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