Tuesday, and a drab day here at level 2. No meeting up, no music, but a hope that 2021 will be better than 2020. They are inoculating against covid 19 as of today. A Vaccine for Christmas is a pretty good gift.

Jazz wise, not a lot to report. Obviously our idea of a Hedsor Jazz meeting before Christmas has had to be abandoned. Like many of you I now tend to look to YouTube for new sounds (from old sources!), and this week found some remarkable vintage Marion Montgomery and Dudley Moore, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS8Va_z-2bA&list=RDCS8Va_z-2bA&start_radio=1

 

There are a number of extracts of them together on different shows, and they are well worth watching. Its great music from people whom we may not consider to have been jazz front liners, but in retrospect did deserve more appreciation than we probably gave them at the time when we actually could.

A bit more retrospection could also be had through George Melly and his appreciation of early Humph.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDCIKV7afW4

 

Both the above sets of music are looking backwards. Both looking from different perspectives, when Trad jazz fans though that modern jazz fans were the enemy! I remember there was even schism amongst the traditional jazz fraternity as to whether the music was too traditional, too Dixieland or even too tinged with Modernism!!

I am just so glad that I managed to progress from one end of the jazz scale to the other, and for me the bridge was probably Bruce Turner (a dirty bopper) and then Duke Ellington via Humph. I can now enjoy and appreciate many different aspects of jazz from Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five to Weather Report and beyond! Now I can grieve for what I missed live at the time, but am glad that I can enjoy it all now via recordings both sound and visual. Recently I listened to some 1950’s British Mainstream, Kenny Baker, Al Fairweather, Bruce Turner, Tony Coe, Wally Fawkes, Sandy Brown, what a cast. It was a boxset released in 2004 Castle Music CMETD 992, and it made me realise that we have heard some great music in the past. I am convinced that we will hear some great music in the future too.

 

So, keep safe, if I can find more of interest to share with you I will keep on blogging. Too soon yet to wish you Happy Christmas, but not too soon to wish you happy Christmas Shopping, and stay safe!