A little light reminder that TONIGHT, Monday May 19th at The Hedsor Social Club we have another in our remarkable and entertaining guitar jazz nights from James Fenn and friends. Go on, add to his list of friends and come and listen to some great live jazz for the miserly sum of £5, that's right, just £5. No raffle, no further extortion BUT the added possibility of adding to your jazz cd collection for a very modest outlay. Don't be late for your Monday date, 8.30 pm start time.

THURSDAY at Hedsor we have another wonderful line up for you. Clive is gainfully employed elsewhere, and we have with us, John Rolls on tenor sax, John Coverdale on guitar, Zane Cronje on keyboard, Ken Rankine on bass, and Mike Jeffries on drums. All this for a minimum payment of £3. BUT we do give you the opportunity of adding a further contribution through our world renowned raffle!!

More later in the week, but for now..

TTFN

Geoff C

We have a few very interesting jazz events in the next few days, starting with tonight.

The Clive Burton Quintet are playing as usual at The Hedsor Social Club from 8.30 pm TONIGHT. You know, but I'll tell you anyway, that it costs £3 to get in and a raffle ticket to get out!!

Mike Wills and Clive are in good form, and the harmonies are ...harmonious!! Last week we had either too many raffle prizes OR too few in the audience. This week you must make it more difficult for us!! Honestly, we do need your support, and we could do with a few new faces (I know, I need a new one for me anyway!), so if you haven't told a friend about it all yet, then bring 'em along tonight. They MAY have read about it in the Bucks Free Press (See top of page). YOU could gain brownie points by personally inviting them along to our famous jazz club!

Sunday you could have a complete day out on Jazz!

Eddie Fowlers last gig in Thame for a while he advertises below:-

Ciao to Jazz - Sunday 18th May - closing Celebration Gig 2.30pm Jazz BrunchFree Entry - bring your Babes! 46 North StreetTHAME, OX9 3BH, +44 1844 260850Bar and Bites - Excellent Bread 'n Pizza- Food It's The Lisa Amato Quartet.
Piano Player is Simon Mulligan – He has also a fine Classical training so he plays a disciplined Jazz Piano.
Lisa failed – bless her humourous - to advise that it is an Afternoon gig so no excuse for saying that you have to work tomorrow – till much later in the day.

AND you can then go on, as also mentioned by Eddie to:-

For those who wish to carry on the party – Art Themen Tenor Sax is playing Bradenham - Red Lion Pub with Bobby Orr Trio at 7pm-9pm on the A4010 Risboro to West Wycombe Road

Now, I was told that coupled with Art Themen would be a well know tenor player at Hedsor, Vasilis Xenopoulos. I hope to make it, but do bear in mind that The Red Lion is a small pub and you will need to get there early.

AND THEN on Monday 19th (yes, NEXT MONDAY) another of our splendid Monday Dates at Hedsor with James Fenn and the same LISA AMATO. They will be bringing guests to play, so please come along and support them and me, I don't want to go to the poor house yet. (I guess if I did I'd probably meet Eddie Fowler there by then!).

Well that will do for now, I'm saving up some energy to write a bit more about favorite Humph CD's, but until I have,

TTFN

Geoff C

The Cheque Presentation

Geoff’s Jazz Nag Sunday 4th May

As promised, a more filled out Nag this week.

First up, don’t forget that on Tuesday 6th you have a real decision to make. Do you go and listen to Scott Hamilton and Lynn Garner at High Wycombe Town Hall, or do you go to The Bourne End Community Centre for one of Mo’s jazz nights? This week they have that British (Welsh?) saxophonist Al Nicholls with his trio. It’s a difficult call, but someone’s got to make it!!

On Thursday 8th at Hedsor, we have, almost guesting there, Clive Burton joining his group this week. Clive has had a number of well rewarded gigs just lately so that he has had to relinquish his place at Hedsor (well, he does have to eat) and he has had his placed filled by a number of star players, but his week, we welcome him back. So come and listen to some of the new arrangements that Mike Wills has for the band. Usual start time 8.30 pm. Usual costs too. We are so cheap!!

Harking back to last Thursday I finally presented the cheque for £1000, the profit from our Dixieland to Swing Concert, to John Pell from Cancer Research UK. The photo is on the Blog (as is any other artwork referenced here).

