Yes, it IS Tuesday and, YES, you are reading Geoff’s blog on a Hedsor Jazz week!

And what a week it will be. Coming back to sing for us on Thursday July 23rd, all the way from the U.S.A., is NANCI ZHANG. She will be accompanied at the front by saxophonist Martin Dunston, and as our regular bass player Al Pirrie has decided to take a holiday, another bass player used to having a lady singer fronting the band, Richard Sadler, has been drafted in in his place. Ken McCarthy on keyboard and Mike Jeffries on drums complete the ensemble.

Try not to miss this, no football, no tennis, and cricket? are going to preoccupy your time, so why not come out and really enjoy an evening of song.

Nanci was with us last year and we are all delighted that she wants to come back.

We have future plans. Yet to be booked, but we know they want to come, are Vasils Xenopoulos and Nigel Price together, we are trying to negotiate a suitable date. Both played for Hedsor Jazz in there progress to top billing, now they are top billings it is harder to get them, but they still do want to come.

Take a look at the program below for August and September. You may have heard of one or two of the musicians before as well!

 

Last Saturday Marlow celebrated the life of Michael Eagleton with a concert in Court Gardens House given by “Five Way Split”, I listed it in my last blog.

 

The music was superb, the room acoustics dreadful! I must remember never to put on music in that room ever! As Vasilis said after the show, “its the sign of a good band that they can play well in a room with dreadful acoustics.” I can assure you that they are a very good band!

 

I can understand the choice of venue, it is a very smart room to sit in, but for a musical event it had drawbacks.. The room layout around big tables mean that a lot of people had a sideways view of the band, and pre-allocated seating meant that you couldn’t sit with your friends. 

A sideways view of some of the band is below. See last weeks blog for the poster.

 

Michael is sad loss to the world of jazz. I first got to know him in 1971and in the years that followed I did occasionally join him for one or two of his radio shows, broadcast from a hut in the Longridge Activity Centre on The Thames.

He also ran a record shop in Marlow selling not only records (LP’s in those days), but some Hi Fi as well, in a upstairs room above the shop. He was a generous man, now much missed.

Don’t forget that to keep live jazz alive, you have to come and see it LIVE, wherever it is performed.

But ESPECIALLY at Hedsor! 

Sadly NO JAZZ at Hedsor this week,

BUT in Marlow on Saturday 18^th July tribute will be paid by Vasilis Xenopoulos and Five Way Spilt to the late Michael Eagleton who provided many of us with many hours of fine jazz over the last 50 years. See advert and links below.

 

Our last session at The Hedsor Bar was another that can only honestly be called “OUTSTANDING”

Trumpeter Steve Waterman had not played with saxophonist Alam Nathoo before, but that teaming was an outstanding success. Steve wrote afterwards 

” Thank you so much for the gig last night. As always it was a great pleasure to play with Ken, Al and Mike, and I was absolutely thrilled to be working alongside Alum who is a wonderful player”. 

At Hedsor we are well aware of Alam’s wonderful playing, and he is fortunately able to come and play for us quite often.

You Missed it? Well it was a hot night! (We sat in the cool of Hedsor Bars Aircon!) and there was a lot of tennis on, as well as other distractions like cricket and football. But sometimes the magic happens with the music and is only for you if your there!

Some photos of the night are below.

Our next gig at Hedsor is on Thursday July 23^rd and I am delighted to say that we have a singer from America coming to entertain us again.

NANCI ZHANG will be with saxophonist Martin Dunston, Richard Sadler on bass, Ken McCARTHY on Keyboards and Mike Jeffries on drums

So as it is still very lemonade weather, I will call it “A Sunny Afternoon”! and go for a lie down!!

See you in Marlow on Saturday evening.

This week at Hedsor Jazz

SUPERJAZZ and AIR CONDITIONING

Yes this Thursday, July 9^th at the Hedsor Bar there will be some superb live jazz.

Trumpeter Steve Waterman, one of Britain’s top trumpeters, and well known on the international jazz stage, is coming (again) to play at Hedsor. This time (yes, he has been before) we are teaming him with a jazz musician, who due to family commitments, could not continue in his award winning career, saxophonist Alam Nathoo. Alam  lives near enough to The Hedsor Bar to be able to walk to us, and he is a very special jazz musician. His technique and understanding of a tunes musical structure are truly wonderful, and I’m sure our jazz evening will be very special with the fusion of these two players. Our regular rhythm section will be backing them.

The weather is very warm again BUT The Hedsor Bar has air conditioning! What more do you want for your £12 entry fee (in cash please, we don’t want to pay a bank even more for giving them our money to look after) and with club bar prices it should be more than enough to encourage you to come.

Photos of both of these star players from previous Hedsor gigs are below.

 

 

Looking ahead to July 23^rd we have a return visit of New Orleans singer Nanci Zhang. Nanci has sung for us before on her visits to the UK, but this time we are featuring her, and she will be the star of our evening. That is as long as saxophonist Martin Dunston doesn’t mind being a mere mortal for this night! Also guesting with us will be the renowned bass player Richard Sadler  coming as part of our backing trio.

 

Finally this weekend I was due to go to The Swanage Jazz Festival, 

but due to a health problem that needed checking out I have had to cancel 

my visit. I have therefore a Stroller Ticket for the entire weekend going spare. 

Contact me if you can use it as I would hate to see it going to waste. 

I will bring it with me to Hedsor on Thursday if is not claimed before hand.