A Tuesday Blog, but still no Hedsor Jazz to look forward too,

although we are still looking at the possibilities again this week, and we are also looking at the government “guidelines”!! Which have changed ever so slightly since last week!

In an exercise in indecisiveness (albeit with good reason) I thought I would lead you all this week to those actual government words for the return of the performing arts!

DO, yes, I do mean do and I do mean YOU, go and read:-

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/performing-arts#arts-5-3

And, to be fair, you must read a bit before and some after.

You may then realise the problems we face which will also include the problem of persuading our audience to have enough confidence in the measures taken to ensure their safely such that they feel they would like to come out.

Going out to be sociable has stopped being a norm. We have practiced for months now the “stay safe stay home” mantra, and it will be difficult for people to break.

Our Jazz Angels will look at it all again in the next few days, and I will report back from “The Hedsor Social Club”!

From a personal perspective, I have only ventured out socially once since March. My outing today was to Heatherwood Hospital for a chest X Ray. Last week I was there for a “procedure”. Last week I was driven (as you can't drive back after an anesthetic) and today I drove there on a slight variation of the route. OK, the trees looked very similar!

Also this week I have got as far as a Post Office, the nearest visit to a shop since March!

BUT I have had a few new CD’s delivered by my favourite journalist. 

One CD I want to draw to your attention this week.

The ACT label is German, but does produce some European jazz CD’s that always rouse my interest. “Kadri Voorland in Duo with Mihkel Malpand”, (yes, that is the title!), features a lady singer (Kadri) from Estonia. She does however sing in perfect English on most of the tracks (perfect Estonian on 2!), and most of the songs are written by her. I found the approach and the voice captivating. You can check her out via

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqJowzyQLt4

There are a number of songs on YouTube from the album, and this one is the first. I really enjoyed the bitter cynicism of “I’m Not In Love”. 

The booklet that comes as part of the album reproduces all the lyrics she has written, and I’ll reproduce those for this song below.

I'm in love with the roses you brought

I'm not in love with you

I'm in love with the car you bought

I'm not in love with you

I'm in love with the breakfast we made

I'm not In love with you

I'm in love with the poems you made

I'm not in love with you

I'm in love with the plans for our wedding day and in love with the babies we'll make

but Not with you

DO try out her CD and the YouTube tracks , but I will play “Kadri Voorland ........” again.

Even IF she is not in love with me!!

22nd July 2020

Today's blog may be brief but of the finest quality!!

I am preparing another shipment of computers for Ghana, and also have another hospital experience to enjoy (I think that is the right word) on Friday so I am a bit pushed for time.

For those of you who don’t know, I have been refurbishing computers for a village in Ghana for the past 15 years. They are all discarded by UK people who donate them to me on the assurance that all details that may once have been on them are expunged! This years collection day is Monday!!

We at Hedsor Jazz are still cogitating over live music. The government have issued some new guidance, but so far without a time sequence. Have a read of this, from Classic FM

https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/coronavirus/government-latest-guidance-on-rehearsals-concerts-live-music/

I know it is about live classical music, but the rules would be the same. We are, as you might say a niche audience when it comes to jazz, and not too dissimilar to chamber music with it’s string quartets!

Below are the basic stages outlined by the government, but with no guide as to a timescale, and as we know, music is all about time!

Stage One – Rehearsals and training (no audiences, and performers must practice social distancing)
Stage Two – Performances for broadcast and live streaming (with on-stage social distancing)
Stage Three – Performances outdoors with an audience plus pilots for indoor performances with a limited audience
Stage Four – Performances allowed indoors/outdoors (but with a limited distanced audience)
Stage Five – Performances allowed indoors/outdoors (with a fuller audience indoors)

This info was updated at the end of June. Do tell me I am not up to date!! ALL comments to Octogeoff@outlook.com please.

One small part of the reassurance about attending our kind of event at Hedsor (apart from the knowledge that Hedsor Club are doing all that they can to keep attendees safe) is the following about the Covid 19 infections and the death rate in our area.

