Town Cryer Alan Myatt Heads the Parade
Marching Band Leader Tim Wacher on trombone at the fore.
Should you have been in Covent Garden, London, at 4.30pm on Thursday, 18th June, you would have experienced one the City’s unique and more eccentric events, The Annual Covent Garden Rent Collecting Ceremony: “…… a weird and wonderful occasion when the Chairman and Trustees march around the Piazza, accompanied by the Town Crier and a jazz band, to pay the “peppercorn rents” of five red apples and five posies of flowers for the buildings, known as The Protected Lands, on which the Trust owns a 150-year headlease.”
(Covent Garden Area Trust Website)
So spectacular was the occasion, and such is the rarity of Jazz Marching Bands in London Town that I simply had to film virtually the entire event … and, once the rents were safely gathered in, the Annual Concert in Covent Garden’s South Courtyard, described as Marching Band Leader, Tim Wacher, as “quite a big sound due to the acoustics of the Covent Garden Market roof and so a lot of fun”! Quite an understatement, Tim!
Digby & Co in the wake
Alan Bradley’s Parrot joined the band!
Covent Garden Courtyard reflection in the bell of Tim’s trombone
An interloper!
The Band
Digby Fairweather,
John Keen, Chris Hodgkins
and John Wacher.
Reeds: Julian Mark Stringle, Eric Gilchrist,
and Dave Gelly.
Trombones: Chris Gower, Phil Brown
and Tim Wacher.
Banjo: Alan Bradley.
Sousaphone: Colin Graham.
Drums: Don Cook and Emile & Ben Martyn.
The band strikes up for The Courtyard Concert.
Covent Garden Rent Collecting Ceremony YouTubes
More information can be found in our earlier Marching Band Post so without further ado, let’s move on to the Jazz&Jazz YouTubes which reveal in brilliant colour this unique and historic event. There are nine in all and as you view them be sure to read the descriptions of the proceedings on each YouTube link.
Some are lengthy so I suggest you open a bottle of good wine, sit back and enjoy!
Photos & YouTubes © Peter M Butler, Jazz&Jazz
My special thanks go to Tim Wacher for allowing me the privilege of filming the event and to Laurence Cumming for his superb photographs, more of which I plan to feature in a separate post.
Be sure to view the Jazz&Jazz Photo Montage of The Rent Ceremony by photographer Laurence Cumming.
Peter M Butler
Editor & Proprietor Jazz&Jazz
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