Another week, and if you buy from the company store, another week deeper in debt! Also, another week nearer Christmas, and further away from your summer holidays!

So, is there any hope for the future?

Well, YES!

Thursday at The Hedsor Social Club we have another convivial evening of JAZZ from The Clive Burton Quintet.

A small bird told me that Clive is just about to acquire a computer, then I will have to ensure that all I write about him is always nice! But, as I always have written honestly about his orchestra, I have nothing to fear! So DO come along on Thursday from 8.30 pm, enjoy a drink from the club bar, enjoy the company of other jazz friends, and enjoy the superb music put on every week by the Quintet. £3 to get in, a raffle ticket will get you out again!!

On the downside this week, I must STRESS that the jazz concert at Cores End Church, billed for this coming Saturday HAS BEEN CANCELLED. So please tell anyone who may have thought of coming, that they can now watch TV all night instead!

Due to one or two "events" I have largely been away from live jazz this past week, and have caught up with some Hi Fi jazz instead.

And so to a (for some) surprising link.

British read player, eccentric and lover of cream cakes, the late Bruce Turner is one of my favourite electric listens. You may consider him to be "just" the alto player with Humphrey Lyttelton who got "Bannered" as a "Dirty Bopper", but in fact he was very firmly a player for all seasons. I have listened this week to an LP (large round black plastic about 12" diameter) of Bruce and his Jump Band, formed after he left Humph in 1959, and before he rejoined him again a few years later. Here we have him and the band playing a la Artie Shaw and his Gramercy Five, performing titles like "Accent on Swing", and, yes "Cream Puff". It's a long gone LP on the International Jazz label (AJZ/4/LP), and well worth looking out for in Oxfam type shops. With him in the band were Johnny Chiltern (later to keep George Melly company for many years), Johnny Mumford on trombone, Stan Greig on piano (in between stints with Humph on drums, and Humph on piano for many years), Tony Goffe bass and Johnny Armatage on drums.

The surprising link is that the other album I listened to in the past week has been by Lee Konitz. Called "The Real Lee Konitz" this album on the Atlantic label has tune titles like "Pennies in Minor", "My Melancholy Baby" "and Easy Livin'" which you might have considered more suited to Bruce Turner. Well, Bruce did study under Lee Konitz!! Honest, I kid you not.In the 1950's, as part of Geraldo's Navy (dance band musicians on Atlantic liners) Bruce travelled back and forth to New York, and took lessons from, and had a good friendship, with Lee. If you listen to early Bruce (with Freddy Randel for example) you can hear his style develope into the superb, instantly recognisable, British musician he became.

OK, so keep trawling the charity shops, you never know what gold you can reveal.

But don't keep it up so long that you're too tired to turn out for the live stuff. Its only by helping musicians to keep playing that you lay down any opportunity for future music that isn't all electric!

TTFN

Geoff C