You may recall that our guest last week was saxophonist Duncan Lamont. Well, I’ve nicked a bit from his website about him:-

Duncan's CV

Born in Greenock, Scotland. Played trumpet with Kenny Graham’s Afro Cubists changed to tenor sax became a jazz studio player. Played with almost everyone in show business. He has worked (often as a featured soloist) with Henry Mancini, Robert Farnon, Benny Goodman, Gil Evans, Bill Holman, Nelson Riddle, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby, Count Basie, Fred Astaire, Benny Carter, Mel Torme, Paul McCartney…the list is endless.

Well, he has now played twice with our local team, and really does want to be invited back again!

His approach this time was pretty avant guard, but everyone playing with him showed that they could keep up with his changes in key, time, and structure. For some in the audience maybe not enough of the melody came through, but for the majority it was a riveting experience. And yes, it is him in the photo holding me up! The other gent is John Pell, collecting the cheque on behalf of CRUK.

Humph

I didn’t really do justice to the passing of Humph last week. Much has been said about him this last week on the radio and some on TV. However, for most of my lifetime he has been the guiding figure, either there in front of me, playing the trumpet (as I once tried to do) at the 100 Club, or on LP (I spent my first weeks wages as an apprentice on “Delving Back with Humph”), or for over 40 years as an educator through his Monday Evening “Best of Jazz” programmes. The extension to my love of jazz, and an understanding of who played what, came largely through his Monday program. It was also a place of solace at the start of another week in engineering!

Over the years I have collected a large number of Humph CD’s. He “introduced” me to Bruce Turner, and Tony Coe, both very influential British saxophonists, both with distinctive sounds of there own.

I had the please of meeting him, and members of the orchestra, many times over my lifetime. I’ll never forget the first time I heard the band live, it was at The Pavilion on Southsea pier. I must have been all of 14 at the time. I managed to get Bruce Turner and Wally Fawkes to autograph the program after the event. An evening of sheer magic and wonder. The memory lingers on, I’m not so sure of that program though!

In later years I met both Humph and Bruce at Brecon. Sadly they are now both gone.

Tony Coe, happily still with us, I remember seeing and talking with at Maidenheads Bell pub. It was the first jazz event I went to having moved out of London to Cookham. And there at The Bell, were Tony Coe and John Pickard, another one time trombone player with Humph’s band. The Quartet they were playing with was led by Vibs player Lennie Best. Lennie’s son Tim sometimes plays piano for us at Hedsor, it’s a circular world!

So, what would I recommend anyone listening to now on CD from my Humph collection?

Without doubt, one I would take to my Desert Island is “Humph at The Conway”. I have 2 LP’s of this ( I wore one out )and the CD too. Recorded live at The Conway Hall in September 1954 it contains “the” Island track, “St James Infirmary Blues” A feature for Bruce Turner. On the Calligraph Records reissue The Conway Hall Concert is coupled with another famous concert. In November 1954 he played a concert at The Royal Festival Hall (his band played the first jazz concert there in1951 too), which was recorded, and I have the 10”LP of that one too. I can even remember reading the newspaper review of it as well. It was significant in being one of the first outings with that trombone player, John Pickard. The track to listen to on that is “Basin Street Blues”. The CD number is CLG CD 038

Humph returned to the Conway Hall in 1960 with a different more modern sound. It was to my mind his best band. John Pickard, and Tony Coe I have already mention, now add in Jimmy Skidmore, Joe Temperley, Ian Armit, Pete Blannin and Eddie Taylor and you have one of the best British bands ever. There are some wonderful arrangements, including “Love For Sale” (last Thursdays finale) and Blue Lou. This one’s on Lake Records LACD202.

Of course so far I haven’t mention his recordings with Buck Clayton, or Buddy Tate, or his later work, that will be another day.

Now, the only way to here Humph again is by buying the records. Catch live jazz whilst you can, because no one lives forever.

Without doubt, we are all going to miss Humph, and I haven’t even mentioned his comedy!

TTFN

Geoff C

Duncan Lamont

Humph with Mick Mulligans wife

Jimmy Giuffre


Tonight at The Hedsor Social Club we have as our star guest British saxophone legend DUNCAN LAMONT. This will be his second visit to Hedsor as he enjoyed his first so much.

We who only listened also enjoyed his unique playing style on his first visit, and I am looking forward to tonight with eager anticipation! Why not come and listen too? Entry is a token £3, and we run a raffle at half time to defray our deficit!

