A Warning

For those of us who travel to Hedsor Jazz via Cookham Bridge I have just been informed, courtesy of he Bucks Free Press online, that the Bridge will be closed again this Thursday, November 21st, from 7.30pm until 5am next day.

Another Tuesday, another blog to entice you to another Hedsor Jazz evening!

Yes, it is getting colder, and the evenings have already got dark, but Hedsor Jazz offer’s a warm welcome, and the music is jazz, GREAT JAZZ!

This week, Thursday November 21^st, that jazz will be provided by Lester Brown on trumpet with Alam Nathoo on tenor sax and they will be backed by our regular rhythm section (well rhythm is regular!).

Lester has been “our” trumpet player for many years, coming to us soon after Clive Burton passed away. Alam is a relatively new find, but one of the most amazing musicians I have come across in years. His solos border on the impossible, and his understanding of any tunes chord structure is phenomenal. If you haven’t heard him before, you must come and listen.

 

Now for an update on our December program.

We have had to change the line-up for December 12^th. After all, we couldn’t really afford Johnny Thirkle and when Jamiroquai have a booking we can’t have him! Sue Greenway was always a TBC, and she can’t, so in their places we have booked a) another great friend of Hedsor Jazz who has been playing for us since the days of jazz in Cookham’s “Railway Tavern”! That great booting tenor saxophonist Al Nicholls is coming, and b) bringing with him another part of “Blue Harlem” trumpeter Titch Walker. So watch out for some great Harlem style swinging jazz.

 

A revised poster is below, please copy and print off and place somewhere where the public can see it!

 

My photos for last week are below. Last week Duncan Lamont Jr brought with him a big  band trumpeter in the shape of John Hinch, and between the music and the informative introductions from Duncan we all learnt more about tunes like “Once I Had a Secret Love”, “Georgia”, “The Days of Wine and Roses”, and we finished the evening with “Bernie’s Tune”! They say Variety is the Spice of Life. For “Spice of Life” just substitute “Hedsor Jazz”.

 

Do that and I’ll see you all on Thursday!

 

 

 Another week has flown by, and yet again we have a week with 2 great local jazz evenings for us to enjoy. 

TONIGHT Marlow jazz has Nigel Price Plus: see their advert below.

 
Hedsor Jazz has had 3 of these 4 play before, and we have had gypsy guitar music evenings with 2 of those3 before!!

HEDSOR JAZZ this THURSDAY (November 14^th) has that great friend of Hedsor jazz saxophonist Duncan Lamont Jr. 

When he is invited to bring a partner to play alongside him he always introduces us to someone wonderful.

This time we have a trumpeter new to us, John Hinch.

His background is:-

John Hinch – Trumpet

Graduate of Leeds College of Music and Postgraduate Jazz Scholarship Trinity College of Music, London. John is an experienced freelance trumpet player, working in all areas of the profession. Artistes and organisations worked for include Shirley Bassey, Petula Clark, Nancy Wilson, The Drifters, BBC, Eurojazz and West End Theatre.

Which I nicked from The Groove Merchants synopsis

 

I’m sure it will be another entertaining evening for all you Hedsor Jazzers. Just as last weeks Hedsor Jazz was!!

Week after week we are getting some superb performances at Hedsor Jazz, and although our audience is small, it is perfectly formed! Having  more listeners would only benefit themselves by coming to hear what Hedsor jazz has to offer.

Last week (my photos are below) I heard mentioned more than once that it was thought to have been that listener’s best night ever at Hedsor! It was a very good night! Pete Rudeforth heard the comment and was visibly embarrassed (but pleased) and promised he would come again.

 

Dont forget, our poster art for both November and December is available, so please copy and place it before the general public.

 

 

 After reading todays Blog You have 50 days until Christmas!!

BUT TONIGHT November 5^th, you could go and see “In The Pocket” at The Bourne End Community Centre

With Alam Nathoo and Mike Jeffries, both stars of Hedsor Jazz with Jezz Cook, who has played Hedsor many time.

8pm start £8 entry

 But what has Hedsor Jazz itself got to offer you this Thursday, November 7^th? 

We have a return visit of that very experienced trumpet player Pete Rudeforth, who will be kept company at the front by Mark Aston on various saxophones. 

No, Mark isn’t a new permanent member of Hedsor Jazz, but this week it will be 3 in a row for him. He has been a great friend of Hedsor Jazz for many years and we must thank him for helping us out this Autumn. Some of the invitees for this Autumn were unable to be with us and Mark has gallantly led his way to Hedsor’s front line. Many thanks, and we look forward to future appearances from him in the weeks to come.

