A Blog a Week helps you work, rest and   ??? SLEEP, well maybe!

But our return from Christmas, considering the apprehension provided by covid, was a really good evening.

The attendance was, both in the number of those attending and in the adherence to the rules on mask wearing , was pretty good.

It was also a jovial evening.  I think everyone enjoyed the company of like minded jazz fans after the break for Christmas

Our band for the night also played really well. Mark Aston was a little hampered by the loss of one of his spectacles lenses as it had decided to go its own way, but as I have already commented to him, his playing has improved over recent years. I think his playing now, to use an old phrase, makes you prick up your ears! The sound from his vintage baritone sax is what live music is all about. Lester was his usual self playing trumpet and singing to prove he can! 

So a good start to 2022. Pictures below.

Also good for 2022 was the news than Jan Burton was returned to her own home that afternoon after her long stay in hospital following her stroke. She is making good progress and is very pleased to be home. She is getting about indoors with the aid of a Zimmer frame and her speech is much improved.

Covid

I would remind anyone who is contemplating a trip to Hedsor Jazz (we are planning to keep going every Thursday, see last weeks blog for a listing for January) that you must be covid free and to have passed a lateral flow test within the previous 36 hours. We have the assurance of all the musicians who will be playing for us that they will adhere to this requirement, so we hope all those coming will do so too.

Coming to us this week (January 13^th) are trumpeter Stuart Henderson alongside saxophonist Kelvin Christian. Our bass player this week will be Terry Davis. Keyboard and drums are as usual Ken McCarthy and Martin Hart

A Recent CD Listen

Once upon a time I used to play a trumpet, not very well, but I enjoyed it anyway! One of my partners in crime (well we were probably committing some sort of crime on the tunes we played) was a pianist. Often we would play together, just the two of us. I became very aware that this wasn’t easy, especially in public!

Over Christmas I acquired a double album of 2 great jazz individuals who joined together in public and played trumpet and piano together rather well. “Roy Hargrove and Mulgrew Miller In Harmony” is the name of the album on the Resonance Label  (HCD2060) and it really is an example of how it could and should be done. They show excellent rapport between themselves as  these live recordings from 2006 and 2007,only recently been released, prove.

Sadly both musicians died young (Hargrove in 2018 aged 49 and Miller in 2013 aged 58) and these recordings just emphasis what a loss it was for the jazz word.  The album contains mostly well know tunes played without rehearsal, and they sound fresh and spontaneous. 

Jazz at its best.

 

G C