The Last Blog of 2013

I do hope you have all had a Happy Christmas, and are all now “girding up your loins” for a New Year. A whole 2014.

Hedsor Jazz has now been in “The Big Room” for a complete year, and much as we might have had misgivings about our move, I think on the whole it has benefited everyone. Hedsor Jazz has made more effort to invite jazz musicians you might otherwise have to travel to London to see and therefore we have made more investment in our visiting musicians.

We have had some wonderful sessions to look back on, and highlights for me have been the visits of Vasilis Xenopoulos with Nigel Price on my 75^th birthday, and our Christmas Special, which was VERY special this year with Tina May as our guest singer. Mind you, she really did become a member of the band for the night, calling many of the riffs. Stuart Henderson and Anatoly Vyacheslavov competed admirably for the applause, and all our regular guys more than held their own (Beer?). Other sessions were equally enjoyable, if not so well attended. Duncan Lamont, father and son was pretty good, as was Alan Graham early in the year when Clive was indisposed. Two musicians who have played with Frank Sinatra!! The two sessions we have had with Jez Cook on guitar were very enjoyable too. I could go on dropping names, and I do have others I want to hear “At The Hedsor Social Club”

Our first session of 2014 will be on Thursday 2^nd January. Our regular guys will be in evidence for this starting session. We do plan to have more special evenings during 2014, with both individual guest musicians and perhaps once or twice complete bands in place of the Quintet.

It amazes me that we are still going after more than 12 years at The Hedsor Social Club. We have seen some changes there of course, and it is very pleasing to see the improvements taking place under Sarah’s leadership.

Hedsor Jazz attendance is still incredibly variable. In our much bigger venue we notice the thin evenings (and there have been quite a few), more markedly than when we were in the bar. If you could spread the word that Hedsor Jazz produces the best modern jazz of anywhere in the area it would be great to get another dozen paying guests helping the empty seats along. We do have an amazing atmosphere, and many friendships have been made over our 12 years at Hedsor. I am often asked why people turn out and enjoy our bigger events, but don’t come very often at all. People are busy, “times is hard”, but jazz is not just entertainment, it is a form of art and it must be allowed to keep going. Without the support of the audience it wont be able to do so.

Enough of the encouragement, just tell your friends what they are missing.

But for now……some photos of Our Christmas Party.