Last week Mark led a session alongside guitarist Alex Corlett, a very talented musician and composer. This was a very enjoyable session which included a performance of one of Alex’s own compositions “Minor Declaration”. 

My photos from last week are below.

 

But last week I did take some more photos!!

On our way home Tracy and I, as we crossed Cookham Bridge, could see a barge well on fire, and as there was no evidence of the fire brigade that we could see, we went to investigate in case no one had called them. By the time we had walked to the site of the blaze 3 other people were there from the next boat moored nearby and they said that they had called the fire brigade. Once it was established that the fire brigade were in charge we went back to move the car out of their way. Sadly this residential barge was completely gutted by the fire and subsequently sank as can be seen from the photos I took next morning.

I have no news at all of who has suffered the loss of their home. I believed the barge to have been empty at the time.

 

Lets hope future journeys home prove vastly less exciting in the future, 

and lest hope for a better future for those people who seem to have lost all in the boat fire.

Some VERY RAPID feedback has come to me about the gig at The Bourne End Community Centre on November 5th

The band IS NOT called "Corner Pocket"! It's called "In the Pocket".

However if you would like to watch Count Basie and his band play "Corner Pocket" try this link:-

https://www.google.com/search?q=corner+pocket+jazz+song&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggCECMYJzIGCAAQRRg5MgwIARAAGEMYgAQYigUyBggCECMYJzIGCAMQRRhAMg0IBBAuGJECGIAEGIoFMhMIBRAuGK8BGMcBGJECGIAEGIoFMg8IBhAAGEMYsQMYgAQYigUyBggHEEUYPNIBCTEyOTQ4ajFqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&si=ACC90nyLlcElEvb2bNLvGYvz3qiAWZ9iF0XapdJLrREv_8q4Z1vRB15MMgwKrNtcVuw6lAfWzn7hTChOHJYZLwlOqcgYPagFGxjLIQ7x_QDZWYLnaP2nklxevKnNDNGF4kolIOp3h4df&ictx=1&ved=2ahUKEwiGnves0LGJAxXnX0EAHai0MOUQ_coHegQIPBAe

5 minutes of Black and White Swinging TV!!

 

The Clocks have gone back, there are now 58 days to Christmas, today is a Monday and it’s grey and drizzling!

 All good reasons to write my blog today rather than my usual Tuesday.

 So what has Hedsor Jazz got coming for you this 

Thursday, October 31^st?

Last week we had Lester Brown with Mark Aston, my pictures are further down the page. This week we have MARK ASTON!! This time with guitarist Alex Corlett, a combination we have had 2 or 3 times before. SO something that should drag you away from the treasured viewings on your television!

We have had the benefit of Mark many times over the last 10 or more years, but Alex is relatively new to us so do check out his own web page at https://alexcorlett.com/ . He is an extremely accomplished player and well worth your full attention.

 

Talking of guitarist reminds me that I recently saw on Facebook a comment about a gig that had both guitarist Nigel Price and pianist John Donegan. It is great to hear that they have at least played together again, as when they both appeared at Hedsor Jazz (I think in 2019) they had not met or played together before. After a few minutes we soon discovered they were a terrific pairing, and I can still remember the sparks they produced during that evening. Two people with that level of musical energy shouldn’t really be allowed in the same room together, and we should have charge extra to cover the insurance. They were really terrific and I’m so glad to see they have played together again.

 

We do try to have a variety of instrument pairings on the front line at Hedsor Jazz, and we are planning some variations on the themes of jazz. We are hoping to have another Dixeland (Trad?!) evening in the near future (probably 2025) just to remind everyone how the music was born. We could stretch this a bit to other root music? Skiffle was a kind of variation on the Gospel/Blues music that came to the UK around the mid 1950’s. So perhaps we can have one evening where everyone can reminisce? Let me have your thoughts.

Another evening we have been talking about doing at Hedsor Jazz is that in the Django Reinhart style (referred to generically as manouche). Marlow Jazz have beaten us to it (although we have done this music more than once before at Hedsor Jazz) so if you want to see and hear this type of Swinging jazz before we get around to it, do go to their gig on Tuesday 12th November

 

Last but not least, another gig on a Tuesday in November will be at the Bourne End Community Centre where that wonderful saxophonist, (who can walk to gigs in Hedsor), Alam Nathoo, will be walking to this one too! Arranged by “our” drummer (well, one of a pair) Mike Jeffries for Tuesday November 5^th. (Now that rings a bell, you can’t forget that date). The band is called “Corner Pocket”. Entry is £8 and it starts at 8pm!

