Here we are again, a blog on a Tuesday.

Maybe I should have written “HEAR we are again”, because we are still able to come out to play (or listen) to live jazz at the Hedsor Social Club. This week, we will have had 8 opportunities to hear live jazz at Hedsor this year!

Last week we were slightly down on our audience quota of 30 people. There was still some room for 3 or 4 more. So don’t forget, as various media people keep telling us, covid 19 isn't over yet, and the future, may well become “unlocked”, but it still isn’t clear, so do come out and support Hedsor Jazz. 

I personally don’t like wearing a facemask (you may prefer me to have one on at all times as a visual amenity!) but I do feel that going in to the future still with the unseen covid 19 will mean that morally we should keep using them. We still have one more session where the rules are mandatory, so please keep to the sense of hands, face, and space. After that it will be up to you. 

It has been a delight these past 7 weeks to listen to live music again, and to meet with friends and musicians (who are also friends, especially our Hedsor regulars) to share our love of jazz, and of the tunes associated with “our” kind of music.

Last week I know I was unsure of how guitarist Max Brittain would combine with saxophonist Kelvin Christian as a “front line”. Those of you who were there now know, they did it very well. Some of the evening, especially for me some of the second set, was really special. Max’s feature (Pure Imagination – from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory) was amazing. You would never have know that this was his first gig in 16 months!

My pictures of the night are below; my recording will be “DropBoxed” later in the week.

Do however check out one of our new Hedsor Jazz regulars via his YouTube Pages. Alex has been videoing us for the benefit mainly of himself and his wife Nicole, but then shares his recordings via

 

Bardmann Baad TV    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoTCMDC3wB6fTdGV8yKLKrA/videos

 

Coming this Thursday July 15^th we have a different collection of players!

Martin Hart is on his community service, so he has replaced the Martin of the band with two Martins! (does that make Martin Hart our house martin)?

First a reed player who has been to Hedsor a number of times before. Usually a clarinet player, Martin Nickless, (who I think was last at Hedsor in May 2019) will be joined at the front by trombone player Simon Wylde, who was last with us in October 2019. Behind them will be Martin number2, keyboard player Martin Picket who was with us last month. On bass will be Terry Davis (also with us last month) and on drums, a special welcome to our resident deputy drummer, Mike Jeffries.

So, if you want to come and be part of Thursday Night Live at Hedsor Jazz tell Tracy tracy.georgiades@me.com or tracy.georgiades@gmail.com

One final point, do check the route to Hedsor. Last week Ferry Lane (that’s the bit of the road A4094 between Cookham Bridge and Hedsor Road) was closed for road repairs, and it may well be so again this week. Traffic alerts (https://www.rac.co.uk/route-planner/maps/) may help.

 

That’s about it for this week, now’s the time.....for a cup of tea!!

I now have a link to my DropBox files to enable you to download the music and artwork for last weeks Hedsor Jazz Concert Recording

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wma8ez8vemjsqav/AAD87qds4GKTmA_WXoC0pwota?dl=0

This link will remain accessible for one month.

Time for a little blog.

Hedsor Jazz this week (July 8^th) has a slightly different mix. In the front line guitarist Max Brittain will be joined by saxophonist Kelvin Christian. It should be interesting to see how these two different instruments approach the music. Both musicians have been with us at Hedsor many times before, but I am unsure if they have played Hedsor Jazz together before. 

We are very grateful for Kelvin stepping in for this week’s session. We were due to have another old friend of Hedsor Jazz, and of our late leader Clive Burton, saxophonist  Al Nichols. Sadly Al is indisposed, and we wish him a speedy recovery, and look forward to seeing him at Hedsor Jazz again very soon

Al played with Clive (as a dep) many years ago when Clive was part of “Century Jazz” and jazz was played at “The Cookham Tavern”, which 21^st century residents now know as Costa’s Coffee! 

Al also played in the transition of Century Jazz into The Clive Burton Quintet at a famous Norden Farm Concert which was run as a tribute to drummer Keith Vitty. Keith had formed “Century Jazz” but was claimed by cancer in 2002. The Norden Farm concert was professionally recorded, and if you don’t have a copy of that double album do see either me, or Jan Burton as we do still have a few copies of it.

Last weeks session (my photos are below) was performed by the successor to “The Clive Burton Quintet”,  “The Clive Burton Celebration Quintet”. This was formed after Clive died of cancer, and the quintet replaced the trombone sound with that of a trumpet. Lester Brown's trumpet sound added a slightly different dimension to the quintet, and together with our regular reedman Mike Wills last week they played some new arrangements. It is a great credit to all in the quintet that Mike’s arrangements could be played sight read! Later in the week I will put out a link to my DropBox files of last weeks recordings and if you weren’t there yourself you can hear how well they made out.