Even legends don't live forever, not only did we loose Humph in the last week, but Jimmy Giuffre also passed away, again at the age of 86.

I'll try and write a more fulfilling page in the next few days, but in the meantime, enjoy the jazz and the bank holiday weekend.

Geoff C

You will find above our advert for a return visit next Thursday, May 1st , by British sax legend Duncan Lamont.

Duncan is coming to play alongside our regular reedman Mike Wills for another special evening of quality jazz at The Hedsor Social Club. It starts at our usual start time of 8.30 pm, and admission is still a bankrupting £3. So why not come out and enjoy the music and the special atmosphere of Jazz at Hedsor.

I've been asked to mention another special event that involves local trad heroes, Cookhams fabulous Shirtlifters. "They are playing a number of local gigs around the Porthcurno area in Cornwall but the highlight should be the performance at the Minark Theatre on Sat 10 May evening weather permitting. It is an open-air amphitheatre on the edge of the cliffs - truly exceptional venue you will agree if you search/look on the net for 'Minark Theatre'. Normally they put on Shakespeare plays , Gilbert and Sullivan and the like as well as standard classical concerts by 30 / 40 piece orchestras. This is the first time hey have attempted jazz I think , so it's a bit of a try out you could say." For more details you could do worse than ringing the Shirtlifters titular head, Charles Benson on 01628 472163.

Do read last weeks nag again about other very forthcoming jazz events slightly nearer to home than Cornwall.

BUT, the place to hear jazz locally is still The Hedsor Social Club! Now a favourite riff for all who come on a regular basis

"That was a Gig That Was"

And that was the email heading from Lisa Amato, telling me what a good time she had had playing at Hedsor on Monday last. And she was absolutely right. What a gig!

The Monday guitar night gigs have always been very pleasant affairs, great music, with just a handful of audience.

Last night was very different.

First off, an email form Lisa, telling me that the long booked Pete Billington was NOT going to be able to make the gig.

BUT, at the last minute she had managed to persuade British piano legend John Critcheson to come out instead. John hadn't been to Hedsor before, hadn't played with any of the other players before, and had never heard of James Fenn. Well, he has now. The combined talents of John, James, Lisa, Vasilis and Nick Marangoni produced an evening of magical jazz that, I for one, will never ever forget. Swing, sting (in some of the incredible harmonies concocted by James and Vasilis on the hoof), humour, and joy were all in there. And to a nearly full house, with new friends who had seen the posters!!They will all come again too.

I know John enjoyed himself immensely. And the audience had a wall to wall grin all evening. It more than made my day! I think it's made my year (my 70th on this planet).

The next jazz Monday is May 19th. I'll let you know the details of exactly who, but do expect many of the same to appear again. And all for your £5. That's right, just £5!

Coming more down to earth, we do have another session from our house quintet this week on Thursday. So to come out and support the live jazz music that we put on Every Thursday at The Hedsor Social Club.

Another Stella date for your diary, on Thursday May 1st, we have another visit from another British jazz legend, Duncan Lamont. He will join our regular reed corner man, Mike Wills for a tenor duo night. What more do you jazz fans want for your money? We don't do gladiators. So put it in your diary, and pay us a £3 visit.

Don't forget that coming up soon at other venues we have:

Saturday 26th April Martin Hart with Alan Barnes at The Woodley Theatre. A few tickets are still available. ring their box office on 0118 9690827. Price is £8.50

And on May 6th, Lynn Garner appears at The Wycombe Swan with American saxophone star Scott Hamilton.

That's it for now, I hope to see you soon at a gig near me!!

Geoff C

Vasilis

Hi Jazz Lovers,

Don't forget (and you may be late) that we have another magnificent Monday evening of guitar led jazz for you at THE HEDSOR SOCIAL CLUB tonight from 8.30pm.

All these star players will be yours (for an hour or two) tonight:-

James Fenn guitar
Lisa Amato bass guitar
Nick Marangoni drums
Pete Billington keyboard
Vasilis Xenopoulos saxophone

and all for a £5 entry.

PLUS there will also be previously owned CD's for sale at less than the entry fee each!

Hi Everyone,

I just thought I would nag you again, to remind you that at Hedsor this Thursday we have a session NOT led by Clive Burton, BUT with such luminaries as John Rolls on sax, Tim Best on keyboard, Elliot Toms on drums, and the link to our regular band will be Ken Rankine on the bass. I still think there will be another instrumentalist there as well, but that could just be a tease!! The usual start time of 8.30 pm applies, as does the entry fee of £3 and a mandatory raffle ticket.

