Honky Tonk Time: Jazz Portrait of Emile Van Pelt on Piano and Eric Webster on Banjo

JAZZ PORTRAIT OF EMILE VAN PELT AND ERIC WEBSTER

Jazz Painting of Emile Van Pelt and Eric Webster putting on the style at a Ken Colyer Trust Jazz Parade. Emile and Eric regularly tour the UK with Sammy Rimington’s International Jazz Band. Emile also stars with The New Orleans Z’hulus and Eric with Barbara Widmer’s New Revival Band. Eric has a knack of conjuring up his very own spontaneous
rapport with jazz fans.

FINE ART PRINT OF JAZZ PAINTING OF EMILE AND ERIC

Honky Tonk Time

Eric on banjo,
Strumming on strings,
Emile on piano,
Tickling the pins.
Honky Tonk time
With a glass of fine wine!

Eric Webster, banjo, and Emile van Pelt, piano, performing at the Ken Colyer Trust 2008 Jazz Parade. Emile plays piano in the style of the great US Southern States jazz musicians. Of Eric, a critic stated: ‘Mention should be made of his unobtrusive but essential banjo.’

Art & Verse’ Copyright © 2009 Peter M Butler. All rights reserved

Fine Art Giclée Prints of this portrait are available, with or without my descriptive poem. Simply email: [email protected] to place your order and help support jazz.

Jazz Portrait: Emile Martyn on Drums

Emile Martyn, Leader of the Fallen Heroes

Jazz painting of Emile Martyn, founder of The Fallen Heroes, on drums at a “Jazz in the Barn” gig in Throwley, Kent. The Fallen Heroes are famed for their high energy performances of blues, funky jazz and contemporary New Orleans street beat. Emile and his brother Ben, bass player and vocalist, are the sons of legendary New Orleans jazz musician Barry Martyn.

Emile said of his jazz portrait: “Fantastic Peter, you’ve got a talent for capturing people! Perhaps I need to have a shave!!!” High praise from a fellow artist.

Jazz Portrait of Emile Martyn

Emile on Drums

Good time Jazz in deepest Kent
With New Orleans beat to turn up the heat
Emile on drums, inspired, intense,
A Fallen Hero with the world at his feet.

Art & Verse’ Copyright © 2011 Peter M Butler. All rights reserved

Fine Art Giclée Prints of this portrait are available, with or without my descriptive poem. Simply email: [email protected] to place your order and help support jazz.

 

Jazz Portrait: Dom Pipkin Pumps Piano

JAZZ PORTRAIT: DOM PIPKIN PUMPS PIANO

Dom Pipkin is said to “flay the organ within a millimetre” of the great Jazz organist Jimmy Smith. He writes and sings his own songs “like a ring tailed racoon”, referencing New Orleans favourites such as Professor Longhair, Huey “Piano” Smith, Lee Dorsey
and James Booker.

Dom leads his own group, The Ikos. In this jazz painting he is on keyboard with The Fallen Heroes at a Jazz in the  Barn concert in Throwley, Kent. The Fallen Heroes are famed for their  high energy performances of blues, funky jazz and contemporary New Orleans street beat.
Right down Dom’s street!

More recently Dom was pianist and musical director with Paloma Faith but always intended to get back to his beloved jazz and Ikos sooner rather than later.

FINE ART PRINT OF DOM PIPKIN JAZZ PAINTING

Dom Pipkin Pumps Piano

Jazz on the Farm
In deepest Kent,
Dominic on piano
Giving vocals full vent.
A Fallen Hero
Raising the roof of the barn.

Fine Art Giclée Prints of this portrait are available, with or without my descriptive poem. Simply email: [email protected] to place your order and help support jazz.

Acrylic Jazz Portrait of Amy Roberts on Saxophone

Amy Roberts (Jazz&Jazz Portrait)

Amy Roberts (Jazz&Jazz Portrait)

Amy Roberts is an incredibly talented young lady and as a rising star she quickly  made her mark on the jazz world.

I first met Amy at the 2008 Ken Colyer Autumn Jazz Parade in Hemsby, Norfolk, where Sammy Rimington invited her to join him in a saxophone duet. Afterwards I overheard Sammy saying: “Amy’s got a natural talent and feel for the music. She’s got rhythm. She’s got swing. She’s the future of jazz.”

When she starred again at Hemsby in 2010, I simply had to paint this jazz portrait of her in acrylics as well as a portrait of her in duet with Adrian Cox, also displayed in Jazz Art & Film.

