Goodness Gracious, at long last a blog from Geoff!!

Yes, a number of weeks have gone by since my last attempt at information and amusement via blogspot has been fingered via my keyboard.  But it has to be done today, only to say you may NOT get one next week!!

Excuses are around. First it was The Swanage Jazz Festival (which I will write more about soon), then a short holiday break looking after a very bad tempered cat whilst my daughter was in Greece. The cat and I were in Ipswich!!

Next week may be missed as my Granddaughter is getting married and I will be in Gloucestershire!!

Nonetheless what happens at Hedsor Jazz does carry on almost relentlessly! And ALWAYS with great quality.

And what a quality product we have for you this week. For the third week in a row we will feature a trumpet player, and this week it is Bruce Adams. He is a wonderful player in a kind of bravura style, blowing top notes with real aggression, especially as he is a really nice bloke, do buy him a pint!! This time he is being partnered at Hedsor Jazz with one of our long standing supporters, saxophonist Duncan Lamont Jr. Behind both will be the usual suspects acting as the Hedsor Jazz rhythm section! Do come, both musicians have a great musical heritage, and putting them together should create some magic.

 

Sadly I was unable to make last Thursdays session at Hedsor. Tracy told me “Thursday was very good    see the tune list”!!

So you shall!!   It went like this:-

 1. What is this thing called love 

 2. Stomping at the Savoy by Edgar Samson 

 3. Little Sunflower by Freddie Hubbard 

 4. Sandy by Clifford Brown 

 5. Soulful Bill 

 6. Green Dolphin Street 

 

 1. Strolling by Horace Silver

 2. Ode to a flugelhorn by Clark Terry 

 3. Everything I Love by Cole Porter 

 4. Some other time by Leonard Bernstein 

 5. Minor Chant by Jimmy Smith Back at chicken Shack 

 6. Take the A Train

And they were all played by

Stuart Henderson 

Martin Dunston 

Peter Hughes 

Nigel Fox 

Mike Jeffries 

The previous couple of weeks I did manage to get to The Hedsor Bar sandwiched between my away days.

So my photos below are for July 10^th which had saxophonist Mark Aston paired with guitarist James Fenn. James had recently returned from a gig at Glastonbury and Mark was about to go to Swanage (I did go and see him there, more about Swanage in a separate blog later in the month, probably the month of August!)

I made comment to James about his black guitar and he told me that as it was such a hot day he had brought out his carbon fibre model. This is apparently easier to keep in tune on a hot day. It sounded pretty good but he assured me it was a budget model manufactured in CHINA (the country not the material!). I’ll leave you to guess at the concept of “budget” for James!

As I have mentioned Swanage, below my pictures from July 10^th is one of Swanage at sunset!!

 

Mark playing trad BARITONE at Swanage

Swanage at Sunset

The week of July 17^th was the first of the trio of trumpet players, and we were joined by one of Britain’s trumpet educators, Steve Waterman. He is a professor of Jazz Trumpet at Trinity College of Music in London and visiting Jazz Trumpet specialist at The Royal Northern College Of Music and The Welsh College Of Music And Drama. 

His playing is superb and melodic but he is also able to slowly release energy and increase pressure. Some VERY high notes were played!

He was joined on 6 tunes by the Ealing Jazz Festival Star singer Gill Cook, who has Steve on at least one of her CDs

Steve Waterman

 

Gill Cook

Coming in August

We can look forward to more trumpet on August 7^th as Stuart Henderson is reunited with saxophonist  Alam Nathoo. This is a partnership that we put together at Hedsor in January, and we have tried to make the pairing every month since. They both have spectacular ability, and we think putting them together makes for a very exciting evening of jazz.

Stuart and Alam back in February

 

I really do have to ask myself with this kind of performer coming to Hedsor every week why did I go to Swanage for a jazz festival? We have a feast of festival quality jazz every week at Hedsor Jazz.

And just to underline that point on August 14^th two mega festival stars are coming to Hedsor. Saxophonist Alan Barnes and pianist David Newton.

Alan Barnes at Hedsor in 2024

David Newton from his web page https://davidnewtonjazzpiano.com/

Yes this time it is just the two musicians. But they have been playing duets together for about 30 years! They shared the same room at The Leeds Collage of Music! They have been at the forefront of British Jazz ever since.

“Just two instruments” I hear you ask. Yes, but I can assure you that you wont be bored. The skilful interplay and individual improvisation will astound you. To be able to listen to them in the relatively intimate setting of the room at the Hedsor Bar will be a delight.

OK all we need now is for you, not just to read these words, but for you to come and hear the musicians I write about.

Hedsor Jazz! It should not be the best kept secret in jazz!