On MONDAY 21st, yet another super session that I have been trying to organise for a while. Some of you May like to come and join me in listening to guitarist James Fenn, with Vasilis Xenopoulos on saxophone,and piano player Pete Billington . Lisa Amato will be adding considerable visual attraction to the event (as well as playing very good bass), and we hope to have Nick Marangoni on drums as well. AND you only have to pay £5. That's it, only £5. We at least are trying to control the current world economic crisis. On the 22nd, if not enough of you turn up, you can come and help me control MY financial crisis!!

Sessions continue on Sundays at The Fifield Inn, 8pm, usually led by Century Jazz.

On Saturday 26th, there will be a Jazz Program at The Woodley Theatre, led by Martin Hart:-
Jazz at the Oakwood:
Alan Barnes
acclaimed sax star, backed by
The Martin Hart Trio
and featuring
Ken McCarthy - Piano

Saturday 26 April 2008
All tickets £8.50 from the Box Office 0118 9690827
And on Sunday 24th May Alan Barnes is playing St Mary's Church Wendover at 7.45. Ring 01296 696204 for tickets and more info.

Recent CD Listen
I don't know about you, but I sometimes feel that CD's are too long! Yes, I know that you do need value for money and £12 to £15 is a lot of cakes, but the old LP did give you fairly convenient 20 minutes bite size listens. For me, this usually means that I rarely listen to a complete CD all the way through at any one session. BUT, one CD did catch me this week.
OK,so it was a lady singer (anathema to some of you), and she has got a slightly strange name. BUT she was born in Rochdale, and brought up in Stockport! She also has a very individual style, often likened to Nina Simon. Who am I blathering on about? Barb Jungr.
I started listening to her 2006 CD on Linn Records called "Walking in the Sun". 54 minutes and 42 seconds later, I stopped, because I had listened all the way through. Totally enthralling stuff. Full of passion and real soul. To some, it might not be considered jazz, if that is so, I wont apologise. Just get a listen to it and tell me you haven't had a musical experience.Titles include "Walking to Memphis", "Blind Willie McTell", "Many Rivers to Cross" and of course the album title song. Its superbly recorded,and its on Lynn Records AKD 283.
That's it for now folks, see you Thursday, or Sunday or Monday or.....but do turn out, or the music will stop!

Geoff C

Just a few items of interest.

Last nights Hedsor session with the addition of Duncan Lamont was an absolute delight. It was apparent that the home team raised their game with such an illustrious guest with us, and it was obvious that Duncan enjoyed playing at Hedsor (but then most musicians do). I'm confident that he will come back.

Most of the gigs at Hedsor and Fifield in the next few weeks will have our regular quintet, with Mike Wills now playing for us regularly. There are a few occasions when he will be missing, and one occasion when the whole band will disappear.

At Fifield this Sunday (6th) the guest will be guitarist Max Britain.

On Sunday 13th April at Fifield the guest will be saxophonist Peter Cook.

On Thursday 17th at Hedsor the regular band will be replaced by John Rolls on saxophone, Tim Best on keyboard, Elliot Toms will be on drums, and the link to our regular band will be Ken Rankine on the bass. We are trying hard at the moment to entice another well known jazz musician to come and play as well, more on that later.

On MONDAY 21st we have a very special jazz guitar night. I have attached a file with a poster so you can all help in it's advertising. We are going to combine the talents of guitarist James Fenn, with not only Vasilis Xenopoulos on saxophone, but piano player Pete Billington as well. Lisa Amato will be adding considerable visual attraction to the event (as well as playing very good bass), and we hope to have Nick Marangoni on drums as well.

All that for fiver.

More info when I have it. Keep turning out and we will have to keep running live jazz. Stay at home, and so will all the musicians!!

TTFN

Geoff C

During last Fridays Concert I managed to take some photographs of the artists at play. I thought I would share some with you!

So far, we have raised, and will be able to donate to Cancer Research UK as a direct result of this event, over £900

A well done to everyone involved.

On Thursday THIS WEEK, we have a special guest joining The Clive Burton Quintet at The Hedsor Social Club. Sax legend DUNCAN LAMONT will be joining the front line.

