Blog Day, and the sun is shining, but the wind is cold!

Two things to blog on about this week, and the usual reportage of last weeks Hedsor Jazz!

Coming this Thursday, April 27^th, the erudite trumpet and verse of Ian Smith coupled with the swinging saxophone of Ollie Wilby. The pairing have been a number of times before and always provide an entertaining evening of jazz, which Ian couples with an explanation of the words that many of the tunes played are associated with. We will endeavour to turn up his microphone so that those at the back can hear his prose! Backing them will be Ken McCarthy, Peter Hughes and Martin Hart

 

Did you know that this coming Sunday April 30th is UNESCO’s International Jazz Day? Well neither did I until last Sundays “Jazz Record Request”!

 

But Sunday April 30th is also a special day because Hedsor Jazz Goes to Church! Maidenhead URC have invited us to come for a Sunday Morning! So together with Gill Cook, Alam Nathoo, Ken McCarthy, Peter Hughes and Martin Hart I will be linking up the Sacred and the Secular from 10.30am in West Street, Maidenhead, SL6 1RL.

 

I am still touched by the churches diary entry for the morning,  “Something very different this week: our friend Geoff Cronin returns to lead us in a Sunday Jazz service. You’ve never seen – or heard – anything quite like it! Don’t miss it.”  Entry is free, and the event should last about 1 hour. The church’s web site can be accessed via https://www.maidenheadurc.org.uk/about

 

Last week we had another outing from “The Clive Burton Celebration Quintet”, my pictures below. It is always good to be reminded of times past, and this combination is the nearest to how Jazz at Hedsor began 22 years ago. No, not a Catch 22, but great tunes and many memories provided by Mike Wills and Lester Brown with Ken, Peter but NOT Martin. Only Mike and Martin now remain of the original Quintet but missing last week was Martin, who was replaced, as the photos will tell you, by Mike Jeffries.

 

Coming in May, a lot of great jazz, and leading the charge will be Alam Nathoo and Frank Walden, both superb saxophonists, with Ken McCarthy, Al Perrie and Martin Hart behind them on May 4^th. You don’t want to miss that either but  you actually might have a job deciding which Hedsor Jazz Thursday in May you DO want to miss!!

 

Finally just to end, the Duke Ellington tune that will start our Sunday is an invitation, “Come Sunday”.