 

Finally my photos from last week. Mark Aston alongside Lester Brown, with Ken McCarthy on keyboard, Martin Hart on drums and Stuart Barker on bass. It was a very good session, and Stuart is a very good bass player. In the second set the band played an Oscar Peddiford tune (he was a bass player who just happened to land up in an asylum) and the tune was called “Blues in the Closet. I thought Stuart soloed very well on this tune, and Mark Aston overheard my comment at the end of the tune, and repeated it into the microphone. Stuart got another well deserved round of applause!!

Well that's it from me for now, keep in touch, or even COME to Hedsor Jazz.

 Coming to Hedsor Jazz THIS WEEK

 Lester Brown on trumpet and Frank Walden on tenor sax

 Backed as usual by our men at the back (!) 

led by Martin Hart on drums. 

And as usual our start time will be 8pm. 

That’s this coming Thursday, October 24^th. 

BUT if you want quality jazz that we have already tested for you, then Bruce Adams and Alan Barnes are appearing together TONIGHT October 22nd at The British Legion Hall in Marlow, See https://www.marlowjazz.co.uk/WEBSITE2024SEPT.pdf

Both have appeared individually at Hedsor Jazz this year!

Hedsor Jazz last week had one of our favourite compilations, a pairing of saxophonist Duncan Lamont Jr with trombonist Mike Innes and they were supported by Ken McCarthy, Peter Hughes and Martin Hart.

This was an evening of both harmony and melody. They played some tunes now little heard like “I Will Wait for You”, “What a Wonderful World”, and “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning”, and that was just some of the first set. To say that the evening closed with “There’s a Tavern in the Town” will give you a clue as to the flavour of the evening. And the harmonies conjured up by tenor sax and trombone were to die for. They weren’t always perfect though. On one title Duncan picked the tenor sax but the tune was in the right key for the flute, so they staggered to a halt, Duncan chose the right instrument (flute of course) and off they went again! Yes, a great evening of tune and harmony, with enough time in the interval to catch up with the friends we have all made at Hedsor Jazz. My photos on last weeks set are below.

 

 

Dont forget to keep an eye on whats happening at the recently refurbished Dawkes Instrument shop in Maidenhead. On Saturday (26^th October) for example Dom Pipkin an exponent of New Orleans piano is playing from 8 ‘till 10.30.

 

See more at DAWKES.CO.UK/LIVE

But for now, from me

Goodbye

 Coming This Week to Hedsor Jazz

 Duncan Lamont Jr on Reeds and Mike Innes on Trombone

 Accompanied by our Hedsor Jazz trio

 Which this week has a return of drummer Martin Hart who has had the audacity (no, not the sound software) of having taken a holiday!!

Duncan and Mike on their last visit to Hedsor

 

Last weeks session had the trumpet/sax combination of Lester Brown and Frank Walden, which was greatly enjoyed by our audience. Yes, it was the same combination of instruments as the week before, but hey, this is jazz, and the different players brought a different approach to, of course, different tunes. Over the weeks (and we do meet EVERY WEEK) we do often have similar instrumentation, but don’t be put off by that, as what happens in front of your ears is NEVER boring.

My never boring pictures from last week are below.

Last week also had some big band jazz in Cookham, and the Echoes of Swing Orchestra was playing Tuesday night in the Methodist Church. They raised over £400 for a charity helping children’s education in Africa. A common link to Hedsor Jazz is E of S bass player was “our” Peter Hughes!

Also notable in the trumpet section was musical impresario Toby Cruse, who next day posted a photo on Facebook showing him departing the UK again from an airport!

Sorry but I have no photos of their Big Band gig, I had buried my phone in a raincoat pocket, it was the night of a storm!!

Last weeks blog carried our poster art for October and November. Please copy, print and place in view of the general public. They may even come one day!

Last week also saw an email from Simon Lenton who has agreed to help maintain Marlow Jazz following on from the sad and sudden passing of Michael Eagleton.

Tuesday 22^nd October WILL see Bruce Adams and Alan Barnes together at Marlow. See poster below:-

That's about it from me for now. 

Keep in touch, there's a budget coming and you know governments love older people!