Good Morning Jazz fans,

and Hedsor Jazz fans in particular.

For a variety of reasons, Hedsor Jazz is going through a difficult patch a the moment. As you know Clive Burton, our renowned trombone playing leader is finding it sometimes a bit difficult dealing with the effects and after effects of his cancer treatment. Those who were with us last Thursday will know that Clive made a brave attempt to be his usual self, but at half time had to travel home. He did get home safely, and is slowly beginning to realise that chemo therapy is a bit stronger than he thought!

I thought that the band coped very well with his difficulties, and with any difficulties of their own once he had left them to it in the second set. 

Thanks are especially due to Robert Goodhew on tenor sax and John Coverdale on guitar. It was great to see (and hear) how they all played as though they had been playing together for years. I especially like the way they all insisted on giving John Monney such a run (space?) on his bass guitar for an extended solo! He really did have to cry "enough".

This Thursday, June 1st, we have another very special treat. 

I know we shouldn't, but when you see and hear a musician almost every week you tend to take their talent for granted. For the last few weeks we haven't had the pleasure of our usual reed section, Mike Wills, as he hasn't been able to drive to us from Oxford. This week he is being brought back to us by another superb musician, guitarist Jezz Cook. I'm sure you will all be pleased to welcome them both to Hedsor Jazz this week. For a short period of my promotional career I used to run an evening once a month concentrating on the guitar in jazz. This month we will have had the pleasure of 3 great jazz guitarists in a row. All with a different approach, but all great players. 

Jezz Cook

So do lend your support to Hedsor Jazz. Tell your friends about us. Persuade them to come, and they will be pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the music we put on at the Hedsor Social Club EVERY Thursday

THURSDAY 25th May 2017 UPDATE 

I am pleased to tell you all that in addition to Robert Goodhew, tomorrow we will have with us anther friend of Hedsor Jazz, guitarist John Coverdale.

Do let your friends know (that is if you still have any!), it promises to be a great evening of improvised jazz.

Jazz Past and Jazz Future

To start this week I must reflect on last Thursdays Cancer Research "Special".

I was surprised that despite having a column in the Bourne End section of the Maidenhead Advertiser, we had a lower attendance than normal for our Buffet functions. I don't understand why. Our guests, Vasilis Xenopoulos and Nigel Price are famous and accomplished jazz musicians, and our regular band are no slouches either. The food was and always is abundant, and definitely it was a gig worth £12. So, I was disappointed with the result. HOWEVER, we can still donate to Cancer Research UK £300.

Those who did come (thank you) had an evening of exceptional jazz. Jazz of the very highest quality. Nigel and Vasilis have played together now for a number of years and have a close understanding of each others work. The result is exceptional music. One of our regular customers, a musician himself, emailed next day to say that after hearing Nigel, he was going to put all his guitars together and set fire to them! Please don't, just keep going. If you aim for the stars you wont get here. But you will fall to earth a lot further on than where you started from!

Thank you to all who helped out on the night. Jan especially for the food, and Michael and Helen for their help on the door and in setting out the tables beforehand. Actually, they help at Hedsor in so many ways they both deserve a medal.

Jazz Future

This coming Thursday (May 25th) we have as our front line guest that melodic young saxophone player Robert Goodhew. Robert has been with us a number of times and is always a good listen.

A guest in the back row this week will be drummer Mike Jeffries. He needs no introduction and is really a part of the regular band, except we cant have two drummers!

We do have another gala night coming up this year, and yes, it will be to celebrate a birthday. BUT IT WONT BE MINE!!

Vibraphonist Alan Grahame is celebrating his significant birthday event with us on July 27th. Put it in your diary now. It will be a very special evening.

This week, a blog full of anticipation!

Because THIS THURSDAY we have our Cancer Research fundraising evening, where all and any profit from the evening goes to Cancer Research UK. We have (of course you know this already) two splendid special guests who are both firm favourites at Hedsor Jazz, either together, as they will be on Thursday, or separately as they have been many times in the past. Our guests are of course Nigel Price and Vasilis Xenopoulos. They will be backed by The Clive Burton Quintet. 