Read more about this fabulous player at http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=1773

A JPEG of the poster for this event is included in the artwork above, please print off a copy and display it where more people can see it.

And you thought you could rest after our concert!!

Geoff C

I thought I would like to let you all know, those who came and those who didnt, that our Cancer Research concert last night at The Hedsor Social Club has raised nigh on £900 for CRUK. Thank you to all who made such a result possible.

AND the music was wonderful!

AND the music will stay wonderful all next week. Tuesday at Mo's gig at The Bourne End Community Centre you will see a very similar front line to last night, with a change of personnel in the row behind!!

AND on THURSDAY back at Hedsor (now fast becoming the home of the local jazz scene) we are having not only the full Clive Burton Quintet, but saxophone star Duncan Lamont as well.

Keep telling your friends, keep coming out!

And together we WILL keep live jazz alive.

Geoff C

The Hedsor Social Club, Hedsor Road, BOURNE END, Buckinghamshire SL8 5ES

Tel: 01628521921

Hi there jazz fans.

This little reminder is all about the concert at The Hedsor Social Club this coming Friday (March 28th). I just wanted to make sure those of you who are coming knew it was at The Hedsor Social Club NOT The Bourne End Community Centre as in previous years.

You will find a map above for its location (in Hedsor Road) and it is next door to the garden centre. Ample car parking is there, and its FREE.

Also Please feel free to bring your own food, as only crisps and nuts are available from the bar. But do buy all your drinks from the bar, they are very reasonably priced, and it is only through the good offices of the Social Club that we can run this event (and all the other jazz we run there), so please patronise the bar.

I'm really looking forward to it now. The music, I know, will be to a very high standard, it always is, but we are adding in 2 very special people to this years concert. Lynn Garner is a singer who always sends shivers down my spine, she has a tremendous ability to get to the emotional centre of any song. We also have John Slater, another very talented musician, playing trumpet for us this year. He is equally at home on keyboard or bass and he also has a wacky sense of humour. But so has Lynn G, so it could well turn out to be a memorable evening!

There will be a raffle, always a highlight on a Thursday, and I think the prizes are up to the usual Thursday Standard!

So come along, bring your own picnic, and a good time will be had by all.

AND Cancer Research UK will benefit from all the profit we make.

Geoff C

First up, as I write, it is a sunny morning, but with a forecast of rain and snow, AND it's Easter! So I would like to wish all who read this (and probably those who don't too!), a very happy Easter Time. Easter marks a time of fresh beginnings, putting the Winter behind us and helping us look towards the warmth of Summer. With turbulent financial times around, it is also a good time to observe that there is much that we can see in the natural world that gives joy, and is free! If properly prepared and clothed for it, even being out in the cold rain can be a stimulating experience!

And so to jazz.

We had an excellent session at Hedsor on Monday, with Vasilis X joining James Fenn and his team. Great music, but we must have more in the audience if we are to carry on with these quality evenings. Just so that you know who is coming for the next Jazz Monday (21st April) we are combining the talents of James and his team with both Vasilis, and Pete Billington on keyboards. It should be a stunning session, so put a reserve in your diary NOW.

Our next Hedsor gig now, will in fact be NEXT FRIDAY! It's our,now annual, effort to raise money for Cancer Research UK. So many of my friends and family have been affected by this disease that, for me, supporting it is a no brainer. But just to entice you to spend the £10 entrance fee for this cafe concert style presentation, we have not only the remarkable talents of Clive Burton and his Quintet, but in addition, the trumpet of John Slater, and the wonderful vocal talents of Lynn Garner. It should be a great jazz evening AND a great fun evening too. There are a few tickets left, and there MAY be some on the door, but to be certain of yours, go to Crocks and Crystals in Bourne End (01628 528712) or Delizioso in Cookham (01628 522202) in the next day or so.

We were thinking that the band would use Thursday (27th) to rehearse, and we were going to let the public be part of that night as long as they had a ticket for the Friday Concert. BUT, the band has already rehearsed, and they WILL NOT BE THERE ON THURSDAY!

After this Concert event, we are not resting on our laurels (uncomfortable), but we are inviting the occasional guest to appear with the Quintet at Hedsor on our regular Thursdays. The first one will be star saxophonist Duncan Lamont, who will be with us on APRIL 3rd. Duncan has been around for a little while now, has played with everyone (including the Quintet in the past) and we are very much looking forward to his coming to Hedsor, and to YOUR ATTENDANCE there as well!!

