There was a very good reason for this, my wife and I have been redecorating our front long, which
a) is very time consuming and
b) houses the Hi Fi, which had to be completely dismantled in order of the shelves it all stands on to be painted a fetching shade of red. And THAT is another story, perhaps for a long winter night (at the present rate of summers approach, that will be next week)!!
The Red Shelves!
So, lower down this piece you will see that since reassembling the listening apparatus, I have got 3 CD’s for your consideration.
First things first, news of live jazz.
Thursday, as always, the Clive Burton Quintet will be performing for us at The Hedsor Social Club. Usual £5 admittance, 8.30 pm musical start.
I know times is hard, which is why we keep the entry price as low as possible, but I really find it hard to understand why the bar at the social club has started to charge 60p for a glass of tap water!! Grip (water?) over, tomorrow night should see the usual suspects playing. We are getting some star guests in future weeks, but please come and enjoy the regular star band.
On April 8th, we will be joined by Blue Harlem’s Al Nicholls on tenor sax. You know he swings and you know what a booting sound he makes, so stuff it in your diary NOW!
We are also trying to secure the services of Vasilis Xenopoulos together we the singer from his Cookham Festival band, Michael J. Roberts. Keep a lookout in the blog for a soon to be announced date.
Looking much further ahead, plans are now well in hand for bigger fund raising event than anything I have been involved in before. Again it will be for Cancer Research UK, but on October 23rd, at Marlow’s Crowne Plaza Hotel we will be running an All Day Jazz festival. Music and master classes will be available. Booked so far are Vasilis and his band, and Simon Spillett and His band, which includes John Critchinson, Andrew Cleyndert and Martin Drew. A marching band opening encompassing Cookhams fabulous Shirtlifters will kick it all off. We will also have vibraphone player Alan Graham, who with Mike Wills will be recreating some of the Benny Goodman Quartet sounds and of course our very one Clive Burton Quintet. Lots of other things too. A whole 12 hours of jazz! Put it in your diary NOW, and I will let you have more info when it is available.
I don’t know who the guests will be at The Bourne End Community Centre on Tuesday 6th April, but it being the first Tuesday of the month, there will be live jazz in the bar from 8.30 pm onwards.
Now those CD’s
First up a 2008 recording on the Arbors label by guitarist Chris Flory. Chris was at one time a regular member of Scott Hamilton’s band, and we have him here in more funky ensemble with Mike LeDonne on organ. Good tunes, and very well recorded straight ahead jazz. They are joined by Chuck Riggs on drums, and Dan Block on tenor sax and Jon-Erik Kellso on trumpet. One of my favourite tunes from my trad playing days (a VERY long time ago) “I Want a Little Girl” is included in a set the moves from Gershwin to Lockjaw Davis. Arbors ARCD 19357
Next a CD I took out of the stock. Coming through now and again have been a set of what look to be very boring reissues of very old recordings. The covers are “brown” and most people have passed them by, even when at bargain prices. I thought I would try volume 11. The first 4 tracks are by Bix Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931). But I was stunned by the wonderful sound quality some someone has achieved from these vintage shellacs. Not stereo, but it is very hard to think they were recorded in 1927! Following on are recordings by Muggsy Spanier (not quite as crisp, but still very listenable) Lionel Hampton, and Benny Goodman. The CD is worth the first 4 tracks alone Vintage Jazz Volume 11 CDSGPBJZ20. Released in 1995, you may find some still in my for sale boxes, or on Ebay.
Lastly a CD I cant stop playing since putting my Hi Fi back together. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but Tommy Smith and fellow Scot Brain Kellock dueting on Symbiosis is a knockout. Beautiful recording, wonderful playing. No places for the musicians to get lost in. Brian can play almost any style of piano, but blends them all together to make his own. Tommy Smith plays it fairly straight ( too often on the recordings I have heard he goes past the point where his improvisations are understandable by me at any rate ) and he has a wonderful tone, clean and precise. The tunes include Cherokee, Manhattan, Bernies Tune, and 8 others equally well known. Released in 2004 on Sparticus Records LC13027. It’s available from the manufacturer for £9.99
Well, it’s time I had a lie down, so
TTFN
Geoff C
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