The evening starts at 8pm to give you all time to eat the buffet that will be served up at half time, which is all inclusive of your ticket price of £12. 

Now, I do hope you have got your ticket already, because this time we have had some splendid coverage in The Maidenhead Advertiser:-

So Perhaps we will have a capacity crowd this year.

As most of you know, I was away last week in Norfolk, but I do know that last weeks session with Stuart Henderson went very well, with Clive in good form despite only having received his chemo treatment the day before. 

I was even sent a photo of Stuart in full cry! (via Geoff Swaffield)

So this Thursday, bring your ticket and your appetite for all things jazz. See you there!

A Brief Blog this week, as I'm off to Wild West Norfolk and will therefore not be with you on Thursday May 11th.

First please give a thought to Clive this week as he goes for his third round of chemotherapy on Wednesday . It will be good if he can get to Hedsor on Thursday, even if he can only tell us more about his first wife!

Musically Thursday will be a good enjoyable session anyway as our guest this week is trumpet and flugle horn player Stuart Henderson. 

Stuart Henderson

Stuart is another great friend of Hedsor Jazz, and if you have managed to miss him in the last 5 or so years....HOW? Catch up this week! No, not "Some Other Time", THIS WEEK!

Another great gig coming up on Saturday 13th May is one of the gigs in The Woodley Theatre run by our regular drummer Martin Hart. His guest will be the lovely Scottish saxophonist Jo Fooks. Once part of the Humphrey Lyttleton Band Jo has recently been seriously ill and unable to play for a couple of years. I am only sorry that family matters will not allow me to be there, but perhaps you can go in my place. She is a lovely sensitive player. 

Jo Fooks

Check out 
Woodley Theatre Box Office

Telephone: 07939 210121
Email: boxoffice@woodleytheatre.org
Website: www.woodleytheatre.org

Coming very soon to Hedsor on May 18th is our Cancer Research UK fundraiser, with Vasilis Xenopoulos and Nigel Price, backed by our regular Quintet, and possibly a few others. Tickets this week from Helen at the Red Box, or from the Stationery Depot in Cookham (as it says on the poster)! There will be food at half time, and don't forget that to accommodate the chewing time the evening starts at 8pm.

Vasilis and Nigel 

Finally for this week another date for your diary. 
On June 1st we will have a return (for one night only) of Mike Wills! He is being brought from Oxford by our guest for the evening, guitarist Jezz Cook. Well worth making the date in your diary one with red letters!

Jezz Cook

A BANK HOLIDAY BLOG!!

So it will be short and hopefully informative even if not entertaining!! (Yes, I have had criticism!).

This coming Thursday in the place of Mike Wills, who at the moment is unable to drive over from Oxford due to a health issue, we have a return visit from a very fine saxophonist and flautist, Kelvin Christiane. 

Kelvin at Hedsor last year

The rhythm section should be our standard line up (referred to last week by Tracey Mendham as "what a band"). Hopefully Clive will be well enough to be with us, but if he doesn't feel able on the day then we await his replacement with eager anticipation! Obviously his Chemo treatment does sometimes leave him feeling a bit "tired".

This is a good lead into a plug for our Cancer Research Fundraising Show on May 18th. A great night of jazz which I hope will raise a good sum of money for Cancer Research UK. We hope to have with us some of the staff from the CRUK Shop in Maidenhead to assist in your knowledge of their work. The poster is below. A PDF copy of it for you to print can be found in my DropBox folder:-

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w42clzbrmb6qar7/HEDSOR%20JAZZ%20cancer%20poster%20v2%202017.pdf?dl=0

Do print some off if you have the facility, and place where others can see it.

Tickets are available from me on a Thursday, or from the shop in Cookham.

That's it from me for now, enjoy your holiday from the banks!