See also the article from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274 

You can put in your own postcode for more local information, but you will see that even with the virus, the death rate in our area for this time of year is normal!

BUT rules are rules, and at the moment the rules (and I think a strong apprehension on behalf of our jazz audience) mean we cant run a live jazz gig at Hedsor.

Last week one of our previous guests (Frank Griffiths) released a video performed under covid regs. of “Intermission Riff”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFZiPBa5OEc&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0pFQC24GZy9bW6BMZUQUhphzKStTEq6cDT8XPaclhJSVByRFgRwTaumlE

DO turn the sound up, it's pretty good!!

To think that before the intermission we were able to have it all done in front of our eyes and ears with no technology in between!

Well I must be about a computer somewhere, so for now, to quote Duke Ellington “I love you madly!”

Ps have you caught up with the Ellington concert on YouTube yet? No, the link was 2 issues ago!!

TTFN   

Geoff C

Jazz from Geoff, The Blog

Tuesday, 14 July 2020

Another week has gone by, and so has another Tuesday (almost) so I thought I would at least start on my blog text before sundown!

First of all I must mention that WE (see list below) had a meeting at the Hedsor Club last Thursday to talk “things” over with Sarah Bason, the club steward. As you may know, Hedsor Club is now open again as a bar, and it seems pretty well organised from a covid safely point of view. If you remember, going back a few weeks, I did say what the new arrangements would be, and, yes, they are all in place with good social distancing of seats and tables, one in one out toileting, alcohol hand gel, open doors and windows etc.  all visibly in place. Currently apart from the bar no other activities are taking place inside the club, although some sport activity was visible in the grounds (children’s footy by the look of it is taking place).

Obviously all at the club are learning how to cope with all of this new normal (I learnt that Rebellion IPA is still as good as I had remembered it!) but the virus is still out there and it will be a while before we even start on a new way of going about our live jazz sessions. Our conversation covered a number of aspects of how it might be, but it is too soon to say who, how and when we can start again.

One very positive thing came out of our meeting. Jazz Angels pay the rent for the room a year at a time in advance. The club has offered to extend that into the future, so our rent isn’t lost to us. Hedsor Club, we were assured, is in good financial fettle, owning outright its own building and grounds, so it hasn’t been loosing too much during the shutdown period and didn’t require our financial support to keep going when closed (we had discussed this possibility). Club Membership was briefly touched on, and it would be a good sign of individual commitment to Hedsor Club if more of Hedsor Jazz attendees did become club members.

Currently NO live music is allowed anywhere, no matter if it is a string quartet, rock or jazz  and until that situation becomes clearer, we are no nearer to getting back to having live (or recorded!) Thursday Sessions as in days of old. However, the club do want us back, and we will probably be one of the first music activities allowed indoors when that can be.

It was a real joy to meet each other again after such a long gap, and those in attendance at our meeting were John Dutton, Martin Hart, Mike Jeffries, Tracy Georgiades, Sarah Bason and myself.

Now on to things to watch or listen to.

That live Duke Ellington concert I drew your attention to last week has competition! There IS on YouTube a similar concert given by The Count Basie Orchestra in Copenhagen on 18th April 1972

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3QG1qNwKlg

It will occupy you for 2 ¼ hours!

I was fortunate enough to see both The Duke Ellington and the Count Basie orchestras back in the day. I do count that as one of the privileges of being born before WW2. But I’m so glad that these videos are out there for us to watch TODAY!

Last weekend should have been, would have been, The Swanage Jazz Festival, something I have been going to for well over 25 years, every year without a break, until this covid year.

We were all very sad when it looked like The Swanage Jazz Festival was going to close when Fred Lindup and his team finally retired 3 years ago. We were all heartened when Nigel Price took it on for the following year. A new team took it on for 2019 and I know that that same team in Swanage had a program ready for this year, but it was not to be. Their plans have been transferred to 2021 and I will reproduce the email from the new chair of this group, together with a link to a very short video of some of 2019’s performances.

