So, with September autumn approaches, but somehow this year it has all got very confusing, and we appear to be walking backwards to Summer!

Changes happen all the time, but we all seem to like living by routine. Routine takes some of the burden off from actually thinking about every thing we do. Routine takes over, whether driving your car, getting dressed, making a cuppa. Many many things are placed into a routine, and we coast along maybe only thinking about the things that need to be rearranged when they need to be rearranged!!

Hedsor Jazz is having to rearrange a bit in the next few weeks. Don’t worry, we will be there every Thursday at Hedsor Bar, with first class music as usual. But Who is playing may not be who we said was going to be playing.

Over the last few years ever since Clive Burton passed away, all the bookings have been carried out by our drummer, Martin Hart. He has booked all the players, and has played himself most weeks. In those passing years, without our noticing too much, we have all got OLDER!! And Martin has begun to find doing all of that arranging a bit of a chore, and he will be taking a step back from Hedsor Jazz for about 5 weeks. Mike Jeffries will be taking his place on the drum stool and has taken control of Martins phone numbers! Therefore our published program has seen a need for a bit of rearranging itself.

One of the problems we have had in advertising Hedsor Jazz more widely is the need to know more in advance who is coming to play, and this has made Martin’s roll more difficult. Some of the players who we had asked to play have been made better offers, and replacements needed to be found. This coming Thursday, September 14th, is no exception. Stuart Henderson will be with us, but not paired with Frank Walden, instead we will have that fine trombonist Nick Mills with us. Obviously Mike Jeffries will be on drums, and because of a holiday already booked, Ken McCarthy will be away and Nigel Fox will be on keyboard. Peter Hughes will be on bass, (we hope, but he did recently have a fall)! So do bear with us

Real thanks go to Mike Jeffries for stepping in to this roll, and also thanks for playing last week at short notice.

Our session with Alan Barnes, Alam Nathoo and Lester Brown, with Al Pirrie on bass and Ken McCArthy on keyboard with Mike Jeffries on drums was excellent. It was another reminder that what we get at Hedsor Jazz is of the finest quality. A 3 part front line isn’t the easiest to organise, especially “on the hoof”, and none of the front line had played together before. A friend of mine who came was really amazed at how smoothly it all went. He emailed me this:- 

Great evening Geoff. Being so close to Alan and observing his finger movements was in itself a great eye opener, plus another of those amazing moments -which went :-

Ken – what key do you want it in

Alan - E flat (major I guess – which has 3 flats: not the most difficult for a keyboard player, but not the easiest either – but it’s the transposing at speed that’s the issue)

Ken OK !!!!!

This seeming magic can be yours at Hedsor Jazz every week for just £10 per head. Magic? No its skill, every time!

Some of my pictures from last week are below.

Keep an eye on the blog for the week by week rearrangements for who is coming when, and we hope very soon to have a complete correction of the listings, including more news about Christmas!! Yes, it IS coming!