Don’t forget that for the time being we do still need you to book in your intention to be at Hedsor Jazz this and every Thursday with Tracy, who on the night will also take your £10 entrance fee.

Email  tracy.georgiades@gmail.com

Last Week photos

 

Our future gig list looks like this at the moment:-

8^th July               

Kelvin Christian sax+ Max Brittain guitar +Ken McCarthy keyboard + Peter Hughes bass + Martin Hart drums and leader

15^th July             

Martin Nickless sax+ Simon Wyld (trombone) + Ken McCarthy keyboard + Terry Davis bass + Martin Hart drums and leader

22^nd July 

Mike Wills sax + Gary Woods (trumpet) + Ken McCarthy keyboard + ??? bass + Martin Hart drums and leader

29^th July 

Alan Graham vibes+ Mike Wills sax + Ken McCarthy keyboard + Terry Davis bass + Martin Hart drums and leader

That's it for now. Don't forget when at Hedsor Club to keep to covid 19 behaviour guidance...hands, space, face and.... do let us know who you are!!

 Geoff

 

First for today’s  blog a little reminder.

IF you would like to come to any of Hedsor Jazz’s Thursday concerts whilst covid 19 rules apply, you must check in with Tracy to ensure we have a place for you. Not quite West Side Story, but we do need to be able to fulfil our limit or 30 guests in the room, and that we can trace you all if we have a need to do so. Contact Tracy via Tracy Georgiades <tracy.georgiades@gmail.com>

Secondly just to remind you that this week, July 1^st , we have The Clive Burton Celebration Quintet:-

Lester Brown trumpet+ Mike Wills sax + Ken McCarthy keyboard + Peter Hughes bass + Martin Hart drums and leader.

Last weeks session (pictures below) was a great reminder of the sounds we used to hear, with a front line of saxophone and trombone, something that linked us to both Clive Burton, and to the predecessor to his quintet, “Century Jazz”, because both bands had a front line of saxophone and trombone. Last week, the tunes were somewhat different, less from the history of Modern Jazz a la bop, than show tunes, but as other shows used to say, that is the spice of life!

My recording of last week can be found on dropbox via the link:-

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q0r89g4vj8seumo/AAAF2u_I0bWKWzE-wsDYBwDUa?dl=0

Duncan Lamont jnr with Mike Innes

Ken McCArthy

Martin Hart

Some of the 30 in attendance

Duncan flaunts a flute

IPA !

 

If you want to see what our new regular fan Alex has videoed, not just of last week but on his previous visits to Hedsor Jazz, do take a look by following “Bardmann Baad TV” , a YouTube channel, and checking on it in future weeks.

 

Finally for this week, a hopeful thought for the future.

Saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulis has moved to be closer to Hedsor Jazz........

He has just moved to ....COOKHAM!!

Those of us who live there already know it makes sense!!

More chat and photos next week.

 

 Our Gig List for July 8th needs to be amended. 

Al Nicholls is no longer going to be able to be with us, and in his place will be Kelvin Christian. 

I have corrected the list in the main blog to reflect this.

 

The link to my DropBox files for the recording of Ian Smith and Ollie Wilby etc from last weeks Hedsor Jazz  is

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/upe5xs7k66r4wv0/AAAx34fM4nJq7LAiKhIBIPC9a?dl=0

Grab them within a month as after that they will be deleted in order to save space.

 Good Morning England

A shortish blog today, but full of potential!!

First, in order for you to get to our now regular Thursday gigs at Hedsor Jazz YOU MUST check in each time with our booking agent Tracy  tracy.georgiades@gmail.com . This is to ensure we meet the covid 19 regulations regarding contact details AND numbers on the night at Hedsor Club. PLEASE NOTE that if you have to cancel on a night you have already booked for please tell Tracy, as we can then reallocate your empty seat. We are only allowed 30 people in to listen, and we do want to keep the numbers up. 

AND there is some splendid music coming up for you to listen to.

Last week Ian Smith and Ollie Wilby, were our named headliners. We also had pianist Martin Picket as a guest dep and they all provided some excellent timeless jazz (no, I mean timeless as in period, not as in they cant keep time!). Later in the week I will put up on DropBox my recording of the night.

