Good Morning Jazz Fans,

Jazz at Hedsor this week is one of our “different” weeks. No doubt there will be three regular members of our rhythm section towards the rear, but up front I am delighted to say that we have a re appearance of two of our new favourites, trumpet and flugel horn player Stuart Henderson, and his Ukrainian colleague “Tolly” on tenor sax. If you missed there appearance at our Christmas concert, or when they played together in December in The Hedsor Social Club Bar, which I called “The Hedsor Pick Up Band” as only Nigel Fox was a regular Hedsor performer, then you will not want to miss this Thursday. They are truly something wonderful from the town of Reading! Improvised jazz at it’s very best, and all for just £5! The Jazz at Hedsor starts at 8.30 pm. They may even play “Bossa” again!!

Just to ensure that you march with determination from Thursday to Thursday, in addition to our regular Clive Burton Quintet, on Thursday Feb 16^th we have saxophonist, singer, and bombshell, Tracey Mendham coming to play for us again. Place this in your diary now, you really don’t want to miss this one.

CD’s Listened to

A few weeks ago, I mentioned my listen to a CD on the label JLP with a band called “One For All”. The album was called “Incorrigible”, and was a very enjoyable listen, very well played and beautifully recorded. I have now made an effort to trace more of the labels products and have found one by another young player who was previously unknown to me. “Grace” by Michael Dease I think will appeal to all who like the kind of jazz we put on at Hedsor. It has plenty of melody, wonderful recording and tremendous playing. Michael plays trombone, and soprano and tenor sax. Alongside him are Cyrus Chestnut on piano, Rufus Reid on bass and Gene Jackson on drums. A very talented bunch of American musicians. They have a number of guests with them including Roy Hargrove on trumpet and Eric Alexander on tenor sax. Tunes from a wide range of composer/performers have been included (Jobim to Beiderbecke via Cotrane!), which makes the listen an interesting one. So, for me, Jazz Legacy Productions have done it again! JLP 1001009 is the number.

Another CD comes in mono, not as well recorded, but what a treasure. Recorded by an enthusiastic amateur in The Dancing Slipper Ballroom in Nottingham in 1966 Humphrey Lyttelton and His Band with Buck Clayton is a real joy for all of those who, like me, listened to Humph and his band live in those years. The additional joy of having Buck Clayton on board means for me it was a “must buy”. But it also has a 19 year old Tony Coe on tenor sax and clarinet, Eddie Harvey on piano, Dave Green on bass and Tony Taylor on drums. We do tend to forget how good a band Humph always led and he himself was no slouch on trumpet either. You try and tell who is playing the trumpet at any one time, it’s almost like double tracking!

It’s jazz, it’s largely British, and it is best! OK the recording has limitations, but it doesn’t detract from the music. It’s released on Humphs own label “Calligraph Records” CLG CD 048 AND it’s a double album!!

TTFN

Geoff