A Late in the day blog

But one in a week that does have LIVE JAZZ at The Hedsor Bar THIS THURSDAY.

The reason for the late bit is over the past weekend we travelled to Stratford on Avon for my Great Granddaughters christening! And being as she is a great granddaughter, there was a greater family to mix with, so we stayed over in “The Swan’s Nest Hotel”, right on the waterside. We also had a late Sunday Roast in “The Garrick”, all of which can be highly recommended.

Today we met up with some friends we made first in 1963, so it has been a long lunch!

This Thursday at Hedsor Jazz we have that great saxophonist Duncan Lamont Jr playing in front of “our” rhythm section of Ken McCarthy, Al Pirrie and Mike Jeffries. BUT he is also going to play alongside a gifted musician who hasn’t been to Hedsor before, singer/trumpeter Karl Charity. 

So we expect you all to come! After all with a £12 cash entry and free car parking there is nothing stopping you!

For our last Hedsor Jazz session we had the privilege of that Master of Music Vasilis Xenopoulos play for us. A superb session that was further enhanced by having Alam Nathoo join Vasilis on saxophone for 3 tunes in the second set.

Two tenors for your £12! What an exchange rate! That session just enhanced the reputation of Hedsor Jazz as being a first class jazz music venue.

Pictures below. For the music, you just have to be part of the audience!

 

For those of you reading this who haven’t actually listened to Alam yet, let me copy a bit from 2009’s London Jazz News.

Trinity College of Music describe the Isabelle Bond Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Performance 2009 as the “pinnacle of the College’s competition calendar”. The competition was held at St John’s, Smith Square on September 16th. And it was won by jazz saxophonist Alam Nathoo, a postgrad at Trinity, previously at Guildhall, and a member of Tomorrows Warriors Jazz Orchestra. He has Tanzanian roots. Hongera!

Here’s the interesting bit:

-none of the jurors was a jazz specialist
-both Simon Purcell (Head of jazz at Trinity) and the college’s press officer whom I spoke to were convinced this is the first time this top prize has gone to a jazz musician.
-Simon Purcell told me “He’s a very fine saxophone player, what more can I say. And he won this prize against other artists of international reputation.”

Since then he has taken on the business of business, being managing director of his late fathers company. For us at Hedsor Jazz it means we get this prize winner whenever he fancies walking to us from his home in Bourne End!

He will be with us again on July 9th when he will play alongside trumpeter Steve Waterman.

Vasilis had asked to play alongside Alam. They had never met before, but they WILL meet (at Hedsor Jazz) AGAIN! WATCH THIS SPACE.

But for now let me say....

Goodnight!

PS look up the highlighted words and you will see the lyrics of a Jamie Cullum song!

Good Morning Jazz Fans

And is that bright orb shining though my window actually THE SUN??

My weekly blog/chat is a day late this week, but it is still in time to remind you that Hedsor Jazz now runs on the second and fourth Thursday of each month, not weekly as last year. This is sad, but it has meant that we are able to carry on bringing you the best of British jazz.

And to prove the point our next jazz at Hedsor is on March 26^th, when we will have saxophone star Duncan Lamont Jr teamed together with trumpet player and vocal star Karl Charity. Do check out his web site

https://www.karlcharity.co.uk/

Duncan has brought us some great jazz players with him in his previous visits to Hedsor Jazz, and this looks like being another. Come along, it is only £12 to get in (OK, it has to be cash I’m afraid), and there is club priced drinks and free car parking to add to the friendly atmosphere.

Last week I had an email from Christ Church, Marlow, to tell me that a special evening of jazz has been arranged at their church on Sunday April 12^th at 5.30pm. Yes a Sunday evening of jazz! That’s Sunday 12 April from 5.30pm to 8pm.

“It is to raise funds to enable us to continue to support the people of Ukraine. Tickets will be available on the door and cost £10, including a free glass of wine/soft drink.”

DO check out the link below:-

https://mailchi.mp/4b1120f876f2/ukraine-solidarity-jazz-band-fundraising-concert-12-april?e=c1c15773dd

I enquired who the band would be comprised of and the reply was:-

The following were all members of the band in September 2025:

Katrina Likhtman, Fleur Stevenson, Steve Foster - vocals,  Robert Otwinowski - guitar, Matt Potts -  piano, Steve Kershaw -  bass,  Ben Robins – drums,  Kyrill Avilov – saxophone

So put that in your diary, its in mine!

Last week was a Hedsor Jazz Thursday and a few snaps of it are below.

 

It turned out to be a very special night as not only did we have Vasilis Xenopoulos play every tune, but in the second set he was joined by someone he had not met before but had wanted to play alongside ever since he had moved to Cookham.  He had been told by his London based colleagues of another local, and wonderful, saxophonist living locally, Alam Nathoo.

As you and I know, Alam does sometimes walk from his home to come and play at Hedsor Jazz, he has a great fan bass at Hedsor. So after a few phone calls made earlier in the week, in the second set (after discussing during the interval not only what tunes they would play, but what grade reeds they both use!) Alam was invited to join Vasilis “on stage”.