Enough now of the gratuitous violence (well, I know I nag).

When you are stuck at home, and you do want to listen to some jazz music, there appears to be an unlimited choice these days. OK, so you do have to find a record store first, but there is some great music from the past to catch up on at home.

Maxine Sullivan became more famous when in 1938 she sang in the Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall concert. A lovely CD of her post war years is now available on the Legend label (CD6004), covering her work between 1944 and 1948. As well as the "Loch Lomand" that caught our ears with BG, here we have some wonderful songs like "Mad About the Boy", "I Cant Get Started", "Miss Otis Regrets", as well as some less well know ("Cry, Buttercup,Cry"). The accompanying musicians include Ellis Larkins (piano), Everett Barksdale (guitar), the Larry Johnson Orchestra, and a number of string sections. A lovely reissue from an almost forgotten period.

A more recent addition to my singers list is Karrin Allyson. Born in Great Bend, Kansas, she brings a warm sensitive smoky feel to her work. She has a number of albums under her slim belt, the one I have listened to this week being a very interesting reworking for voice of John Coltrane's "Ballads" album. All the tunes he played on that recording are here, very sensitively performed, with some superb backing by, among others, John Patitucci on bass, and James Carter on Tenor Sax. Its a Concord recording CCD-4950-2.

As usual, artwork for these albums can be seen on the blog. Karrin has very good website at http://www.karrin.com where you can even download some of her tracks to sample the sound.

That's it for now folks. As I said at the top, do have a very Happy Easter, don't eat too much chocolate, and I hope to see you all on Friday 28th March at Hedsor for the Concert.

Geoff C

Todays Nag will be a short reminder of the next few events in my jazz calendar, starting with:-

Thursday, Hedsor has no actual guests. Mike Wills our regular, and restored to health saxophonist, will be with us for the next few weeks on Thursdays, so do come along and hear some of the harmonies that he and Clive create between them. Last week was a real joy!!
Usual start time of 8.30 pm, usual entry fee of £3, usual raffle hilarity, lets hope that more than the usual suspects turn up!!

Fifield on Sunday, will be a repeat of Thursday, with the exception that it is free to get in, and is funded by a more valuable raffle!! Oh yes, the start time is 8 pm, not 8.30 pm. The landlord likes to get to bed early on a Sunday!

Monday the 17th is our regular Guitar night at Hedsor, with James Fenn in the chair. He brings quality players with him, so come and pay your £5 and see who he brings with him this time! Please tell your friends about this event. We have enjoyed some remarkably talented evenings on these Mondays, but without an increase in audience numbers, this event will have to close (unless I can find a rich sponsor!).

The BIG jazz event in my year, and this time also for Hedsor, is the Cancer Research Jazz Concert on FRIDAY 28th March. Easter will be over, so you wont be "lent" on, but we do want a good turn out for this fundraiser. Remember ALL the profit goes to Cancer Research UK. It promises to be a great evening musically, but we all have more fun when there is a big crowd. This year, joining in the "Dixieland to Swing" theme will be the wonderful Lynn Garner. Tell your friends, print the poster (attached) and put it up for all to see, lets make this one SPECIAL.

A couple of CD's with guitar themes to them have been liberated as far as my cd player this past week, one of them so surprising I couldn't believe it had gone unnoticed in the sales stock for so long.

Guys and Dolls was a super show that I first saw when I was still wearing short trousers. It has some memorable tunes, many of which have become jazz standards. So, perhaps I thought that Harry Allen and Joe Cohn were just going through the financial motions when they recorded a whole album of the songs. I do mean songs, because Rebecca Kilgore and Eddie Erickson join Harry and Joe alongside Chuck Rigg on Drums and Joel Forbes on bass to add the words to the music! It's a wonderful album. Harry Allen is of course well known for his middle period style sax playing, melodic, swinging, punchy sometimes, but always tasteful. Joe Cohn on guitar I hadn't heard so much of before, and is perfectly well suited to join Harry as the front line. For me, for a lot of reasons, the best track on the album is "Sit Down Your Rocking The Boat", but they are all there, "If I Were A Bell", "Luck Be A Lady Tonight", "I've Never Been In Love Before" etc, etc. It's on Arbors Records Jazz Label ARCD 19354.

