Acker Bilk is something of a legend in trad jazz circles. Worshipped by hip young jazzers in the post war era, he became an international star when Stranger on the Shore, a throwaway instrumental he’d been tinkering with became the first single to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic.
It was in the charts for more than a year. Acker was hailed as a singularly talented musician, yet he claims his inimitable clarinet style owes much to the loss of half a finger in a childhood sledging accident and two teeth in a playground fight, No matter. Half a century on Stranger on the Shore is still his showstopper and, at the grand old age of 82, after what I estimate must be at least 10,000 performances, he still plays it with rare zeal.
At the Tivoli Bilk and his five piece Paramount Jazz Band put on a two hour show that included a compelling mix of numbers ranging from Memphis Blues to Mood Indigo and When You’re Smiling to I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.
Bilk, always the mirth-maker, made much of his age and forgetfulness but delivered word-perfect jokes between songs.
It was perhaps typical of the man that, when it came to the big moment, he introduced his greatest success as Strangler on the Floor.
The audience loved it... and the fact that he donned a bowler hat – one of his signature trademarks back in the ’60s – to deliver the number that everybody wanted to hear.
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