WOW, if you were one of the audience then make sure you write that day in your diary as an “I was there” entry. Total jazz magic happened.

I’m sure we will be able to persuade them to both come and do it again, but for your diary we have already booked Alam to play alongside trumpeter Steve Waterman on July 9^th .

Vasilis was keen to tell me that Alam doesn’t need any trumpet player next to him. He’s right, he doesn’t, but it’s a bit like your schooldays and your home chemistry set, explosive things may happen! So put that date in your diary too.

That’s about it for today. Next week I’ll get back to writing about a cd or two from my collection. I almost did that today, but it’s one you cant buy!! Not unless the BBC release a recording made in 1998 of a broadcast that celebrated Humphrey Lyttelton’s 50 years as a band leader! I dug it out to play last night!

 

TTFN

 

Geoff

 

 

Good Morning All

On the Tuesday of a week for live jazz at Hedsor THIS THURSDAY March 12^th

And what a jazz night we have in prospect for this Thursday. That amazing Greek saxophonist, now resident in the UK, that Master of Music from Berklee, Boston, USA, VASILIS XENOPOULOS is coming to play for us at HEDSOR JAZZ. It will be a marvellous evening of jazz music, with Ken McCarthy on keyboard, Al Pirrie on bass and Mike Jeffries on drums. We will have a demonstration of jazz music and jazz improvisation “explained” to us in purely practical terms by a Doctor of Jazz.

https://vasilisxenopoulos.com/bio

Vasilis now lives in Cookham, and after last weekends “tour” of the North of England, Hedsor must be one of the nearest jazz gigs Vasilis can have.

BUT even more excitement may well come Hedsor Jazz’s way this week because another saxophonist, who can even walk to Hedsor Jazz, has been invited by Vasilis to join him for a few improvisations.

Yes, Vasilis has never played with Alam Nathoo before and at Christmas time Vasilis expressed an interest in doing so. On this coming Thursday, March 12^th, it looks like that wish will come true. Alam will become a “sitter in” with Vasilis at Hedsor Jazz. Come and see what that chemistry will bring. For jazz and for Hedsor Jazz, a real first. 8pm start £12 cash entry. Free car park.

Our last concert at Hedsor actually did feature Alam alongside Lester Brown, and my photos from that session are below

For us to be able to continue presenting jazz of this quality locally at this price has only been achieved by reducing our concerts to two a month. Up until the start of 2026 we had tried to continue every week, and we managed to do this for over 20 years but financial pressures were against us, and we have eventually had to reduced our club meetings to the second and fourth  Thursday of EVERY MONTH. We have now committed to do this for the whole of 2026.

Can I thank all who have committed to support us financially through Jazz Angels, and to those who sponsor individual musicians and their concert presentations. Without you we wouldn’t be able to continue.

And on those other alternative Thursdays have you missed the regular meeting, music and conversations? I know I have.

OK, so I have a large record collection to help me fill the gap, but part of the completeness of live jazz is that it is not only the players who are live, but the audience is too. In the splendour (isolation?) of your own music room, who can you tell of your experience of when you saw Gerry Mulligan live or Louis Armstrong on Earls Courts revolving bandstand?

Well if you follow the YouTube link below you can see some of the concert at Brecon where I saw Gerry Mulligan in 1991

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLMXt9-Szec

Sadly I cannot find a recording from Louis Armstrong’s 1956 Earls Court sessions, but below is the poster and a press photo!

 

The Louis Armstrong gig sound quality was rubbish, the live sound coming to you every time the bandstand swept in your direction. The best sound was had through the PA system!!

The Mulligan concert was superb, and I could see and hear all perfectly, being in the audiences on the left side towards the front! "Wow"!

Yes I was at both, and I hope to be at The Hedsor Bar this Thursday for more jazz experience!

 

Geoff C

Just a short reminder that this week we don’t have any live jazz at The Hedsor Bar.

Our next live event is on Thursday March 12^th, when we have that amazing international saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulos coming to Hedsor Jazz. 

Our usual start time of 8pm, and our usual entry fee of £12 (in cash) still applies. All of which is a lot better than going to see him at Ronnie Scott’s. Hedsor Jazz is less expensive and more convenient to get to, certainly from Cookham. 

At Hedsor you get all of the musical quality at a fraction of the cost. I will admit that you also get less of the glamour! But Hey, it saves you getting dressed to match Ronnie’s decor!

The pictures below are from our session last week with Lester Brown and Alam Nathoo. Another great combination of *talents.

 

Also last week we had the additional benefit of John Sergeant depping for Mike Jeffries on drums. He was using his light weight travelling drum set. A very clever design that is lighter to carry than a conventional drum kit, but which also collapses down almost into one box!

It was perhaps uncanny that for Alam’s feature last week he should choose Isfahan, from Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite. I think the town of Isfahan (in Iran) was bombed over the weekend in Trumps latest adventure. Back in the 1960’s it was included in Ellington’s US State Department’s sponsored tour of the Middle East.

 

TTFN

 

Geoff

*PS In biblical times a talent was roughly equal to what a typical worker would make over a sixteen-year period!