A Blog a Week helps you work, rest and sleep!!

Especially if it is about HEDSOR JAZZ!

 

And this week at Hedsor Jazz, we have a small change to our advertised program. We do still have Mr and Mrs Pirrie, bass and trumpet respectively, but they are bringing with them from Oxford a young saxophonist, called Noah Smith, AND , as Ken McCarthy is taking a week off (!) they are also bringing the final member of their quartet, Martin Picket on keyboard. BUT, just to make sure it IS Hedsor Jazz, our own Mike Jeffries will be with them in the percussion section of the orchestra!

As you may realise if you look at the videos on You Tube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7XD8N-bBS0&t=305s) Steph and Al have a regular quartet with these same gentlemen so it should be a very enjoyable evening. And all yours for just £10 a head. That’s this Thursday February 8^th from 8pm

Noah (left) and Steph

 

Last weeks session had “our” Lester Brown on trumpet return for his first session at Hedsor Jazz this year, and he was accompanied by a young saxophonist now living in Bourne End, Alam Nathoo. What a joy to have him with us, and within walking distance of Hedsor Jazz. He has wonderful tone and phrasing, and both were on display last Thursday.

We also had a fine selection of feature tunes last week as well, Ken McCarthy featured the Mario Lanza hit “Be My Love”, Lester blew his way through ”Yesterdays” and Alam’s feature was “I’ll Be Seeing You”. Collectively straight jazz wasn’t forgotten either, starting with “Four” and nearly ending with “Seven Steps to Heaven”.

My pics (only a few last week, as I was seemingly having a technical problem day) are below:-

 

Sadly last week also saw the funeral of Gill Jones, one of our long standing Jazz Angels. A regular member of our audience for many years, his funeral was only indicated to me too late for me to attend or to let anyone know. Tina May once said to me that we are all one big jazz family, and I for one am sad that I couldn’t be there for his cremation.  In April we will be holding a special evening to remember some of the jazz friends who are no longer with us and this will be led by Vasilis Xenopoulos. That will be on April 25^th under the heading of “Absent Angels”.

There is nothing particularly angelic about Jazz Angels, but the title came about through our first sponsor Ernie Evans. Ernie was a great jazz fan, and a millionaire, and he sponsored local jazz using an account called “Jazz Heaven”. When Ernie passed away we had to self finance, and so we set up the “Jazz Angels” account in his memory. People who voluntarily contribute to this fund are called “Jazz Angels”! If YOU would like to help support live jazz locally, please talk with Jazz Angels treasurer John Dutton.

We do have a program set for March, and below is artwork for a poster for that program.

 

TTFN   (OK too young? Look up ITMA)

 

see you soon.

 

Geoff C

 

PS when you have found what the initials mean, you may be led to a jazz tune called “Mop Mop”. Do then tell to me your findings!