Another Tuesday, another Blog with news of Hedsor and all that (other) JAZZ

Coming to Hedsor Jazz this week we have that super saxophonist Sue Greenaway, and as promised, I can now tell you that she will be playing alongside the trumpet of Stuart Henderson. Rest assured, Stuart will also be holding it! Add in Ken McCarthy on keyboard, Peter Hughes on bass and Martin Hart on drums and you know it will a great evening of well played jazz. Later in the blog you will find an updated list of who is playing at Hedsor Jazz up to Feb 24^th.

 

My photos from last weeks session with Lester Brown and Duncan Lamont Jr are below, and you will see that we also had that fine bass player Andy Crowdy in the band. It used to be asked “What do you do during a bass solo”?.....and “talk” was the usual answer, but not so when the solo capability is of the standing of Andy Crowdy. He really became a third member of the front line, excellent stuff.

 

Exactly the same rhythm section was playing at Woodley last Saturday when Martin brought Steve Waterman to the Oakwood Theatre. Steve is professor of Jazz Trumpet at Trinity College of Music in London and visiting Jazz Trumpet specialist at The Royal Northern College of Music and The Royal Welsh College of Music And Drama. That quality shows. It could have been a bit one sided, as a solo trumpet is a lonely instrument to listen to for an evening, but thanks to Andy’s solo ability, the bass was able to feature in a number of exchanges with the trumpet. It was a great evening.

The next Oakwood Theatre presentation will be in May, when saxophonist Karen Sharp will be the featured guest.

At Woodley, I was able to pick up 2 more of Steve Watermans CD’s from the early 2000’s. I had already the 2003 recording called “Stablemates”, but he also had with him the 2005 “Our Delight” album, and the 2008 album “Night Lights”. All three albums are of a similar nature, Steve being accompanied by such excellent British jazz names as Alan Barnes, Dave O’Higgins, Clark Tracy, and Mark Nightingale to name but 4. Over the three albums the music of Benny Golson, Wayne Shorter, Tadd Dameron, Herbie Hancock, Gerry Mulligan and Chick Corea is explored, and explored very well indeed. See the artwork below; they are all on the Mainstem label.

 

Jazz Angels treasurer John Dutton has now had his long awaited open heart surgery, he was operated on at 8am today. We all wish him a speedy recovery.

Future Hedsor Jazz Gigs:-

All the gigs below start at 8.30pm and the entry charge is £10. We would ask all our patrons to ensure they are clear of covid before coming to Hedsor Jazz. ALL of the musicians who come to play have promised to have a lateral flow test before coming to Hedsor.

This Week Jan 27^th        

Stuart Henderson trumpet + Sue Greenaway  reeds+ Peter Hughes bass + Ken McCarthy keyboard + Martin Hart drums

Feb 3^rd         Mark Aston reeds + Lester Brown trumpet + Peter Hughes bass + Ken McCarthy keyboard + Martin Hart drums

Feb 10th      Stuart Henderson trumpet + “Tolly” + Peter Hughes bass+ Ken McCarthy keyboard + Martin Hart drums

“Tolly” is the stage or short hand name for a great saxophonist. His full name (if you should choose to use it!) is Anatoliy Vyacheslavov

Feb 17th      Frank Walden reeds + Lester Brown trumpet  + Terry Davis bass +  Ken McCarthy keyboard +MIKE JEFFRIES  drums

Feb 24th      Al Nicholls reeds  + Max Brittain guitar + Ken McCarthy keyboard + Terry Davis bass +  MIKE JEFFRIES drums

As you can see from the above list, Martin is taking Brian for a longer than usual walk!! But he had bought him a new harness for it!