I still think that the sound quality obtained from performances in the Methodist Church comes across as dire!

Come back Marquees!

Also the Sarah Bolter Session with saxophonist guest Derek Nash, held round the back of a pub, was one of the best things in last years the festival.

Maybe I should just say “Come Back Pub Jazz”!

So, here is that email from Paul Kelly:-

Dear Swanage Jazz Festival Supporter   I hope you are keeping safe and well.  This weekend we had hoped to be welcoming hundreds of you to the 31st Swanage Jazz Festival.   The Festival team, all the artists we had booked and the town of Swanage itself are all really disappointed that we have had to postpone the 2020 Festival, as I am sure you are.   By way of small compensation we have posted a short video on our website and Facebook page of extracts of performances from 2019 which we hope you enjoy and will bring back memories for those who attended.  You can find it here:   www.swanagejazzfestival.co.uk   The majority of our advance ticket buyers have rolled their tickets over to 2021 and some have very kindly donated their ticket fees to the Festival. We are really grateful for those signs of support.   We hope to be able to bring you a great programme in 2021.  The dates are 9th – 11th July 2021.  Please put them in your diary.  And thank you for your continued support.   Kind regards   Paul Kelly on behalf of  The Swanage Jazz Festival organising team

Jazz from Geoff...The Blog

Tuesday, 07 July 2020

Well, this is an improvement; it is at least still Tuesday! No, no more real news about when live music can start at Hedsor or anywhere else, but it is looking hopeful. Hedsor Club reopened for business on Saturday 5^th July, obviously under the revised social distancing rules.

Normally at his time of year I would be down in Dorset, enjoying the hospitality of Swanage and looking forward to its jazz festival. Sadly not this year. Even my usual B&B is only able to offer a room served continental breakfast , not the usual energizing Full English that was always such a feature of my stays there in the past. Hopefully, Clare will be able by next year to re establish those happy norms. It may sadly be that this year will finally close the Swanage Jazz festival for good, it was struggling a bit last year.

However, some amazing live music is held on recorded media (well, it was live at the time!), and my first link is to YouTube and a really full concert given by Duke Ellington and his orchestra in 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVh6yeCTKm4&t=708s

This will give you 80 minutes of great Duke, with a great linup:-

 Duke Ellington and his Orchestra:- Cat Anderson, Cootie Williams, Ambrose Jackson, Mercer Ellington, trumpet; Lawrence Brown, Chuck Connors, trombone; Russell Procope, alto sax, clarinet; Johnny Hodges, alto sax; Norris Turney, alto sax, tenor sax, clarinet, flute; Harold Ashby, tenor sax, clarinet; Paul Gonsalves, tenor sax; Harry Carney, baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet; Duke Ellington, piano; Victor Gaskin, acoustic double bass; Rufus Jones, drums; Tony Watkins, vocal (Personnel on Camera)

Recorded in the Tivolis Koncertsal, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2nd November 1969.

There is a more local find this week. Gaining strength since my recent hospitalisation, I started to go through my CD collection, trying to sift the wheat from the chaff and regain some storage space, and I came across a plain brown envelope!! Inside were 2 cd’s with writing on them by an unknown hand! I have “attended” to them, using Audacity software, and I have put them up in my DropBox folder.  I have written up what they are on the CD cover that you can download, but as far as I know this is an unissued concert from Hedsor Jazz in 2011 featuring saxophonist Don Wright and guitarist John Coverdale. So, turn back the clock and enjoy.

DropBox link is  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5b0f5kah08amhfs/AADEhLyHy3_PLSxSl2gK6H0ma?dl=0

This will get you the complete folder with both sets of music in mp3 and the CD cover in both MS Publisher and JPEG format. See also below.

I hope you enjoy watching and listening. 

You are welcome to give comment and feedback via email to Octogeoff@outlook.com