The CD that had literally been knocking about in the bottom of the box is one by, I presume, a German Guitarist Wolfgang Muthspeil. I don't have any sleeve for this, and all the music looks as though it has been written for or by Wolfgang himself (I may be wonderful but I could be wrong!), Its a trio format, and is a great funky fusion sound. It's called "Bright Side", and is on a label called Material Records and was released in 2005. I'll do some more research before next week, but do look out for it, or him, because its terrific modern jazz.

Well, that's it for now folks,

Turn out for live jazz, or it will get turned off. "thejazz" closes at the end of the month!

Geoff C
http://jazzfromgeoff.blogspot.com/

And you all thought it was safe now to STAY IN!! WRONG

Because there are so many things to go out for this week, and into the not too distant future. AND they are all near YOU, AND don't cost much more than £5 each (bar one).

That one first, is the Concert we are organising for Cancer Research UK, which is a £10 ticket price. A PDF file with all the details is attached. Please note, it has been amended to include the news of our two super guest artist. There may be more coming, but I have run out of room on the poster, so you will just have to come and see on the night. Please support this very worthwhile cause.If you can print and display the poster near you, please do.

THIS WEEK
Tomorrow, Tuesday 4th March, There will be Jazz at The Bourne End Community Centre Bar from 8.30pm. It will be a small group and singer organised by drummer Terry Parsons. Entry, including a light supper, and a raffle, is £4.

Also tomorrow, slightly further a field, guitarist Tim Saunders will be playing The Brook Green Hotel, Hammersmith, together with saxophone star Duncan Lamont. 8.30 pm start, free entry to the cellar bar.

Thursday, our regular gig at The Hedsor Social Club has the return of our "regular" sax star Mike Wills. Expect some wonderful harmonies. 8.30 start, £3 in plus a raffle.

Sunday, at The Fifield Inn, Century Jazz play host to that wonderful saxophonist Pete Cook.

Rushing towards us at the speed of time, Our next James Fenn guitar led evening at Hedsor is Monday 17th March. 8.30 start, £5 to get in, and that's it, NO RAFFLE! Tell your friends, we need the audience, the music is wonderful, but people don't know that yet!

Two bits of round plastic that you might like to consider adding to your round plastic library this week.

Most recent first is a DVD (yep, you can watch AND listen) of the Liane Carroll Trio LIVE at the Brecon Jazz Festival. It was recorded last year, and has a typical session from this wonderfully entertaining singer. Described by Julian Joseph as having a "smoky voice" (well ,she used to be able to sing, play the piano and smoke, all at the same time, now the law only allows her to sing and play the piano, and THAT only in suitably licensed premises, because, as we all know, live music is dangerous to your health), she has got a very distinctive sound. She conveys real emotion for all she performs, and some of her songs (Dublin Morning) will become future standards I'm sure. Its a good hour of concert, reasonable filmed, the sound is slightly hollow and needs the wick turning up a bit, but on the whole does give you a satisfying echo of her performance. Songs include the aforesaid Dublin Morning, and other favourites like "That Old Black Magic", and "Caravan", which allows the other two members of her trio to feature. Nothing, however well produced, is as good as hearing and seeing the performance itself, BUT Splash Point Records SPR007DVD is a great souvenir of her recent live act.

Going back to 1974, I've dug out from my vault this week a CD that I paid £13.50 for!! Ruby Braff might have been known as "the poisoned dwarf", but his playing was magical, lyrical, and so complete. In 1974 he played a concert in New York, and the CD has all of the music. With him, as his foil, was guitarist George Barnes. They produced magical music together, but there association was short lived, as they found they couldn't stand the site of each other!! BUT happily the music lives on. Light and springy and full of tunes you know. "There Will Never Be Another You", "Thou Swell", "Squeeze Me", and even "Here There And Everywhere" by Lennon and McCartney. The label is Chiaroscuro, and the number is CR(D)126. And it is a great listen!

As usual, the artwork will be on the blog.

TTFN

Geoff C

Just in case you missed the poster for the cancer Research Concert, here it is again. If you would like a PDF File of this, please contact me with your email address and i will send it to you.

Geoff C

Hi Fans,

I just thought now would be a good time to tell you about some of the future gigs we have planned.

Thursday 21st February at Hedsor the guest with the Clive Burton Quartet will be guitarist Martin Cooke.
Sunday 24th February at Fifield, Century Jazz will be complete with the regular saxophonist, the remarkable Mike Wills.

