Hi Everyone

A short blog today just to remind you that there is NO JAZZ tomorrow at The Hedsor Bar.

Our next live jazz at Hedsor is on Thursday February 26^th when we will have the combined massive talents of Lester Brown on trumpet and Alam Nathoo on tenor sax. And as usual they will be backed by Ken McCarthy on keyboard, Al Pirrie on bass and Mike Jeffries on drums.

Below is a poster for March. If you have the facility do print some off and let others know. All the jazz events we produce at Hedsor are all first class (check out the names against the web) so introducing a friend will only increase your reputation for good taste!

 

Last weeks jazz at Hedsor also proved the point. Bruce Adams on trumpet was at his dynamic best, and guitarist Mark Ridout left us wondering why we haven’t had him at Hedsor more often. But then “spoilt for choice” does seem to creep into the back of my mind! He was excellent and partnered Bruce with chords and harmony that were always just right. My photos below can’t show that, but it was a great night.

 

This just gives me a little space to recap on some of the music that got me hooked on jazz in the first place.

As a young teenager (the word had not been invented then) I became a fan of Humph! He was only known in those days for his trumpet playing, not his humour or cartoon ability, and as his 78’s came out I bought them.

 

Then on holiday with my parents one year his band played Southsea Pier. If I had been hooked before with his 78 records I was now definitely a fan. In those days he had Wally Fawkes and Bruce Turner in his band and I followed their careers as well from then on.

LP’s soon became the things to buy, and one of the first I bought (second hand!) was “Humph at the Conway”. It was the exact same line-up as the Southsea concert.

 

From then on my choice for a record for my desert island was always going to be Bruce Turners feature “The Saint James Infirmary Blues”. The concert LP was a full 12 inch one. But soon afterwards Humph gave a concert at The Festival Hall (which I didn’t go to as it was beyond my pocket money) which was released on a 10 inch LP, and as I was now trying to play the trumpet, the feature for the brass section (trombonist Johnny Pickard had now joined the band) “Basin Street Blues”, also became a favourite and I certainly learnt how to play it!

Now in my collection on a defunct record label (Dormouse Records), is a cd of the Festival Hall concert plus another of an earlier Conway Hall one.  If you aren’t a dyed in the wool modernist and can appreciate older styles of music, and if you can find a used copy of all or any of these recordings do go and buy them. 

Apart from my nostalgia, they are also great jazz!

See you ALL next week,

Geoff

Good morning jazz fans

THIS THURSDAY February 12^th is one of the live jazz at The Hedsor Bar Thursdays.

We told you that we would have the best of jazz for you, and we would bring it to you locally, and this week we cannot do better than have that great Scottish trumpet star Bruce Adams coming to play for us.

Bruce has been to us a number of times before and we do indeed welcome him back. He is both a superb and spectacular trumpeter and a great compare. If you are unsure of his credentials do check him out:- https://www.bruce-adams.co.uk/bio   and  https://open.spotify.com/artist/25MUxKLNEA1OBOyqBMMWgw

He has made dozens of recordings, one from my collection is illustrated below:-

 

He will be joined by guitarist Mark Ridout who has also been to Hedsor before back in 2024, but he maybe a less familiar name to you.

I’ll leave a link for you to copy and investigate. Its a long link but will lead you to 9 minutes of music from the 606 club!!

 https://www.google.com/search?q=mark+rideout+guitarist&sca_esv=28c94b53a779764f&rlz=1C1VDKB_enGB1117GB1117&biw=1541&bih=1065&sxsrf=ANbL-n4E_kryEz1UviQDy9v2T14uAiCQRw%3A1770722739743&ei=sxWLaeqDLZOyhbIP1q6N4QQ&ved=0ahUKEwiqqZef6M6SAxUTWUEAHVZXI0w4HhDh1QMIEQ&uact=5&oq=mark+rideout+guitarist&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiFm1hcmsgcmlkZW91dCBndWl0YXJpc3QyBRAhGJ8FSLxDUJgNWLAycAF4AJABAJgBjwGgAc8JqgEDMS45uAEDyAEA-AEBmAILoALbCsICCBAAGIAEGLADwgIHEAAYsAMYHsICCRAAGLADGAoYHsICBhAAGBYYHsICCBAAGBYYChgewgIIEAAYgAQYogTCAgUQABjvBcICBRAhGKABmAMAiAYBkAYKkgcDMi45oAeiHLIHAzEuObgH0ArCBwcyLTQuNi4xyAdlgAgA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:63c231e4,vid:3nn4r4AD024,st:0

If you just turn up and pay your £12 at the door you wont be disappointed.

