OK its late! My excuse is the blocked drains I had to get sorted out yesterday!!

But TONIGHT, at The Hedsor Social Club, Clive Burton and his Quintet will entertain you for the measly sum of £3. We do of course still run the raffle, somehow we have to pay the band!!

There is a risk to our method of paying the band. The Management of the Hedsor Club have found out that for the last 3 weeks we have taken more than the bar has! They now want to charge us rent for the room!! I wonder if they would like to refund some of the bar take for the last 2 years where we have lost an average of £50 per week!!

This attitude contrasts strongly with that of The Harrow in the Hughenden Valley, who week after week financed jazz from their own pockets (free entry, no raffle) and were eventually defeated by the local authority licensing laws. Well, for those of you who miss these sessions, there will be a "reunion" at The Harrow on Wednesday April 12th, so put it in your diary and make sure you help The Harrow management take more on the bar than their costs!!

Saturday at The Bourne End Community Centre, Mo is organising another Jazz Supper, and, unusually, I understand that there could be a few tickets over. MO's number is 01626 520170.

Sunday, Century Jazz at Fifield from 8 pm onwards. Raffle funded, but more punters would be very welcome, or that will be yet another venue closed down!

Into the future, I do now have tickets on sale (£10 each) for the Jazz for Cancer concert at Bourne End on Friday May 12th. I'll attach a copy of the flyer so you can print and distribute in your area. We all know its a worthwhile cause. First Keith Vitty was in our thoughts when we planned the first one 4 years ago, then my own son Stuart who died 4 months after Keith and finally Ernie Evans last year are all poignant reminders of friends who have succumbed to Cancer.

Tickets for both Mo,s Supper, and the Cancer Research Concert can be obtained from Crocks and Chrystals in The Parade, Bourne End.

Simon Splillett has asked me to let you know where he is playing in the next few weeks (one of those gigs will be that Cancer Research Concert!), so they will follow this para., But wasn't it a good session at Hedsor with Simon and Clive dragging harmonies from the air. Wonderful fast paced stuff too! You missed it!! Its your own fault, but we will try again!

"However closer to home I have three gigs coming up;

Sunday March 26th - Fifield (Mothers Day!)
Monday March 27th - The Fox and Hounds, Englefield Green, Surrey (with Pete Davies Quartet)
Tuesday March 28th - Seer Green Village Hall (with Vic Poole Trio)" Simon.

CD wise its been a barren listening week, with one of exception.

that was a CD that so intrigued me that I had to try it out immediately. All about classic ragtime's roots, it's called "Classic Ragtime, Roots and Offshoots" it contains recordings that go back as far as December 7th 1909. And as history these early sounds are marvellously reproduced. The last one on the album is from 1939 and it's fascinating to hear how jazz took on board the music that was being played around it, and transformed it into a much freer, more syncopated music.
Its on an RCA Victor BMG album as "Classic Ragtime", and it number is 09026 63206 2 (or is that someone's free phone number!).

More jazz next week, but until then,

Goodbye for now!!

Geoff C