Geoff’s Blog for Tuesday May 28^th

 

And because it is a bank holiday week, and a half term week, (neither of which actually affects me too much), this will be a short, direct, posting!

Coming on Thursday May 30^th to Hedsor Jazz, we have 2 superb musicians who have both been to Hedsor individually before, and back in April 2023 they were together at Hedsor Jazz. Trumpeter Stuart Henderson and saxophonist Alam Nathoo

Stuart of course is well known to Hedsor Jazz, having played in the bar in the days of The Clive Burton Quintet before we all moved to the Big Room. Previously a Queens trumpeter, he has carved out for himself a reputation as being a great jazz trumpet player, with superb technique and the ability to lead (he directs the Remix Jazz Orchestra).

 

Alam is a relative newcomer to jazz at Hedsor, but he now lives even closer to The Hedsor Bar than Vasilis. He can literally walk from home to play for us!

 

He had to move away from his first career as a pro jazz musician (he did win a top jazz award in 2009) but since moving into the area has been able to pick up occasionally on some of his jazz playing career. A tenor sax player, he has a wonderful ability for harmonic improvisation and the pairing of the two on Thursday should be a real treat for lovers of good tunes played in the modern jazz way. I think I mean the evening should sparkle!

To enhance our evening even more we have the return of an old friend of Hedsor Jazz, on bass, none other than Steve Riddle. And what a joy it has been to have Ken McCarthy back on the piano chair at Hedsor these past 2 weeks. Finally, returning from holiday with a bag full of photographs, we will have (I am led to believe) Martin Hart on drums.

Last week we had a wonderful evening with Al Nicholls on tenor sax and Jezz Cook on guitar. They had not played together before, but I’m sure they will again. Some wonderful booting sounds and familiar tunes such as The Limehouse Blues, The Very Thought of You, The One Note Samba, and Love for Sale, and that was just in the first hour! Ken McCarthy was behind them with Mike Jeffries on drums and a great young bass player Tom Mark, who had only been to Hedsor Jazz once before. They played to a good audience, so be aware, do come on time for our 8pm start or you may not get the seat you are used to!

My photos of the evening, complete with ghostly shadows of our bass player, are below.

 

To end, but not an end (!!) below is our plan for June. Take a good look and make notes in your diary.

 

For every Thursday of June we have an event that most jazz festivals would be proud to promote as part of their festival. Someone special is coming EVERY THURSDAY.

 

Well, another blog, but after my experiences of  last week, in writing this one I’m feeling slightly punch drunk!

Last Monday I got the news that my chrome cobalt denture repair could not be a repair! I needed a brand new one. Oh well, the old one has served me 20 plus years, so how much will this new one cost? £1500 was the reply! So, with my new one I would be able to bite the bullet, but I have to bite the bullet first to get a new one!!

Yes the cost did stir me!

I went home to tell my wife the news, to be greeted with the dire news from her that the upright freezer had broken down. Search, order, pay up and...

The new one arrived on Wednesday. When we had finished its installation (in an outhouse) we went indoors with a view to washing our grubby clothing to find the washing machine had broken down in sympathy with the freezer. A service engineer is coming to look at that on Thursday! Now something special usually does happen on Thursdays doesn’t it!!

So what can it be this coming Thursday? Oh yes, I remember. Hedsor Jazz! By the time Hedsor Jazz arrives I should be able to tell you more about our white goods saga.

And Hedsor Jazz on May 23rd will have two great favourite players coming to play for us who I don’t think have played together at Hedsor before. Al Nicholls on tenor sax, and Jezz Cook on guitar, are both well established favourites at Hedsor Jazz. They will be accompanied on keyboard by Ken McCarthy,(thankfully back from his tour of local hospitals), a bass player I have yet to meet, Tom Mark, and “our” Mike Jeffries on drums.

Apart from Freezer deliveries, last Wednesday was memorable for another event in Cookham, the Festival Jazz night. This year it was led by Cookham resident Vasilis Xenopoulos , with pianist Paul Edis, Adam King on bass and a stunning young drummer Joel Barford.

They were playing music from their new album “Feels Like Home”, released in April to critical acclaim. I can safely say that the performance of the tunes from the album in Cookham was every bit up to the level of acclaim of the CD. A vibrant Live experience, with every member of the quartet playing their socks off. And the audience thought it pretty good too. Many were staggered by the sheer musical ability of these jazz musicians! 

The whole show was really enhanced by the excellent lighting of the band on the stage and the sound system was outstanding. Well done the organising team of this year’s festival. This was one of the best gigs I have been to in recent years, and I feel that the sheer professionalism of the musicians has won new people to jazz. We will have to see if any of last Wednesdays audience ever reach Hedsor but our flyers were out!

Two photos below taken in Pinder Hall.

 

 

The album art is also below

Hedsor Jazz’s night last Thursday was, I think, hit by listener fatigue, as attendance was very thin. Local jazz fans had had Marlow Jazz on Tuesday, Cookham Festival Jazz on Wednesday, and Hedsor Jazz on Thursday. Disappointing for the Thursday players, but we were able to listen to another new to us musician, guitarist Alex Corlett. Alex was depping for trombonist Nick Mills, and was a last minute replacement to keep Mark Aston company at the front. They were backed by Ken McCarthy on keyboard (who had obviously kept in practice despite his recent “indisposition”), Al Pirrie on bass and Mike Jeffries on drums. Alex is a confident player, with some great ideas and a technique to go with them. He will be back, so all of you who were worn out by a week of jazz will be able to hear him at a date yet to be arranged! 

Just a mention to some of you readers who used to get nagged by email from me to read the blog.

I have been having some difficulties in issuing blind copy emails using “New” Outlook ever since Microsoft stopped Outlook. So many of you will not have been reminded by email that you have something to new to read.

