Todays Blog comes after a bank holiday, in a week where we do have real jazz at Hedsor, AND today the sun is shinning!! 

The music for the jazz at Hedsor this week comes from singer/actress Jenny Howe (who wowed the audience at our Christmas concert) who will be accompanied by her partner, trumpeter Simon Gardner. As usual, our trio of Ken McCarthy, Al Pirrie and Mike Jeffries will be behind them all the way. 

I also have heard it rumoured that Duncan Lamont (with us 2 weeks ago) may well come and join in as well! A trio of friends in front of our trio!!

A very entertaining evening is therefore in prospect this Thursday April 9^th. Usual start time of 8pm, usual cash entry charge of £12

Pictures from a previous outing to Hedsor Jazz by Jenny and Co. Are below.

 

Two weeks ago we had another combination of singer and trumpet player AND Duncan Lamont, only this time the singer and trumpeter were the same person. Karl Charity sang, and for one tune played a trumpet. A suave evening of entertainment in a very cabaret style.

My pictures of that evening are below.

 

This weekend there is another opportunity to support live jazz AND support aid to Ukraine as well.

Christ Church Marlow is giving a performance by The Ukraine Solidarity Jazz Band on Sunday at 5.30pm. See the link https://www.christchurch-marlow.org.uk/music-in-christ-church and the clip from their web page reproduced below

 

That’s 2 good reasons for you to go out Sunday evening. In one move you can support live jazz and  Ukraine as well!! You will also be supporting an organisation that promotes live music. And none of it will be any sort of chore!

In Next weeks blog I will write again about the records listened to in my past. The formulative years of listening.

As last time, “but for now....”

 

But do check out the words of the song!

 

Geoff 

A little reminder for today’s blog is that there is no live jazz at The Hedsor Bar this Thursday.

Since the beginning of the year when we decided that we would run jazz at Hedsor only twice a month (on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month) I have been pondering on what to interest my blog readers with in the weeks when no live jazz is on.

Over recent years the blog fell into a pattern of what it was like, with photos to prove it, last week, and what it will be like (again with photos to hope with) for next week.

With now a week between each live jazz event, I have fallen into the habit of showing the last events photos twice!

Well, last weeks event will have its photos published NEXT WEEK. As will the “hopefully to come” pictures to entice you to the next event! 

Looking back over the years I can see that I used to write more often about recorded jazz than I have done recently. I thought it might be an idea to do that again a bit more often, so for this week I am going to write a bit about my early listening years with two released cd’s that can back that up.

My early listening years (after the period of “The Teddy Bears Picnic” on 78 records via a wind up Gramophone) was via a pre war valve radio (which was probably a fire hazard), that was used in my bedroom at the top of an Edwardian House in Hammersmith. 

Following the program “The Man in Black”, a series of spine tingling mystery stories brought to you BY The Man in Black (Valentine Dyall) at about 9pm on the “Home Service”, came “Kenny Bakers Dozen”. This was a superb jazz program broadcast live until about 10 pm. It was led by extrovert trumpet player Kenny Baker. His band was largely made up of big band musicians who played a semi arranged form of modern jazz. This program ran from 1952 until 1958. It was a great introduction to the modern jazz repertoire and it gave a good grounding in the form of music that ran in parallel with the form of traditional jazz that was just about to sweep the country, TRAD!

A great example of the music played can be found on a Vocalion CD CDNJT 5305 ”Kenny Baker Presents”, recordings made in thhe 1950's with musicians like trombonist George Chisholm, drummer Eric Delaney, and Saxophonist Harry Klein. It was a great grounding in “modern” jazz music, although I still also followed revivalist jazz. This did morph into Trad eventually and for a few years in the early 60's was "popular"! Go and listen to the difference between Humphrey Lyttelton’s band of the time and Chris Barbers recordings.

 

In the days of the 78rpm record, my listening had been mostly confined to the music of Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings, albeit now driven by electricity.         

These dribbled into the UK market as single 78’s. They were studio recordings made around 1925 to 1929.

They were recordings not made by a working band stepping of the road into a recording studio they happened to be passing, but by a band pianist Lil Harding put together purely for recording purposes. She was convinced that Louis (her husband at the time) was going places, and wanted to ensure she was part of the journey! 

Fortunately electric recording techniques were just coming in and the recordings became classics. Tunes like “Muskrat Ramble”, “Cornet Chop Suey”, “Big Butter and Egg Man” all became famous and were famously replicated by the trad jazz players of the 1950’s and 60's.

I’m sure many trad jazz players at the time didn’t understand those titles either, which meant that the audience couldn’t possibly have done! For example, the song “Big Butter and Egg Man” referred to a rich farmer at the time, and how beneficial it would be to be married to one! “I want a Big Butter and Egg Man”!

There is a great 4 cd release around of the complete Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings for you to investigate. Columbia Legacy Jazz C4K 63527

Just to wet your apetite we dont have either Louis Armstrong or Kenny Baker coming for our next gig at Hedsor, but we do have a trumpet player, Simon Gardner.

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!

Tuesdays Blog from Geoff

And this Thursday is a performance day! If you have given us your email address, and permission to use it! Then you will already have had a reminder of who is playing this week.

Tracy has done a great job of describing who is coming out to play this week. For those who haven’t got Tracy’s write up, then this week on trumpet a long time associate of Hedsor Jazz, Lester Brown. On tenor sax, the only jazz musician who can walk to Hedsor Jazz and still play, Alam Nathoo. Alam is a real find, and lives in Bourne End! 

With them and behind them all the way pianist Ken McCarthy , Al Pirrie on bass and John Sergeant, guesting in place of Mike Jeffries, on drums.

8pm start. £12 cash only (I’m afraid) entry.

 

On March 12^th in front of our regular rhythm section will be another local resident living slightly further away to make it a long walk to Hedsor, Vasilis Xenopoulos. And for this top international musician we are charging....£12! Yes our usual entry fee.

Come along one week and you will hear why we want to keep live jazz alive, at HEDSOR JAZZ.

At the beginning of the month we had trumpeter Bruce Adams with Mark Ridout on guitar. A wonderful evening of music, some pictures from the night are below.

 

In recent blogs I have been recapping on some of the music I listened to in my formative years. Believe it or not one tune I liked a lot as a small child was “The Teddy Bears Picnic”. We had it as a 78!

But in the trad revival years of the late 1950’s, that tune was actually played on a LP by  Kenny Ball’s Jazz Band!! Yes, that LP is somewhere in my loft still.

As the trad sound became pop music in the late 1950’s early 60’s one of the bands I followed, as I have recently described was Humphs!

He managed to turn away from what was just becoming popular (its all about timing!), and became much more “mainstream” (which wasn’t) with a band that had some of the UK’s best musicians in it. He released a 12 inch LP, of which I had a very second hand copy, called “Blues in the Night”.  This is now available on a LAKE CD (LACD216). 

In 1960 you could hear arrangements from the Humph Band, often arrangements by Eddie Harvey, played by Tony Coe, Jimmy Skidmore, Joe Temperly, John Pickard, Ian Armit, Brian Brocklehurst and Eddie Taylor, all led of course by Humph himself.

What a band, and what a way to leave his revival styled small band behind. If you can do try and track it down. If you can still play CD’s Lake Records can still be bought, or try Spotify. You may then find out why I loved that band.

See you Thursday

Geoff C