Thursday 28th February at Hedsor the guest will be sax star Peter Cook.
Sunday March 2nd Fifield will have the complete Century Jazz, i.e. Mike Wills will be on sax.

Thursday 6th March, Mike Wills is again with Clive Burton.
Sunday March 9th at Fifield the guest will again be Peter Cook.

On MONDAY 17th March we will have another evening of guitar jazz from James Fenn and Friends.

On FRIDAY March 28th, we are running our Cancer Research UK Charity Concert at The Hedsor Social Club. The Theme is "From Dixieland to Swing AGAIN", and the Clive Burton Quintet will be augmented by John Slater on Trumpet. I am assured other guest will be included in this wonderful evening of fund raising Jazz. Tickets are now on sale from me, and very shortly from Crocks and Crystals in Bourne End, and Delizioso in Cookham. A PDF file of the poster is attached to this mailing.

As this will be the weeks major jazz event, we are NOT planning to have a regular Thursday Session at Hedsor. BUT, the band will be rehearsing there on Thursday 27th, and if anyone wants to turn up to listen, they will be welcome, and there will be NO CHARGE!! But we will ask to see your ticket for Friday!

A very special Jazz guitar night is in prospect for Monday April 21st (note change of date from that previously published). With James Fenn on Guitar and Lisa Amato on Bass Guitar, we are gathering together the multiple talents of Pete Billington on Keyboard, Nick Marangoni on Drums, and Vasilis Xenopoulos on Saxophone. Don't miss this one!

Other jazz gigs are on around the area. At The Bourne End Community Centre on the first Tuesday of every month. At The British Legion Hall in Marlow on Alternate Tuesdays (Tonight IS one of those, and the guest there will be Simon Spillett). Do keep an eye on the blog http://jazzfromgeoff.blogspot.com, and as well as seeing the live stuff advertised, you will get the occasional CD Revue/recommendation.

So, there we have a few things for you to look forward to, and I look forward to seeing you at some, if not all, of these full value jazz nights.

TTFN

Geoff C

More information on our guest pianist for next Monday's guitar jazz night at the Hedsor Social Club. The pianist will be :-

Holger Skepeneit

- Holger started playing classical piano at the age of eight and turned to jazz and blues at fourteen. After finishing school he briefly attended a full-time jazz course in Frankfurt/Germany. He then came to England to study piano, jazz piano and composition at the London College of Music, graduating in 2000 with a first class honours degree. The same year he started and completed successfully an MMus in jazz piano at the Leeds College of Music. Since graduating he’s been a sought after pianist, keyboard player, composer and MD. During his career so far he has performed and recorded along side artists such as Pete King, Jeff Clyne, Tina May, Alan Barnes, John Wheatcroft, Steve Waterman, Alan Shaw, Mark Nightingale, Kiranpal Sing, John Surman and many others. Apart from having played in most of the UK’s major live music venues (including the Southbank, Cadogan Hall, Shepherds Bush Empire, Peel Bay Festival, and the Wigmore Hall), he has so far performed in over 20 different countries, in Europe and overseas. Furthermore Holger has played for the guests of her Majesty the Queen and was awarded the Westminster prize for improvisation. Apart from being a busy performer, Holger is quite a prolific composer as well. His first works (for piano and sax) were published when he was only seventeen. Since then he has written a variety of highly acclaimed pieces ranging from piano concertos and string quartets to Big Band pieces, solo piano works and trio suites. At the moment Holger works mainly with his own trio (with Chris Nicholls on drums and Alan Mian on bass), the Counterfeit Stones and the Balkan Fusion line-up Dark Raki (with Vasilis X). He is also part-time tutor for keyboard and theory at the Institute for Contemporary Music Performance and Thames Valley University). www.myspace.com/holgerskepeneittrio

Thanks to Eddie Fowler for finding/providing this info.


Geoff C

Jazz Nag EXTRA

Information from the front regarding Monday nights guitar led jazz session at Hedsor, with James Fenn and Lisa Amato.

Lisa Amato writes:-

"We have a great pianist coming on Monday for the regular monthly modern jazz thrash. His name is Holger Skepengeit (I think that's how it is spelled) and he's very melodic (we like 'em like that). Still trying to fix a drummer, but I'll let you know when they return my calls!"

We know the usual quality provided by the Fenn team, so do make sure you "get a ticket on the jazz island line" for Monday 18th February!!

TTFN

Geoff C