I will eventually solve the problem. Microsoft think they control the world, but they only control some of it. I may use my free will option to move to another method. In the meantime I hope you get into the habit of reading the blog, usually issued on a Tuesday. Even if you don’t like my text, the pictures are pretty! And it is always there to find if you Google “jazz from geoff” or type in http://jazzfromgeoff.blogspot.com/

That’s it for now folks. Do try and support live music, and live jazz in particular!

Hedsor Jazz’s next evening on May 16^th is rushing towards us, and, yes, I will mention it in a moment, but even nearer is tonight’s gig at MARLOW JAZZ CLUB.

DO checkout there website (https://www.marlowjazz.co.uk/may2024eventsupdate.pdf) for featured there tonight May 14^th will be Simon Spillett and Alex Garnet (two tenors for, well £10!!) and they will be backed by FRANK HARRISON on Piano STUART BARKER, bass and ELLIOT TOMS drums

And then, before we get to Thursday, this Wednesday, May 15^th, as part of Cookham’s Festival of the Arts at Cookhams Pinder Hall we will have Vasilis Xenopoulos on saxophone with Paul Edis on keyboard playing music from their new CD “Feels Like Home”. Check out the webpage https://www.cookhamfestival.co.uk/vasilis-and-paul for more detail, but for Vasilis, Cookham is now home!

And now we do come to Thursdays gig at Hedsor Jazz! May 16^th.

We will be welcoming back the sound of the trombone, driven this time by Nick Mills. A fine musician, and a band leader in his own right, who has been with us a number of times before. This time he will be accompanied by a well know face (and sound!) at Hedsor, Mark Aston, on saxophones. It could even become a night where we get a pair of trombones, as Mark not only plays the saxophone, but has also been seen and heard playing the trombone! 

That’s this Thursday May 16^th at The Hedsor Bar (nee Social Club). £10 entry, please pay very near the door!

Nick Mills and Mark Aston with us in January

Last week was another of our session where we listened to the combined talents of Lester Brown on trumpet and  Mike Wills on reeds various. A lot of nice tunes, all freshly arranged by Mike for what has fast become a legacy band, The Clive Burton Celebration Quintet! Mike takes a lot of care over these sessions, nearly always bringing along a whole evening of fresh arrangements for the band to play. No mean achievement, arranging and printing the scores for about 10 tunes. Those of us amateurs who used to play just star in awe as they are all played by all at first sight! On keyboard was Nigel Fox, on bass Peter Hughes and on drums Mike Jeffries

It was also a delight to have Ken McCarthy in our audience for the first time in a number of months, having had a number of stays in hospital since February. We look forward to his reappearance on keyboard, but I must take the opportunity of thanking Nigel Fox for deputising during all of Kens absence. Thank you Nigel.

My photos are below.

 

OK, that’s one bank holiday over, only another one to go this month!

BUT its not all over for jazz! There is a lot on this month, so lets start with tonight, May 7th!

“In The Pocket” is at Bourne End Community Centre,(Wakeman Rd, Bourne End SL8 5SX) tonight from 8pm and for £8. 

Led by drummer Mike Jeffries, this well established band play a mix of funky jazz, with saxophonist Mike Wills and guitarist Jezz Cook standing at the front.

In a weeks time (May 14^th) Marlow Jazz Club (British Legion Hall, Station Approach, Marlow, SL7 1NT) have 2 saxophonists standing at the front, Simon Spillett and Alex Garnett from 8.30pm for £10 per head. Behind them will be Frank Harrison on keyboard, Elliot Toms on drums and Stuart Barker on bass.

BUT AT HEDSOR JAZZ (The Hedsor Bar, Hedsor Rd, Bourne End, SL8 5ES) THIS THURSDAY (MAY 9^th) we have Lester Brown on trumpet, Mike Wills (back from Bourne End via Oxford) on reeds, Nigel Fox on keyboard, Peter Hughes on bass, and a drummer Mike Jeffries! Mike isn’t back from anywhere as he lives just up the road!

Lets not go so far into the future to forget last weeks session at Hedsor Jazz that had saxophonist Frank Walden and guitarist Mark Ridout.

What a session! It is rare that the Hedsor’s discriminating audience are roused to cheers, but last weeks session had them erupt at the end of more than one tune.

When “Song for Bilbao” was announce in the second half of the evening Frank instructed the drummer (Mike Jeffries!!) how it should be played (no score sheets were to hand!). The person sitting next to me asked if I thought the drummer understood what was being described. In full authoritarian command, I said “Of course”!

The tune was written by Path Metheny in 1983 and has a distinctive format with a repetitive, well recognised break. Not only did the drummer get it right every time but so did everyone else, and the applause and cheering at the end was memorable. All of the playing was world class!

Yes, last week was one of those jazz nights that one hopes to get now and again, memorable! So do remember it was at Hedsor Jazz!

My pictures from last week are below.

 

At Hedsor Jazz On Thursday May 16^th we have a return of that adroit trombone player Nick Mills. He will be playing alongside saxophonist (and jazz promoter) Mark Aston.

ALL our sessions at Hedsor start at 8pm, and finish around 10.30pm. Our entry fee is £10.

One newcomer came late last week having read somewhere that we started at 9pm. On line sabotage? Who knows, but she enjoyed it so much she said she would come again! But an hour earlier next time.

If YOU have enjoyed a session at Hedsor Jazz, tell others, we need to sustain what we have been doing for over 20 years, presenting Live Modern Jazz in front of a small but discriminating audience. The years have given us experience, now we need more audience to carry on our 20 plus years of high quality modern JAZZ.

We always offer a friendly face, and rarely growl. Me, I’m a Leo!!