Voted winner of the British Jazz Awards Rising Star Category in 2009, Amy also placed second in the 2010 awards. Just into her 20s, she joined the Big Chris Barber Band early in 2011 and has since gone on to co-form the Amy Roberts Richard Exall Quintet which was presented with the  “Harry Cameron Trophy” for Best Band of the Year in 2013/2104.

As an ardent jazz fan said to me not so long ago at the 100 Club, “Who said jazz musicians are all oldies!” But jazz oldies by far outnumber the youngsters and if New Orleans style jazz is to make that long awaited comeback we need to applaud it’s rising stars.

Fine Art Print of Jazz Portrait of Amy Roberts

Amy’s Got Rhythm

 Hail a new generation,
With rhythmic syncopation,
Sax in crescendo,
As cadences flow
From the star of the show.

Amy Roberts steals the show at the 2010 Autumn Jazz Parade in Hemsby, Norfolk. When she was just 19, Sammy Rimington said of Amy,
“She’s got rhythm, she’s got swing. She’s the future of jazz!”

Art & Verse’ Copyright © 2011 Peter M Butler. All rights reserved

Fine Art Giclée Prints of this portrait are available, with or without my descriptive poem. Simply email: [email protected] to place your order and help support jazz.

 

The Stackyard Stompers Hit The Peartree, Welwyn Garden City

Christine’s Stackyard Stompers hit The Peartree Monday Jazz Club big time on the 16th January.

 

The Stackyards go no holds barred for Dixieland style jazz with a repertoire including King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Johnny Dodds, Clarence Williams, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. MC John Pickett (trumpet) entertainingly introduced each number with a potted history and Bandleader Christine on trombone kept the band in order with discreet yet rhythmic authority. She’s great on vocals too.

JOHN PICKETT

RON FINDON

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the highlight of the evening was clarinetist Ron Findon’s sublime solo performance of George Gershwin’s magnificent aria “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess. Ron has played with Joe Loss for the Queen at Buckingham Palace and with Harry Gold. A Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, he has also recorded Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. No wonder the Peartree fans gave Ron a standing ovation. Just as well he loves jazz!

BAND LEADER CHRISTINE

Well done, Christine, for assembling such a fantastic and entertaining group of musicians. Also special thanks to Brian Smith (aka “Smiffy”) for booking such great jazz bands for the Peartree Monday Jazz Club. As Smiffy said at the end of the evening, we are privileged that bands like the Stackyards are prepared to turn out for  jazz clubs such as The Peartree. May it go from strength to strength!

For The Peartree Monday Jazz Club monthly programme between now and June go to:  https://www.jazzandjazz.com/2011/12/peartree-monday-jazz-club-gigs-january-to-june-2012/ To see Peter’s Jazz&Jazz portrait of Christine on Trombone go to: https://www.jazzandjazz.com/2012/01/acrylic-jazz-portrait-of-christine-on-trombone-2/

RICHARD HOWELL

DAVE ARNOLD

(Photos © Peter M Butler)

ROY HART

Acrylic Jazz Portrait Commissioned by Christine on Trombone

 

Christine is band leader of Christine and the Stackyard Stompers. In this jazz painting commissioned by Christine I have captured her on trombone at a 2011 Peartree Monday Jazz Club gig in Welwyn Garden City. But I admit to a modicum of artistic licence in the backdrop.

The Stackyard Stompers play authentic jazz arrangements by greats including King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Johnny Dodds, Clarence Williams, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong
and Duke Ellington.

Below is my fine art print of the jazz portrait of Christine along with my poem which conjures up the aura of mystery with which she surrounds herself. Or perhaps that’s just my imagination.

Mysterious Lady

Mysterious lady,
Trombone Aflame,
Dazzling her fans
To fulsome acclaim.

 The lady prefers to be know to her fans simply as Christine, band leader of Christine and the Stackyard Stompers. Hence her aura of mystery. My portrait captures her on trombone in typically flamboyant style at a Peartree Monday Jazz Club gig in Welwyn Garden City, with a little artistic licence to highlight her stunning performance.

 Art & Verse’ Copyright © 2012 Peter M Butler. All rights reserved.

Fine Art Giclée Prints of this portrait are available, with or without my descriptive poem. Simply email: [email protected] to place your order and help support jazz.

 

Christine’s Stackyard Stompers Live in Welwyn Garden City at The Peartree Monday Jazz Club on 16 January 2012

Don’t let the winter blues get to you! Liven up January by coming along to a fantastic evening of trad jazz with Christine’s Stackyard Stompers at The Peartree Monday Jazz Club, Welwyn Garden City, on the 16th!

