this outpouring of exuberance, which, at the time, rivalled the brilliance of Armstrong's Hot Five, Jabbo faded into obscurity. Re-discovering these tracks is an exciting adventure for the band.
Jabbo, and his banjo player Ikey Robinson, wrote some wonderful numbers which are seldom heard, and we aim to master as many of these as we can. However, the band is not restricting itself solely to Jabbo numbers. Jazz fans will also recognise a sprinkling of deservedly popular standards in any Jabbo Five performance. What’s more, our sousaphone player is a fine trombonist and this allows us to perform some of the seminal numbers played by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five.
The band plays mainly in the South West of England. As well as pubs in Devon, Somerset and Avon we have performed at various clubs - 51 Club of Cornwall, Bude, Preston Cross, Brunswick (Bristol), Plymouth Sherborne, Weymouth, Amersham and Watford. We have also enjoyed going to several festivals - Bude, Teignmouth, Lyme Regis, Swanage, Upton and Pershore - as well as to a jazz weekend at Mill Rythe.
