The Band: Ben Martyn (bass), Emile Martyn (dms), Adrian Cox (clt); Ged Hone (tmp), Mike Pointon (tmb), Tony Pitt (bjo); Ray Smith (pno)

Pathos, Pity and Passion swept through The 100 Club on a recent bleak December day, leaving fans wondering what tomorrow will bring for touring and visiting jazz bands in London. It was the end of a long era of Thursday lunchtime jazz organised by Kay and Tony Leppard. So I’ve left it to Tony to sum up this historic occasion in, as usual, his modest and unassuming manner. 

Tony and Kay, rather than feeling gutted, fans should be so grateful to you both for all you have done for jazz in Central London for so many years. After all, as Kay recently put it, the closing event certainly “brought them out of the woodwork”.

So over to Tony:

End-Of-The-Line At The 100 Club!

More than 200 people crammed into The 100 Club on 12 December for the final Shooting Star
Lunchtime Jazz session, and what a treat was in store for them.

The band – Ged Hone, Adrian Cox, Mike Pointon, Ray Smith, Tony Pitt, Ben Martyn and Emile Martyn – was “on fire” from the first number and served up two hours of wonderful
New Orleans music.

Laced with a couple of ragtime pieces from Ray Smith, a cameo appearance by Alan Robinson for a clarinet duet with Adrian Cox on ‘Over the Waves’, a lovely Ged Hone/Ray Smith duet on ‘Davenport Blues’ and a few words from long-time club promoter Roger Horton, together with
Mike Pointon’s interesting and amusing anecdotes between numbers, this was a magical experience that we shall all savour for many years to come.

Tony Leppard

So, Tony, I suppose that now the 100 Club fans will, in the words of the song, just have to “Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring”, hoping that someone may even take up the cudgels!

But I cannot let such an even pass without a good selection of photographs for posterity. My good friend and jazz compatriot Lawrence Cumming took the superb stills of the band and the fans plus one of me for pot luck. Because thoughout the session I flitted here and there taking movies of the band and posting them on YouTube.

But you’ll have to forgive me for the somewhat dubious quality because, as I explain on YouTube, The 100 Club, and especially a crowded 100 Club, is not the best place for filming, given the packed seating, the jostling fans and the position of the two pillars which split the stage into three visual sections. So there was a degree of dodging, ducking and diving which shows up on the videos – yet accompanied by some great close ups. Come what may, here they are:

Joyous Jazz at the Last Ever 100 Club Thursday Midday Gig:  http://youtu.be/rTAK0DgZVn0

“Sweet Lorraine”:   http://youtu.be/XMQzqezLX2k

“Postman’s Lament”:  http://youtu.be/3CHmqrRXPuc

“The Glory of Love”:  http://youtu.be/b3w6BFjFUZc

Dancing in The 100 Club:  http://youtu.be/WvV6sE7ngyQ

A Tribute to George Buck:  http://youtu.be/HMckaOUuPxU

And Lawrence’s brilliant photographs:

Tony Pitt

Mike Pointon

Adrian Cox

Making space!

Emile Martyn (plus extinguisher in case drums overheat!)

Ben Martyn

Adrian Cox and Alan Robinson

Ray Smith Master or the Ivories

Ged Hone

Promoter Roger Horton giving a brief history of The 100 Club.

“Last Chance Saloon”: eager fans queuing for the best seats

Proud Uncle Emile with Ben & Eryn’s beautiful new born daughter Lorelai making her very first stage debut!

Yours truly attempting to film for YouTubes on Jazz&Jazz

The Iconic 100 Club!

 (Photos courtesy of Lawrence Cumming © Peter M Butler, Jazz&Jazz)

Get down two The Peartree, Welwyn Garden City, this coming Monday, 16th December for a Hootenanny of Christmas Party with Dennis Vick’s Fenny Stompers starring Richard Leach on trombone and Paul Roberts on trumpet.

Click on the image to enlarge

Plymouth Jazz Club’s

January / February 2014 Programme

John Shillito’s Select 6

Tuesday, December 31st at 8.30pm.

Annual New Year’s Eve Party with John Shillito’s Select 6
Derriford United Reform Church Hall, Powisland Drive, Derriford, Plymouth PL6 6AB.
Hot swinging music from 8.30pm until 12.30am, doors open 8.00pm.

Dancing, tea, coffee & mince pies with clotted cream. No bar, bring your own food and drink.

Admission by ticket only. Visitors £12, Members £10, Full-time Students £5.

Tel: 01752 721179

The Sussex Jazz Kings

Sunday, January 19th at 7.30pm

The Sussex Jazz Kings

The Royal British Legion Club, Tailyour Road, Crownhill, Plymouth PL6 5DH
Quality traditional jazz with a touch of fun from a popular long-established band.

Admission £9 (Members £7, Full-Time Students £5)

Tickets on the door.

Tel: 01752 721179 or 01752 774343

The Dave Hankin Big Band

Sunday, February 2nd at 7.30pm
Charity gig in aid of MacMillan Cancer Support

The Dave Hankin Big Band

Probably the finest jazz and swing band in the South-West giving their services free for the charity event.

The Royal British Legion Club, Tailyour Road, Crownhill, Plymouth PL6 5DH

Admission £9 (Members £7, Full-Time Students £5)

All ticket income goes to the Charity

Tickets on the door

Tel: 01752 721179 or 01752 774343

The Savannah Jazz Band

Sunday, February 16th at 7.30pm

Savannah Jazz Band

The Royal British Legion Club, Tailyour Road, Crownhill, Plymouth PL6 5DH

The annual visit of one of Britain’s most popular traditional jazz bands

Admission £10 (Members £8, Full-Time Students £5)

Tickets on the door

Tel: 01752 721179 or 01752 774343

Tad Newton’s JazzFriends

We are pleased to share in the promotion of Tad Newton’s annual Christmas Jazz Party at The Walnut, Blisworth, Northants. 