Christine and the band play authentic arrangements from jazz greats including King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Johnny Dodds, Clarence Williams, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Not to be missed so phone “Smiffy” now on 01707 880569.

And don’t miss out on another great gig on 20th February with the incredible Frog Island Jazz Band. Let The Peartree Monday Jazz Club help you waft winter away !

An Interview with Bob Thomas of Thomcat Fame

Bob Thomas was born in 1931 in Clerkenwell, London, within the sound of Bow Bells. He had three brothers and two sisters. The Thomas’s were a highly talented musical family, so it wasn’t long before Bob became proficient both on piano and piano accordion. Encouraged by his father, Charles, who played the concertina when not on duty as a London bus driver, Bob was soon emulating his three older brothers, Ron, Arthur and Charles on keyboard before honing his musical skills on bugle and drums in local The Boys Brigade band.

During the Christmas break I was privileged to interview Bob about his lifelong love of jazz but I hadn’t anticipated the depths we would delve.


Peter Butler:
 Bob, would you say your father and brothers had a love for jazz?

Bob Thomas: Definitely. Each of them had their own accordions. The house was full of them along with a piano! Later I became a piano tuner and remain so for friends to this day. We also had a gramophone and a large collection of jazz records which I was forbidden to touch. But when I was home alone I simply couldn’t resist them. It was my brother Ron who really got me involved in jazz. I enjoy all types of music but from those early days jazz topped the bill.

Peter's acrylic portrait of Bob

BT: I was principle drummer with the Boys Brigade Band but I played bugle with them too. Then I joined the Mission Band with the local church and they performed their own rendition of “While we were marching through Georgia”. That’s when I got hooked on trumpet. Later Acker Bilk made that number into one of his hit records.

PB: So you have wonderful memories of those early days?

BT: Indeed I do! And especially of taking the pledge!

PB: Taking the pledge?

BT: Yes! Whilst with the Mission Band I pledged never to touch a drop of the hard stuff! And then I became a jazz musician! Imagine that! But then, I was only thirteen at the time.

PB: And after that?

BT: I got my call up papers in 1949 and joined the Army. After a spell at Aldershot I was stationed at Folkestone in Kent.

PB: Did jazz take a back seat during your army years?

BT: Far from it. I met up with a new soul mate – Titch Large, a trumpet player from Liverpool, also stationed in Folkestone. We hit all the local jazz spots together and especially Sunday Jazz at the Leas Cliff Hall where the Jan Ralfini Big Band starred. Titch Large played with The Blue Magnolia Jazz Band in Liverpool.

PB: And that’s when you took up the trumpet in earnest?

BT: Yes, thereabouts. Jerry Salisbury, Acker Bilk’s bass player, sold me my first trumpet. To tell the truth, it was a bit the worse for wear as, in a rush, he had bashed it on a London bus stop! In the late 1950s I played along with my brother Ron at The Black Cat in Mornington Crescent.

After that Pat Halcox, Chris Barber’s trumpeter, gave me private tuition. That was a huge privilege. He even sold me a trumpet and not just any old trumpet. It was a Doc Severinson Getson trumpet! But tragically it was stolen. I foolishly left it in my car outside the now demolished Wagon & Horses pub on the old A1 just outside London Colney in Hertfordshire. But I still have the mouthpiece!

PB: So you have brushed shoulders with the greats?

BT: Career wise, jazz has been a sideline, but a hugely important sideline in my life. After leaving the army I went into the motor trade and was fortunate enough to have my own garages in Mornington Crescent, Camden Town and then in Potters Bar. All of these locations were hotbeds of jazz. Stars such as Terry and Paddy Lightfoot and Acker Bilk were neighbours of mine in Potters Bar, as were Tucker Finlayson and John Richardson, Acker’s bass player and drummer. So I became their “garage man” and hence formed strong associations.

PB: As an aside how would you rate, for instance, Terry Lightfoot and Acker Bilk alongside Ken Colyer?

Above and above left: Promotional flyer designed and produced by Jazz&Jazz for Bob Thomas & The Thomcats.

BT: All jazz greats, but perhaps Ken Colyer was more a jazz purist. Then again, Terry and Acker are just as much purists in their own right and have probably done and still are doing more to keep jazz alive.

PB: Which bands did you play with?

