A Tuesday Blog, and I have been writing a weekly blog since the summer of 2005. One of the first contained my thoughts on the Brecon Jazz Festival in August that year.

What I have been writing most weeks these past few years has been to tell you who is coming to play at Hedsor Jazz.

This one is no exception. For the past few years we have tried to introduce you to new players, some that you may not have listened to before. Named guests have been part of the Hedsor Jazz experience for many years. One of the earliest was saxophonist Al Nichols, and you will still see him at Hedsor now and again.

 Someone we introduced you all to is trumpeter Stuart Henderson, now a regular at Hedsor, and he will be with us this week on Thursday 30^th March. Earlier in the month he partnered Vasilis Xenopoulos, who first came to Hedsor in 2007. This week he will be partnering another young saxophonist, Alam Nathoo.

 

Alam at Hedsor in 2022

 

Alam has been with us 2 or 3 times before, and is one of those young saxophonists who will carry live jazz forward for fresh ears with innovative playing not a million miles away from how Vasilis was first received at Hedsor.

 

Alam is a graduate of The Trinity College of Music, and was a prize winner in 2009, see https://londonjazznews.com/2009/09/18/alam-nathoo-one-prize-won-and-up-for-another/

So the prospect of hearing Stuart and Alam together is quite exciting as I don’t think they have played together before. Come and experience jazz on the edge!

As usual, the front line will be backed by The Martin Hart Trio, which usually includes as our regular pianist, Ken McCarthy. If you have never done so, look him up on the web as well as Alam

http://www.barisons.co.uk/music-KenMcCarthy.html

AS a matter of interest when I showed Vasilis a photo taken of him playing at Hedsor in the days of jazz in the bar I said I thought it was 2009. He looked and said, “no, It couldn’t have been that late, I stopped playing that saxophone in 2007!”

Last weeks Hedsor Jazz celebrated the music of the big bands, with Sue Greenway and Mike Wills playing a variety of reed instruments on arrangements of those tunes more often played back in the 1940’s. The clever arrangements shrinking the 18 piece band sound down to 5 were by Mike. 

A couple of pictures are below

 

It was great to hear tunes like “I’m Getting Sentimental Over you” and “Stealing Apples” again. Such music was almost implanted DNA for people born before WWII. Many jazz fans are probably a bit like me, having come to jazz through the big bands of the 1940’s and the trad era of the late 1950’s.

 

Some of those trad bands got left behind, and even though they carried our interest in to more modern (1950’s modern!) jazz their playing technique was often fairly basic, and their harmonies safe in the three part front line of trumpet clarinet and trombone. When I come a cross a youthful band playing tunes like “Wild Man Blues” and “Oh Didn’t He Ramble” I usually do a double take. So when I came across a CD by a band called “The Dixie Ticklers” I had to take a listen. Oh what a music college education does for players of traditional tunes! A whole new way of using the traditional New Orleans tunes with modern counterpoint and harmony. A really refreshing and well played CD called “Standing Pat”. Go have a listen. Artwork below

 

By the way, it is a British band! The only comment I would make about the CD cover artwork is “it could have been bigger for us old chaps to read”! 

PS I have NO IDEA why Blogger, the software being used for this blog, is so difficult to control its line justification. It does not seem to obey any logical rules, and writing and viewing are completely different!!

Tuesday, March 21^st 2023. Another blog day, with quite a few things to mention this week.

So first something to wet your expectations. Hedsor Jazz this week has “our” reedman Mike Wills coming to play for us. And coming with him from Oxford will be fellow saxophonist Sue Greenway. Our usual trio led by Martin Hart will be behind them, and Mike has emailed me this week to outline their program.

“Just to let you know ... that Sue & I (and the trio!) will be doing a special Big Band Tribute show – playing tunes associated with the great Big Bands, Ellington, Basie, Goodman, Buddy Rich etc – even a Glen Miller!  Should be fun!”

And so it should. Tell your friends and neighbours, they may even recognise the tunes! And don’t forget to come yourselves!

Sue and Mike at Hedsor Last June

 

 

A quick look back now at last weeks session with Vasilis Xenopoulos and Stuart Henderson (pictures below).