For those of you who would like to watch a lot of the evening, our new attendee Alex puts out his private videos of the evening on YouTube, do take a look sometime via his links:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39Kp_ojbEvg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ5YyIGu79Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMr9G9MWtJU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89ughVy3auQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKt5k_jScho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXCgDvs0z14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZuRs1nVLzs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1BRwfdiPAU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=585JSgexpjk

My photos of the night are below:-

 

Although we are still limited as to the numbers who can come in and watch and listen AT Hedsor Club, AND you do have to be covid aware to be there we do have a plan for the month ahead. There are some really exciting gigs coming up, so make a note, put it in your diary, and tell Tracy your coming!

 

Forthcoming Gig List for Hedsor Jazz

THIS THURSDAY 24^th JUNE 

Duncan Lamont jnr sax + Mike Innes trombone+ Ken McCarthy keyboard + Peter Hughes bass + Martin Hart drums and leader 

1^st July               

Lester Brown trumpet+ Mike Wills sax + Ken McCarthy keyboard + Ester Ng bass (to be confirmed) + Martin Hart drums and leader

8^th July               

Kelvin Christian sax+ Max Brittain guitar +Ken McCarthy keyboard + Peter Hughes bass + Martin Hart drums and leader

15^th July             

Martin Nickless sax+ Simon Wyld (trombone) + Ken McCarthy keyboard + Terry Davis bass + Martin Hart drums and leader

22^nd July

Mike Wills sax + Gary Woods (trumpet) + Ken McCarthy keyboard + ??? bass +

Martin Hart drums and leader

29^th July 

Alan Graham vibes+ Mike Wills sax + Ken McCarthy keyboard + Terry Davis bass + Martin Hart drums and leader

Slowly but surely we are adding musicians to the list of those who haven’t played Hedsor before, and we will continue to do so. On June 24th trombonist Mike Innes is that person. It should be a cracking evening.

Our plan is (when the covid restrictions are relaxed) to have one named (star?) musician every quarter, but never fear, all those who come to pay for us are well worth turning out for. Sometimes one particular musician plays something beyond expectation, and then even the rest of the band can be heard applauding. Its JAZZ, It’s improvised, albeit within a structure, but the guys and girls we get to Hedsor Jazz are well versed in the rules of the game, and occasionally magic happens.

Dont miss it!

 

 The blog is a day late this week, but this time for a very good reason. 

Yesterday The Jazz Angels held a meeting!! We do keep meetings and administration down to a minimum, and obviously for 15 months we have been “dissuaded” from having any anyway. With another 4 weeks of a limited ability to gather for Hedsor Jazz kindly donated by our government , we thought a little forward planning might be useful!

Over this past month we have been able to resume live jazz at The Hedsor Social Club with a limit of 30 attendees. We have pretty well achieved this target, we do have a bit of flexibility still so if you are thinking of coming do please let Tracy Georgiades know before you travel. We do have to keep a log on who comes, so we will need to know your contact details, and Tracy can let you know if we have room for you on any given Thursday evening.

I think our return to live Hedsor Jazz has, bye and large, been a great success. We are gradually getting used to coming and going within the club with masks on and generally  behaving with practiced covid sense. I know most of us have had 2 jabs, but do please keep to at least some of the rules, face masks when away from your table, space, clean hands etc.

The music has been of a very high quality. All of the musicians were only too pleased at having the opportunity to play in front of an audience again. Our future plans will maintain our aim of being a small club with a high quality jazz performance. Even with the restriction in place at the moment we can still accommodate 2 or 3 more of you, and if you haven’t yet experienced Hedsor Jazz, do request the pleasure. Tracy’s email address is tracy.georgiades@gmail.com

This Thursday, June 17th,  we have another pair of jazz musicians who have played for us before with great acclaim. Trumpeter and raconteur Ian Smith is coming with saxophonist Ollie Wilby. Ian and Ollie were two of the last guests at Hedsor before the lockdown of 2020. With them this time will be pianist Martin Picket from Oxford, who was last with us in January 2020. Martin Hart will as ever be leading from the rear on drums

Over the past few years, prior to 2020, we have tried a number of different means of making Hedsor Jazz a better known venue. I am pleased to say that Tracy has volunteered (yes, nothing was twisted, she genuinely volunteered) to take on this task. My blog will continue, but other forms of advertising will be tried.

As soon as the covid restrictions are lifted, and we are able to raise the number allowed in the room, we are planning to invite a well know jazz name to come and play for us at Hedsor at least once every quarter. 

Many names have been mentioned, many of them have been before and have enjoyed playing in our unique venue. When we stared having well known names some years ago, a number of the London based players commented on the lack of street lights at Hedsor, but I think they are getting used to it now! However some famous jazz musicians still haven't found the joy of playing Hedsor Jazz, so do watch this space for the names.