Tad’s motto, “LIVE JAZZ … USE IT OR LOSE IT!” echoes the aims of Jazz&Jazz in reaching out to potential fans of all ages rather than simply sitting at home mulling over youtubes of past glories. So if you are close enough to Blisworth on Sunday, 22nd December, don’t be an armchair fan, get along to Tad’s grand Xmas session of live jazz. Get into the party mood at The Walnut.

Roy Williams

Denise Gordon

Zoltan Sagi

If you love real jazz, original jazz from The Crescent City, New Orleans Revivalist Jazz, then you’ll simply revel in this youtube of Brian Carrick’s Algiers Stompers, guesting Trefor Williams on bass, at the Peartree Jazz Club, Welwyn Garden City, on Monday, 18th October.

Just click on this link:

Brian Carrick’s Algiers Stompers with Trefor Williams 

Trefor Williams

It’s just one of a full repertoire of New Orleans Classics performed that evening for Peartree fans by one of the UK’s leading jazz bands and it resonates with that magical jazz club atmosphere loved by jazz fans over the years.

Plus this is a new dimension for the site – youtubes of movies discretely videoed at jazz gigs covered by Jazz&Jazz on our travels around the clubs and festivals.

Be sure to watch out for forthcoming events at The Peartree Jazz Club. Especially their Christmas Gig with Dennis Vick’s Fenny Stompers on Monday, 16th December. Be sure to arrive at 6.30 sharp for a party evening of jazz, crackers and fun.

(Photos and YouTube © Peter M Butler, Jazz&Jazz)

I’m sure Fred Burnett won’t mind me cribbing this extract from an item included in his latest JazzNorthWest News Update. It’s highly pertinent to discussions I’ve recently been involved in down south.

Courtesy of JazzNorthWest

“I’ve always advocated midweek daytime jazz as a way of hanging on to the current clientele at jazz sessions as it becomes more difficult for people to venture out at night as they get older. Although it was pointed out to me that it effectively excluded young people from attending, I have to say I haven’t noticed them falling over each other to get into the current sessions at night. One band that is discovering that a midweek lunchtime jazz session can become increasingly successful is Mike Lovell with his Six in a Bar Classic Jazz Band. The North Euston Hotel in Fleetwood has just extended their residency to June 2014. The next event is on 18th December at 12 noon.”

I would be very interested in any views which fellow Jazzers might have on this, as I’m sure Fred would too.

End of The Road

Another related  item in Fred’s News Update, which I’m sure he won’t mind me sharing, concerns the end of the road for Thursday lunchtime jazz at The 100 Club:

“Reading Just Jazz, I see that it’s the end of the line for regular traditional jazz events  at The 100 Club in Oxford Street, London. Kay & Tony Leppard have been keeping up a tradition of regular monthly jazz at the club which first started in 1949. On 12th December they have arranged for the last gig there under the guise of the End-of-the-Line Jazz Band and featuring some great names including North West’s own Ged Hone. Doors open at 11.30am and apparently the chairs at the club have been slowly dwindling and if you can’t get there early there’s a suggestion you take you own seats. Could come in useful too if you’re waiting for a bus amongst all the Christmas shoppers! There will of course be benefit nights, tributes and memorials there for years to come.”

New Beginnings

I featured this recently on Jazz&Jazz: “Jazz at The 100 Club Faces Sad Demise”  but did conclude with a few words of encouragement: “We are not at the end of the jazz age. There are new beginnings. Jazz lives on and one of my key aims as editor and moderator of Jazz&Jazz along with my Facebook Jazzers Group is to … unify jazz fans, musicians and bands of all ages.”

The Rich Bennett Band is just one of an emerging number of new bands giving hope to those new beginnings. I featured their recent red hot session at The 100 Club: “They Came, They Saw, They Conquered … All in the Nick of Time!” . Several similar bands full of zest and vibrancy of are featured on Jazz&Jazz and I intend to cover more of them as and when the opportunity arrises.

The Rich Bennett Band at The 100 Club (Photo © Peter M Butler, Jazz&Jazz)

I’ve said before and I’ll say it again: If older fans love jazz so much why miss out? Why not get along to join in with the younger fans at their venues? And in turn, why not encourage and welcome the younger bands to play at and liven up our staid old clubs?

That would be far better than sitting back and mulling over the past by simply viewing the plethora of YouTubes featuring yesterday’s greats, vital though they are to jazz, featured on various Facebook Jazz Groups including just recently my Jazzers Group. Please forgive my impertinence, but to me that’s little more than burying our heads in the sands of time rather than reaching out for the future of jazz.

“The Old Hat Band” – “Not so old hat but a talented young group – all in their twenties” Just one more of our emerging younger groups. (Photo courtesy of Laurence Cumming)

I cannot conclude this blog without again thanking Kay and Tony Leppard for presenting live jazz at The 100 Club though thick and thin for so long. Don’t forget, they are both still heavily involved in promoting jazz at The Winning Post in Twickenham – including the emerging new era of younger bands.

Peter Mark Butler
Editor and Proprietor of Jazz&Jazz 

Note: A message to the musicians and bands I’ve been discussing potentials with recently – bear with me, I’ll get back to you asap on this.