I've had the following update from that wonderful swinging saxophonist Al Nicholls:-

I am at the King & Castle, Windsor this Wednesday, along with Rex Bennett and Bob Haddrell, details as per usual ( 6.30 - 9.30pm, free).
And as per usual, the King & Castle gig, if it continues, will be arranged around the 30th of this month.

However, we are at Mo's club on the 6th November (Bourne End Community Centre), myself, Rex, Bob and hopefully Nils Solberg.

Best wishes,
Al Nicholls

I hope some of you can make some of them!! And as a certain saxophonist recently found out, it helps to keep a diary!!

Geoff C
http://jazzfromgeoff.blogspot.com

First this week, news of Ken Rankine.

He had an operation to pin his hip on Thursday,and is currently recovering in Hillingdon Hospital. His doctors say he will be unable to walk on it again for at least 6 weeks, but other than that(!) he is as comfortable as can be expected, and fairly resigned to the fact that he didn't lift his foot high enough to avoid the step he tripped over!

Gigs

Sunday at Fifield, Al Nichols and John Coverdale will be the guests, with Clive's Rhythm section backing them. (Clive himself is on holiday in the U.S.A.). 8 pm start, raffle funded.

Wednesday at The Harrow, Lynn Garner and Ken McCarthy resume their interrupted residency, with Brad Lang on bass added for good measure. This is a free event and starts at 8.30 pm. Food is available for the hungry.

Thursday at Hedsor, the guest is saxophonist John Rolls. 8.30 pm start £3 to get in, raffle ticket to get out!

Sunday 28th Oct, at Fifield, you can see again John Rolls, no not a filmed repeat, a real repeat! After all, this isn't the BBC!! (Fancy selling of the Wood Lane TV Centre).

Comment

I understand that "our" gigs are not alone in being poorly attended of late. Simon Spillett told me on Thursday that the previous evening he had played the 606 Club in Chelsea, to an audience of 3!!

We have sustained a few months of very low audience attendance, and I would stress that one cannot assume that live local jazz will carry on indefinitely without more people actually coming to listen. As the supermarkets of the world say "when its gone, its gone"! A mortgage can go on forever!

Geoff C

Last nights Hedsor guitar jazz evening was just wonderful!

Those (few) who were there will all assure you who weren't how marvellous it was. And they will begin to bore you, and rant on about how good it was!! AND they will be feeling smug, because THEY turned out and enjoyed one of the best evenings of "modern" modern jazz that Hedsor has seen so far.

We will try to maintain that standard, but not the standard of exclusivity that last nights audience enjoyed!

I did take my camera (see blog), Vasil WAS there, and I captured the entire evening on my MiniDisk recorder as well. I have yet to check it out properly , but an initial check when I got home last night revealed a pretty decent recording! A souvenir for all who were present if the want it, when I have tidied it up.

Next month we will have Dave O'Higgins with James and Lisa, so put the date in your diary NOW, and bring some friends as well, because it will me tremendous! November 19th.

There is another chance for you all to capture some of the jazz magic that is being created these days at The Hedsor Social Club by coming THIS THURSDAY to hear Simon Spillett!

Talking with Vasilis last night, he hasn't ever met, or played with Simon. I think we will have to rearrange that!! What at sax night THAT would be.

Geoff C

Above is a miniture list of gigs for Hedsor and Fifield. If you come TONIGHT for our guitar night at The Hedsor Social Club, you can pick up a printed copy!! AND you will hear James Fenn and Vasilis Xenopoulos doing a jazz funky thing!! 8.30 pm and £5 will see you in for a good time!!

I have JUST HAD the following in a text from Lisa Amato.

All I can say is, turn out, it should be marvelous!!

Geoff C



Hi Geoff,

Re Monday 15th

Thanks for the poster. You'll be pleased to know that Vassilis Xenopoulos will turn up this time - he's promised to stay in a local hotel the night before and I've threatened him with leg-irons. Either way, we will have the pleasure of his blowing this time round (and slightly lower blood pressure for me, hopefully).November 19th is Dave O'Higgins - he confirmed it yesterday. So two London heavyweights coming to darkest Bucks; I can't wait (although your momentary change of it to Tuesday caused a bit of minor confusion here!).

Lisa A

My Advert for the next guitar jazz night was INCORRECT!

It should have been MONDAY October 15th, not the Tuesday I mentioned.

My only excuse is that I did have my flu jab yesterday!

Geoff C

Thursday will be a special day at Hedsor this week. Mike Wills, our one man reed section, will be paying his first return visit after his illness last December. Do please make sure you are there to show him how much he has been missed. As usual, the evening starts at 8.30pm, it will cost you £3 to get in, and a raffle ticket to get out. AND just a little extra plug from me, second hand jazz CD's are always for sale at Hedsor at ridiculously low prices, so do bring some pocket money and pick up a bargain or three.

Sunday has Al Nicholls playing at The Fifield Inn, 8pm start, hot food available, but no CD's! Its raffle funded by the landlord, so don't forget to buy a few tickets.

Tuesday 16th (Yep, NEXT TUESDAY) we have another guitar night at Hedsor. I have asked Lisa Amato to organise the musical content for these evenings, and she assures me that a great selection of musicians WILL TURN UP!! each and every third Tuesday of the month! The guitar might become sometimes less evident, but she has promised us a very well known British saxophonist for the November session. So, do come along, pay your £5 into the black box, and a treat will be yours every third Tuesday.

CD's Listened to:-

First and foremost, the listening please this week has been brought to me by 2 giants of British jazz.
Possibly two of the most controversial pianist you could ever listen to are Thelonious Monk and Stan Tracey. And I know for some of you, having Stan playing Monk tunes would have you buying a ticket to a place for mental health cures! But team up Stan with the other legend, Bobby Wellins on tenor sax, and you have to my ears a spine tingling delight.

Stan Tracey has given me great pleasure and insight into the adventure of music ever since I first heard him back in the late 1950's. Monks tunes always have had an edge, that indefinable quirkiness that you suddenly find yourself whistling along with, improbable though it may seem. This album, with Andrew Cleydert on bass and Clark Tracey on drums has it all. And it is spine tingling. Recorded before an audience at the Bulls Head at Barnes last December I can only say, go out and buy it. It can be found on reSteamed records RSJ104.You will also get a bonus with this album, the sleeve notes are by Simon Spillett, and add greatly to your enjoyment of the music.

In the days before I listened to people playing saxophones, I used to go every week on a 607 trolley bus and listen to a band that had (if my memory is correct) an Irish/Estonian school teacher singing in with the it. The banjo player became pretty well know too, and the band leader is still leading a band. Chris Barber, already a popular bandleader, with skiffle supremo Lonnie Donegan on banjo (still then known as Tony until a confused announcer at a Festival Hall Concert called him Lonnie), had discovered Ottille Patterson, and everyone's view of British lady blues singers changed forever. Now, we can all relive our memories as Lake records has released 23 tracks from this classic early period. Here you can hear her not only sing, but play the piano. Not all the takes have been released before, although all the songs have. The time span is 1955 to 1963. It has some very informative sleeve notes by Paul Adams, and will add greatly to your old Chris barber collection. LACD244

If you didn't look at the blog last week, there is a 2 minute video extract of Simon Spillett playing at Hedsor. Go on, have a look at last weeks entry but don't stay looking too long, we want you out supporting Live Jazz!


Geoff C