Hi Everyone, the last blog of 2025! Wow how did that one go by so quickly?

Just to remind you all that our first gig of 2026 will be on Thursday January 15^th, where Hedsor Jazz will host saxophonist Frank Walden together with his colleague from “The Filthy Six”, guitarist James Fenn. A very suitable high profile event to start off our 2026 season.

Also just to remind you that our initial gigs for 2026 are going to be every 2 weeks, and the second one of the year will be on January 29^th, when we will have that wonderful swinging saxophone sound of Al Nicholls.

All our gigs are under the musical directorship of pianist Ken McCarthy, and our entry fee will be £12 per person, using CASH payment please. We are trying to keep our costs down to a minimum and don’t want extra bank charges if we can avoid them.

2025 Hedsor Jazz had some memorable gigs, with some great names helping us keep live jazz alive. In no particular order, but Alan Barnes and Dave Newton helped to distract me from the increasingly large number on my birthday cards that arrived in August. Steve Waterman and Gill Cook, Bruce Adams and Art Theman, Duncan Lamont Jr and Jennie Howe, Al Nicholls, Nigel Price, all came and helped us in the joyous creation of jazz music at Hedsor. And who can forget our Hon Chair, Vasilis Xenopoulos!

There were also names less well known, but there is a name that those lucky enough to have heard him more than once very much appreciate, Alam Nathoo, who during 2025 collaborated almost every month with Stuart Henderson to bring broad grins to many faces. Alam also has the ecological advantage of being able to walk to our gigs!

Thank you to all of you who have played for us, some at short notice, some almost every week. Those regular names include Ken McCarthy, Al Pirrie, Mike Jeffries, and Martin Hart. There are many others, we thank you ALL.

We aim to keep this same high standard going into 2026. We would like you, our audience, to come out and enjoy this music too. Audience, musicians and organisers are all needed to be joined together in the creation and presentation of our jazz experience.

Do look back on previous blogs issues. You can go back many years and see the changing faces and comments.

Yes, you will see many faces, pictures taken over the weeks and years to add visual colour to my text.

I do still have cd’s, many thousand of them, and I do still enjoy playing them. But comment on them less, as fewer are now bought and sold to comment on.

BUT, and it is a big but, the living performance is far better than the historic, however important some of the recordings may be. Last night I listened to a Buck Clayton recording made in 1959. It was live, before an audience in Stockholm. It wasn’t seminal, not one you just must have, but pleasant to listen to again. However I am looking forward to meeting again and listening to again the living musical creations of Frank Walden and James Fenn on January 15^th.  

Only by coming out to listen to them will you find if their music will be truly unmissable!

So God rest you merry gentlemen (and ladies!) as we enter 2026.

Geoff Cronin

 I Went Missing

Having spent most of October and November being checked out for bowel cancer, the result of the operation in November proved the lump to be benign.  I was told this, with great relief, over the phone on Monday 8^th December. On Tuesday 9^th, I went down with this years version of the flu, and I have had no energy since. It is not a good illness to have. Yesterday my temperature started to get back to normal, and I am able to speak again, just.

So I was unable to remind you that there was no jazz at Hedsor last week. However, I just want to put this note out to assure you that Hedsor Jazz’s Christmas Party will be taking place on Thursday December 18^th

Music, food and of course great jazz which should propel us into the festive season. 

Do come out and have fun, and help us finish off a year of ups and downs that Hedsor Jazz has had in 2025. Many friends have promised to pop in and play and help with the consumption of mince pies.

My pictures from the 4^th December are below. It was a superb session, and all who were there enjoyed remarkable music, played by Stuart Henderson, Alam Nathoo, Ken McCarthy, Ester Ng, and John Sargent

December already! 

Christmas is coming SOON, and like every year, it catches us out, well, I haven’t been shopping YET! Even after Black Friday and all those tempting special offers!!

BUT we do still have 2 more jazz days at Hedsor this year for you to buy into!! And one of them is THIS WEEK.

On Thursday December 4^th we have that wonderful combination of trumpet player extraordinaire Stuart Henderson coupled with saxophonist extraordinaire Alam Nathoo. Our usual piano led trio will be behind them, and you can expect musical fireworks. Come and enjoy jazz at its best. Entry is just £12, and the music starts at 8pm

 

2 weeks later and even nearer Christmas Day itself we will have our Hedsor Jazz Christmas Party on December 18^th

You can look back on previous blogs to see listed who we know are coming to entertain us (there may be others), but there will also be party food to sustain us on the night as well. Our layout will be reminiscent of the past (Ah Nostalgia!), and we expect a lovely social atmosphere.

I have been asked to invite those of you who are skilled in the provision of food to volunteer an item or two for our festive spread. If you feel you would like to help please let Peter England know asap. His email address is hscape@talktalk.net, or on his mobile 07884 964871

Last week was the last appearance this year for “our” Lester Brown on trumpet alongside saxophonist Martin Dunsdon. It all went so well that I thought I would attempt to use my old digital camera to video one of the tunes they played. Sadly although blogspot does allow video, it only allows 100MB of it, and my 6 minutes exceeds that 3 times over!

So below are a couple of my photos of the event!

 

Whilst laid up at home after my recent operation I was able to listen via some old, but perfectly formed Sennheiser headphones to a number of CD’s. 

On the Vasilis night he played “First Song (For Ruth)” composed by Charlie Hayden, I know I wrote up about it in the blog at the time.

So I dug out an album that had another saxophonist playing that tune, this time with only the accompaniment of a piano.

However that “other” saxophonist was Stan Getz, and that pianist was Kenny Barron! AND it was a live recording, AND it just so happened to be the last recording made by Stan Getz who died of cancer soon afterwards, a sudden capitulation to the illness he had fought off for a number of years.

It’s a wonderful recording made before an audience in Copenhagen over 4 nights in 1991. I do recommend that you go out and buy yours, it is now available on a double cd called “People Time” Emarcy 510134-2

 

I do sometimes listen to recordings via online apps, but I do feel more connected to the music if I actually own the means of playing it back. The sleeve notes and the sleeve art are part of that. In the days when to own a recording meant buying a 78, or an LP I parted with a sum of money. Seeing that I didn’t get much as an apprentice in 1955 such a purchase became almost a votive offering! Spotify free with adverts isn’t the same!! I can still hold in my hands some of my early purchases.

Enough for now, See you on Thursday.

PS Talking of Vasilis, do remember that there is a concert in Cookham’s Holy Trinity Church on Friday 5^th December featuring Vasilis and Paul Edis from 7.30 onwards. To check ticket availability see

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/cookham/holy-trinity-church/a-jazzy-christmas-with-paul-edis-and-friends/e-vzokjx