I think it is an exciting time for Hedsor Jazz. One of those musicians who were used to the bright lights of London will in fact be moving to Cookham very soon, and as he said to me yesterday “you may well find other well known musicians walking around Cookham during their visit to me very soon”. Lets hope they can be persuaded to come on a Thursday!!

The list of future gigs has a lot of “to be finalised” in it at he moment, but on June 24th we have a return of Duncan Lamont jr. He is bringing with him trombonist Mike Innis, I think it will be his first visit. You can check him out via his trombone reviews on Dawkes Instruments website.

July 1st has yet to be finalised, but  the following week, July 8th we have the return of 2 other great Hedsor favourites Al Nicholls on tenor sax, and Max Brittain on guitar. As usual our front line guests will be accompanied by keyboard and bass and our leader Martin Hart on drums.

One of the additions to the audience at Hedsor Jazz since  our return a month ago has been Alex and his wife Nicole. Alex is a keen videographer, and has filmed many of our recent gigs, do check them out, his files from last week can be found at 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgQGeBz5da0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7CpjCl5uQ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sn6z5-AmtY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1ImcI6C54I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERySpg29sqU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5Skj_IE-RU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej0Zxef4Vqw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqhQTzLjoeM

And my previous blogs have the links to earlier weeks.

My photos of last week, dedicated to the music made famous by guitarists, are below.

If you would like to download the files to create a double cd album of June 3rds concert please go to 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vaw951nafdz7ul3/AADPI9tpjj06ygk92FduPD1Wa?dl=0

You will find the mp3 files for 2 cd’s and the artwork for a sleeve.

That’s about it for now, stay safe, put on sun block! (well whilst the sun shines anyway).

 

We have now had 3 Hedsor Jazz Returns sessions on a Thursday, and it almost seems like we had never had a 14 month break. It has been really great seeing everybody again, welcoming back the musicians, and enjoying some really fine jazz.

 

Last week was no exception. Lester Brown played at our first “return” session, and he was here again with us last week. Alongside him was another of the saxophone team we had waited to see, Mark Aston. It was also Mark’s birthday, and it was marvellous that he should consider spending his birthday with Hedsor Jazz.

 

It was also nice to see Lester’s parents in the audience last week as well.

 

One of the “apprehensions” I had about our return to live jazz was that after such a long break many of the musicians who come to play for us might have been a little bit rusty after not having played in public for such a long time. I don’t know about you, but in my estimation they have all, without exception, played better than the last time we heard them 14 months ago.

 

Our new regular attendee, Alex,  has again recorded a large chunk of last week’s session on video, and links to his YouTube files are below.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RQNyrhgxjY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSCqHB4piHA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SO1f6JzUSE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-yCEX0MfJ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgGWTgrD4PE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX5GTiyhONk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5oNbsy7Buw

 

My mp3 recording of the evening will be available later in the week, BUT some of my photos are below.

We do have a change to our program for this coming Thursday, June 10^th. Alan Graham who was coming to play vibes for us is now not very well, and is therefore not able to be with us, so to accompany the return of our regular saxophonist Mike Wills, guitarist Jezz Cook will be taking Alan’s place. Jezz has been to us a number of times before, and it may well be that we have a few Django Reinhardt tunes added into our evenings mix. On bass we welcome back Mr Peter Hughes, (and his braces), and on drums our regular drumming band leader Martin Hart.

 

Jezz with Mike Wills on a previous visit

Do please confirm your intention to come each week with Tracy at tracy.georgiades@gmail.com

Until all covid restrictions are lifted we are limited to 30 people as audience at Hedsor Club, so do please ensure you have a space reserved with Tracy who is our booking agent at the moment. It is a legal requirement that we have traceability for all who are in the club on our Thursday nights.

 

On 17^th June  we welcome back Ian Smith on trumpet with Ollie Wilby on saxophone. Ken McCarthy will be on keyboard, Martin Hart drum. Our bass player is yet to be confirmed.

 

Ian Smith

One final sad note, we learnt last week that Ken McCarthy’s son died suddenly last month. I am sure you would all like to join me in offering ever condolence to Ken and Maggie at this very difficult time for the family. Words are never enough at times like this, but our love and support go out to Ken and his family.

Geoff C

My recording of last Thursdays Hedsor Jazz is now available from my DropBox account. You can download the mp3 files and a cover artwork via  

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5w32x6q2nx9lrkx/AAB2jKjq9bvpIYyX0U20ewv6a?dl=0

It will be available for one month only. 

 

A brief blog today, as I have been enjoying the sunshine at Boulter’s Lock, and still feel in holiday mood!