BT: I joined The New Eureka Jazz Band in Walthamstow when I lived in Potters Bar and played trumpet alongside Tony Weston on reeds, Pete McCullough on trombone, Dave Ufland, drums, and Mike Farrell on bass and banjo.

I also have wonderful memories of playing with The Salisbury Stompers in Barnet for seven years when in was led by Bernie Tyrrell of wry humour and Jazz Guide fame. Bernie on drums, Pete McCullough on trombone, Jimmy Hurd on reeds, John Softly on banjo, Nobby Clark on bass and Shirley Longhurst, vocals. I recall one gig when during the interval I mistakenly used the ladies’ loo and got trapped in the cubicle by a couple of ladies directly outside chatting about lingerie. I heard the band strike up and dashed out with a curt “excuse me”. “Where’ve you  been?” hissed Pete McCullough. I told him and he promptly seized the mike and announced to the fans “Bob’s been dallying with two damsels in the ladies’ loo!” Or words to that effect! Happy days!

In the early 1960s I formed the Crescent City Jazz Band in Potters Bar with Martin Cole on banjo, Dave Maber on bass, Julian Greatrex on reeds and Dave Ufland on drums.

PB: But a lot of those old jazz venues and pubs have gone now, including The Salisbury in Barnet, The Red Lion in Hatfield and The Cherrytree in Welwyn Garden City. A few years ago you decided to do something about this decline.

The Thomcats at The Long & The Short Arm, December 2008

BT: Yes, in 2000 I formed Bob Thomas and The Thomcats along with Richard Sharp who played bass. Richard later moved to Dover in Kent. The Thomcats played at regular venues including O’Neil’s Irish Club in Luton, Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire and Brocket Hall Golf Club when Lord McLaurin (formerly Chairman of Tescos and of The England and Wales Cricket Board) was president. The band also played weekly gigs at The Long and The Short Arm pub in Lemsford Village just outside Welwyn Garden City but sadly, as with so many other pubs, they no longer stage jazz. You painted my portrait on trumpet at The Long and Short in an endeavour to help keep jazz going in the pub.

PB: But the Thomcats are still performing?

The Thomcats at Jazz on the Island, June 2011

BT: Yes indeed, and we have a number of gigs lined up for 2012 including The Hertfordshire County Show at Redbourn in June, Jazz on The Island for Hertfordshire Action on Disability in Lemsford Village also in June, and a Sunday Lunchtime Jazz function on at Peterborough Conservative Club. Last year we played at The Hatfield House Craft Fair, The Shuttleworth Collection in Old Warden, Biggleswade, and at The Knebworth Festival and in all likelihood will do so again this year. We’ve also been booked for a wedding in September but although we do jazz parades at funerals, we’d prefer them to be very few and far between.

And who knows, perhaps we’ll be booked for a gig at the latest Welwyn Garden City venue, The Peartree Monday Jazz Club. Or even, dare I say, at a jazz revival at The Long and Short.

PB: Thanks, Bob. I want to end with something about your adventures on the Thames River Boats in the 1970s

BT: Great days, not to be missed. I played trumpet on the Bray boats, the Windsor boats and Maidenhead Steam Navigation Company boats, mostly with Len’s Seattle Six alongside Len himself on banjo, Clive Barton on trombone, Dave Maber on bass, Dave Ufland on drums and Tony Cam on reeds. Tony was the nephew of Sydney Cam who designed the Hurricane fighter plane.

Tony Cam on clarinet, Len Chambers, leader of Len's Seattle Six, on banjo, Bob Thomas on trumpet and Pete McCullough on trombone at a Barnet Jazz Festival.

Len Chambers was a great friend and passed on to me his huge catalogued collection of jazz records which I now have securely stashed away. The photo is of me on trumpet along with Tony Cam on clarinet, Len on banjo and Pete McCullough on trombone, It was taken at a Barnet Jazz Festival.

On another occasion at The Christopher in Eaton during the Windsor Festival, Lonnie Donegan’s daugther took the mike from me and performed a wonderful rendition of ‘Tin Roof Blues’.

But the most dramatic show was with Sam Weller’s band on the Maidenhead Steam Navigation boat, The Belle, when the entire canopy collapsed on the musicians. But the band played on. That’s jazz!

You can find out more about Bob Thomas and The Thomcats on Jazz&Jazz by clicking on the following link: https://www.jazzandjazz.com/2011/04/bob-thomas-the-thomcats/ . Or you can telephone Bob on 01707 373227 or email him at: [email protected]


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