 

And what a session! “Terrific” is an understatement using a well worn word. It was “I must pinch my self, is it real”.

Wonderful harmonies, explorative solos, and tunes not often heard. “Society Red”, “Milestones”, Nardis”, “On the Trail” were all played that night. One of our regulars at Hedsor Jazz said to me at the end “I have been coming here for over 21 years, and this was the best night”! At the end of the evening I think everyone in the room was wearing a broad smile!

So you see, magic does happen sometimes. Jazz is a live vibrant music and just sometimes everything works to create an amazing experience. All the musicians on the night just happened to play the best you have ever heard them. Try and recreate it and it will come a sort of second best. Those of us who were there had a special experience. You weren’t there? The word “pity” comes to mind.

Tony Coe

Whilst those of us who were there were having that great experience, elsewhere one family weren’t having such a good time. On March 16^th that great, perhaps undervalued, British saxophonist Tony Coe died at the age of 88. I for one have valued his playing for most of my adult life. I have seen him play a number of times, and talked with him on 2 or 3 occasions. No matter if he were playing clarinet, alto or tenor sax, his sound, his phrasing, was identifiable, surely the mark of a great musician.

He came to prominence in the Humphrey Lyttelton Band of the late 1950’s and early 50’s, and during his time with Humph formed a Quintet with the then Humph trombonist John Pickard.

In that period he created for me one of his best recordings, which has never been released on CD, or even ever in stereo! “Swinging Till the Girls Come Home” had me hooked as a fan ever since it was released in 1962. He has had many other great recordings issued since, both under his own name, and as part of a band led by others. There are so many, do look him up on your favourite search engine. I cannot list all of his output, but https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Coe will help you. You will see the scope of his work. He will be greatly missed.

As it is rare, I will leave you with the LP cover to “Swinging...”

 

 

One final postscript. June and I moved to Cookham in 1969. Our first experience of live jazz was in  1970, at Maidenhead's "The Bell" pub opposite the railway station. That first gig was with the resident Quintet there, that of Lennie Best on vibes. With that group that night, and what attracted us to that gig, was Tony Coe and John Pickard! I asked him for a tune from the "Swinging" album, and he asked me if I was a promoter! 

I wasn't then!!

 As earlier today I was not only looking forward to Vasilis's visit on Thursday, but to James Fenn's visit last week, I thought I would dig in to my archives and look what I found from 2007

From the left

James Fenn, Nick Marangoni, Vasilis, and Lisa Amato

And yes, the Hedsor bar did look like that back then!

 

Geoff’s blog this week either has not a lot to talk about

OR

Perhaps A LOT to mention  about this Thursday, March 16^th

We have that wonderful combination of talents coming to play for us at Hedsor Jazz this week

 VASILIS XENOPOULOS

And

STUART HENDERSON

 Please ensure you are in your seat for the 8.30 start of the music

 As is now well known we do not sell tickets for our events, but charge just £10 on the door. It should be a memorable session of well played modern jazz, so don’t miss out.

Last week was also one of those memorable sessions. When did you last see an electric steel guitar? 

No neither had I. But I do remember the cover on one of the first cd’s every issued. “Brothers in Arms” by Dire Straits did have a steel guitar on its cover, but it was an acoustic one. 

(Brothers in Arms was one of the first albums recorded on a Sony 24-track digital tape machine.)!

 

 

However James Fenn DID have a more conventional amplified guitar with him, and he played both splendidly. 

He was joined at the front by Frank Walden on tenor sax and some modern “modern jazz” was played by them both. 

Highlight? For me was “Footprints” by Wayne Shorter. It was the second tune in the second half, the first being Ken McCarthy's feature piece "You Dont Know What Love Is"

 A truly uplifting evening of jazz.

James was one of the musicians who helped me start live jazz promotion, and back in the “new” 21^st century played at Hedsor once a month on a Monday, and also for an occasional evening at The Old Bell at Wooburn Green. It was really great to see and hear him again. 

On one of those Monday evenings we had John Critchinson on keyboard and Vasilis on tenor, with James on guitar, and Lisa Amato on electric base. The drummer I think was Nike Marangoni. John died in 2017 so it was a while ago now.