Just to say that if you haven’t yet been given the approval of Tracy Georgiades for this coming Thursday, June 3^rd do hasten to do so, there may NOT be places available even as I type.

This coming week we are looking forward to seeing Lester Brown again, this time with Mark Aston on reeds. On keyboard will be Ken McCarthy and on bass Ester Ng. Martin Hart will again be on drums, and microphone! 8.30pm start and £10 entry.

Last weeks session was another of those where we all realised why we like to listen to live jazz. Lovely music, played by masters of their jazz craft. Stuart Henderson and Duncan Lamont jr. ably supported by Ken, Terry and Martin, played some not so well know tunes, and some better known ones too. However one in particular I hadn’t heard since around 1945! “You are My Sunshine” finished our evening!

Again, we were just about on our allowed limit of 30 people. Can I repeat that we must all try and abide by the covid guidelines. I know it is difficult, we do so like being back amongst our jazz friends, but the virus hasn’t gone away and we must try and be aware of the distance and masking guidance when away from our table.

Below are a few of my photos of the last Thursday evening, my mp3 recordings will be available later in the week.

Our new friend Alex has again forwarded on links to his YouTube page with videos of the evening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r1-s5b7UKE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52-UZ-GyLW8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEabSgLfl7M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVg98cQHPTU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9XMFR53yFY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NgZmtju-T4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV5Y2FXWfa8

It is so evident that the musical therapy of the evening does his wife Nicole so much good.

On June 10^th we have on Vibes Alan Grahame, and we hope to have back with us on all the reeds, Mike Wills. Again, you must check with Tracy that there is still space for you attend. Book with her via email at tracy.georgiades@gmail.com  

Enjoy the rest of your week, which does seem to have SUNSHINE!! Maybe we should ask for more weather related tunes. Perhaps "I think it's going to rain today" should NOT be amongst them! Great tune though!

 

Another short update for Jazz from Geoff 

This Thursday May 27^th we appear to have our audience of 30 already. DO check with Tracy tracy.georgiades@gmail.com  to see if you are on the list before coming to Hedsor Club.

For our second evening of covid rules jazz (no, sadly not a game) we will have Stuart Henderson on trumpet, Duncan Lamont jnr on tenor saxophone, Ken McCarthy on keyboard, Terry Davis on bass and of course Martin Hart on drums. The evening will start at 8.30pm. Entry £10

As I mentioned above, we are fully booked for this Thursday, but DO CHECK with Tracy to see if we have any cancellations. IF you have already booked, but find you can now no longer come, please let Tracy know and your place can be reassigned.

The government rules for an indoor gathering will apply until all rules are relaxed; try to be sensible with your distancing, wear a mask when away from your table. Hand sanitising gel will be available, please use it to reduce any risk of virus transmission.

Future Gigs

On June 3rd we have Lester Brown on trumpet with Mark Aston on reeds, plus Ken McCarthy keyboard, Martin Hart drums and a bass player yet to be finalised.

June 10^th, we have our vibes friend Alan Graham coming to play, and we also hope to have Mike Wills back on reeds. 

Please book now via Tracy tracy.georgiades@gmail.com for any or all of these.

Last week we had with us a couple, Alex and Nicole, who were at Hedsor for the first time. Alex is a keen videographer and filmed a lot of the evening. He has made most of his footage available on YouTube and you can watch his films of our evening via the following links:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlTxUbIpqeM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7fn8dVO6K4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvDjuSvlgY4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DUvpkC2nAg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWh8QrkSD5w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0g5kBMeAmY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS4tiSR_qAc

Alex’s wife Nicole sadly suffers from both MS and Parkinson’s disease, and in seeking his permission to link to his video clips, which include shots of Nicole, he sent this reply:-

I'm grateful to yourselves/Hedsor SC for allowing me to film - I'm glad for you to use as much or as little as you wish. As for Nicole, I take the footage in part to show how much she enjoys it and the hugely positive benefit to her conditions and wellbeing; for that reason, the more you choose to show of Nicole the better it is for us and will hopefully open the eyes (and ears) of others to her plight and others who are also frail.

That’s it for now folks, don’t forget to book ahead with Tracy for the evenings you want to come.

Geoff

 Hedsor and the Night and the Music

For those of you who weren't there (and for those of you who were if you would like a souvenir), here is a link to my DropBox files containing all of the music, and the artwork for a cover if you want to create your own cd's of Hedsor Jazz's first night back. There is some terrific work here. "Chelsea Bridge" will take some beating!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9qcs468dwcjojm5/AAD-rrU0vpYxUQJx_YTGw0cMa?dl=0