Behind both Bruce Adams and Mark Ridout we have pianist and musical director Ken McCarthy, with Al Pirrie on bass and Mike Jeffries on drums.

Mark Ridout

Bruce Adams

 

I would certainly not wish to denigrate that jazz club in London called “Ronnie Scott’s” where Bruce has played and recorded (as was the cd illustrated above), but at Hedsor Jazz you get the same people but with free car parking, £12 entry and club bar prices. That will mean you don’t have to save the same small bottle of booze to make it last the entire night (it probably would have cost you our entry fee in another place anyway). So come and enjoy a quality jazz night out in SL8 5ES.

 

Just a small warning for all who haven’t been out to us in the wilds of South Buckinghamshire before. There are very few street lights out here!!

Good Morning Jazz Lovers. 

 I think if you look out of your window, you will probably see that it is raining again! It does dampen the mood somewhat, especially when you remember that this week we don’t have one of those great “Hedsor Jazz” sessions to look forward to. 

 It does however remind me of what a great tune, with interesting lyrics, “I Think it’s Going to Rain Today” is. 

 So far January has helped Hedsor Jazz’s financial situation, and with the generosity of some attendees at Hedsor not asking for change for the offered £ notes, and with a slight increase in attendance we haven’t lost money. And the music has been as good, if not better, than ever. 

 Coming to us in February and it will be just as good musically, and with your attendance, we will be no worse off financially!! 

On Feb 12th we will have that Scottish wonder trumpet player Bruce Adams blowing in front with guitarist Mark Rideout adding to the trio at the back! 

Later in the month we will see a return of two of Hedsor Jazz’s favourite players, Lester Brown on trumpet and Alam Nathoo on tenor sax. Both sessions will be backed by our regular trio with Ken McCarthy on keyboard. 

 For the last 2 sessions at Hedsor we have experimented a bit with the sound system, adding in a loudspeaker to feedback the music to the band so that they can hear themselves. Previously to achieve this the PA speakers had been partially diverted to enable the band to hear themselves through them, although they were really designed for the audience. Do let us know if you have noticed the difference. The band have! 

Usually at most Hedsor Jazz sessions I take some photos to illustrate this blog. I have been using a Fuji digital camera for some years, but last week, the memory card failed to “initilaise”, so I had to use my mobile phone camera instead for a few shots. Being a compromise, the phone isn’t as versatile a camera as the Fuji and in addition last week the club had some problems with the lighting, so I thought the results would be difficult to use. However, the wonders of modern phones shone through the dark, and a couple of colourful shots are below.

On the no Jazz at Hedsor Nights I have taken the opportunity of playing some of my recoded jazz selection and I thought I would go back to some of the music I listened to at the start of my journey. In those days some of the best British jazz musicians were alive and well, and in those days I also listened to traditional jazz as well. Nostalgia brought forth from my collection a recording made of “The Al Fairweather /Sandy Brown Allstars” coupled on a Radio Luxembourg recording with the Humphrey Lyttleton Band, with that great (late) saxophonist Tony Coe. Broadcast in 1962 I have lived long enough to say that I saw both bands for real. They were so good.

 

Later in the week I dug out one of the recording sessions that used the skill of Tony Coe to add lustre to a singer plus piano recording. 

Louise Gibbs and Brian Priestley used Tony Coe as a special guest to enhance a recording session celebrating the music of Duke Ellington. On it Tony uses tenor and soprano sax and clarinet and does just that, he enhances this cd of the music of the Duke. It was recorded in 1999 on a label often used to get small group jazz to the public, 33 records. 

For anyone wanting the words to the Dukes music with a terrific jazz accompaniment, go and find 33jazz048.

It may be that the 33 part of the label harked back to the speed of a record, but I did noticed that the record companied address was 33 Guildford Street! 

 PS I have had broadband probs with this posting. My apologies for how it may appear.

 Geoff