Pictures from last week very much alive session are below.

 

That last picture of James shows the difficulty, "and shock" of being asked to read a lot of chords from a small smart phone. James did protest a bit!

That’s about it for now folks. I could mention our winter of discontent, but I would hate to put you off coming out to see Hedsor Jazz. After all, just look at our program, what’s not to like.

 HEDSOR JAZZ APRIL GIGS

Below is a jpeg file of a poster advertising our APRIL Gigs, If you have the capability please copy and print and place before the public!

Note especially the vibraphone player coming with Duncan Lamont Jr. See his online profile:-

https://www.roankearseylawson.co.uk/

Hedsor Jazz 

Top Quality Modern Jazz

ALSO note that since the beginning of December I have paid in to Cancer Research UK £125 all from the sale of donated CD's and Books. Many thanks to all who come to Hedsor Jazz and purchase these second hand items.

Life itself is a very complex discussion topic, as is music, part of life.

Part of music is JAZZ, another complex subdivision. 

Local jazz is another subset of life, and our local subset of jazz is HEDSOR JAZZ! And if you continue reading you will find some very interesting events coming up in the next few weeks at Hedsor Jazz.

First off this week, March 9^th, we have a very exciting combination. Two young men who are in part new to Hedsor and part of Hedsor Jazz’s past!

We have enjoyed recently the saxophone of Frank Walden, and he will be with us on again this Thursday. Joining him will be a guitarist who last played Hedsor in the days of jazz in the bar. James Fenn is joining Frank on Thursday.

James Fenn

 

Frank Walden

I first heard James in the days when we promoted jazz at Wooburn Green’s “Old Bell” pub, which I think was last century. I thought then that he was “very good”, so I asked him why I hadn’t heard him before, and he replied “because I am always second choice”!

 

Clearly if you come and listen on Thursday you will realise that he is nobody’s second choice. When we tried to get him to Hedsor this century, he was always too busy! An exciting evening is in prospect, and for me an evening to reminisce!

 

The following week (March 16^th) we have another young man coming to Hedsor who needs no introduction to you. Vasilis Xenopoulos will be playing alongside Stuart Henderson. Please tell your friends, and bring them too. Don’t keep such valuable secrets to yourself.

 

As a matter of interest it was James Fenn who introduced me to Vasilis, who now lives, like me, in Cookham!

Last weeks Hedsor Jazz (pictures below) was also a reflection on the past. “The Clive Burton Celebration Quintet” (with Lester Brown replacing the late Clive Burton playing alongside Mike Wills on reeds), was a reminder of the years we enjoyed Clive and his Quintet , which had both Mike and Martin within it.

On Bass Al Perrie

 

Listed below is the gig list for April. I will do a poster later for you to let others know who is coming to Hedsor, but for now, it is just my typewritten words. Transcribe them into the diary of your choice, and make sure you come to all of our tremendous value modern jazz evenings

 

 6    April       Duncan Lamont jr + GUEST VIBES PLAYER???

13                  Steve Waterman  + Frank Walden

20                  Mike Wills + Lester

27                  Ian Smith + Ollie Wilby

 

Finally a discovery from the ITV Hub. Yes catch-up TV has mined some golden nougats from the 20^th century.

In the 1980’s a TV series written by Alan Plater was broadcast on ITV under the series title “The Beiderbecke Trilogy”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beiderbecke_Trilogy

I couldn’t believe my luck when I discovered it is available at the moment on the ITV Hub. Those of you who know the name Alan Plater will appreciate the wonderful dialogue he creates, together with the slightly anarchic politics of the storylines. Add in to this mix proper jazz, with trumpeter Kenny Baker playing lead trumpet, and you will realise why I screamed with delight. No, they really don’t make programs like this anymore, go and ensure that you watch them whilst you can. https://www.itv.com/watch/the-beiderbecke-trilogy/Ya0116

BUT DONT DO THAT ON A THURSDAY!! Live Jazz needs to be kept ALIVE.

Helping NOW with this goal is The Bucks Free Press!

https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/local-events/?_evDiscoveryPath=/event%2F1592453-hedsor-jazz