THE TRADITIONAL JAZZ MAGAZINE

Jazz & Jazz: honoured to be featured in the May,

2012, issue of Just Jazz.

So much so, that we are pleased to reproduce the article here for our online followers:

INTRODUCING WWW.JAZZANDJAZZ.COM

 By Peter Butler 

“The art of life is to know when to seize on accidents and make them milestones.” Chairman Humph. (A gem from Humphrey Lyttelton’s autobiography, “It Just Occurred to Me”).

It all began in my teenage years in Herne Bay on the North Kent coast in the late 1950s and the early 60s. Jazz was the in thing back then. Memories flood back of gigs at The Kings Hall and The Queen Vic in Herne Bay and Rechabite’s Hall in Canterbury. In those days Sammy Rimington’s early hunting grounds were in East Kent at such venues as Man of Kent in Rainham.

But when I moved to Hertfordshire in 1966, life changed course and  jazz was consigned to the back burner … until just a few years ago when Roger Pout, my oldest and closest friend from school days, told me “Peter, when you’re next down we’re going to take in some jazz gigs”. And we did – at The Duke of Cumberland in Whitstable when Burt Butler’s Jazz Pilgrims played there and at Thursday night gigs at The George in Shalmsford Street, Canterbury, and now at The Star in Old Wive’s Lees.

The New Milestone

Then back in 2008 Chairman Humph’s “accident” kicked in. Roger and his wife Chris had booked for the Ken Colyer Trust Autumn Jazz Parade in Hemsby, Norfolk, along with other close friends, Derek and Barbara. But at the last minute, due to illness, Derek and Barbara had to drop out and insisted my wife Ginny and I took their places, gratis.

We seized the opportunity and so began Humph’s new milestone in my life. For years I had painted landscapes and seascapes as a hobby. Following the 2008 Autumn Parade I couldn’t resist painting portraits of the jazz musicians at the festival, including Sammy Rimington who topped the bill that year … especially of him in a sax duet with brilliant young star Amy Roberts

New Orleans Bound

Then at the 2009 Autumn Parade I displayed my first collection of jazz portraits. But that wasn’t all. Incredibly my wife won the prize draw for a trip for two on the Southern Sounds tour of New Orleans in April 2010! It was an incredible experience and I gathered material for a whole series of jazz portraits.

Now the die was cast and the “accident” was turning into a phenomenon!

My wife and I felt we had to give something back to jazz, especially as the scene had changed so much since those earlier glory years.

So rather than just sell my jazz portraits, I hit upon a plan to launch a new website to help promote and support traditional jazz, with costs covered by the sale of my portraits, fine art prints and photographs.

So jazz&jazz.com was launched in June, 2011 – not just to feature my jazz art but also as a forum for jazz bands and jazz fans. And above all to support, promote and help revitalise Traditional Jazz.

JazzandJazz.com is dedicated to promoting jazz and more jazz for Jazz Bands, Jazz Musicians and Jazz Fans. The aim is to raise the profile of jazz and to develop a sounding board for jazz by inviting bands, musicians and fans to share news and views about the jazz scene. As more jazz paintings are commissioned and sales of the fine art prints and photographs increase to help cover costs of the site, the aim is to expand the scope and reach of JazzandJazz.com in support of jazz.

Celebrating the successful launch of the 2012 Ramsgate Seaside Shuffle season: Peter (third from left) with Committee Members John Myhill (left), Ron Sheldrake (second left) and John Morgan (right). Chis Pout was too busy with Shuffle fans to be included in the photo!

Helping Promote Traditional Jazz

Now Jazz&Jazz is going from strength to strength and as a result last year I was able help launch and promote a brand new UK jazz festival, Ramsgate Seaside Shuffle, providing advertising and promotional materials. This year Jazz&Jazz is again heavily involved in promoting the 2012 Seaside Shuffle Festival and associated monthly gigs at Court Stairs Manor & Country Club. The first gig held on 25 February with The Gambit Jazzmen was a huge success and Pete Lay congratulated the Seaside Shuffle Committee on their successful launch of the 2012 season. So it’s a huge pleasure to be working with Chris Pout and the rest of the Committee on this, especially as Chris is my jazz chum Roger’s wife.

My wife Ginny is a graphic designer and last year she suggested we look into using my jazz photos to help promote events and festivals. She wanted to produce a Jazz Guide ad for the Hemsby Autumn Jazz Parade for Pete Lay as a thank you for our trip to New Orleans. We have worked with Pete again this year to produced the 2012 Parade ad which includes some of my photographs.

Closer to home Jazz&Jazz is involved in helping promote our local Welwyn Garden City Peartree Monday Jazz Club. Working closely with Brian Smith, aka “Smiffy”, I produce the club’s six monthly programme and monthly flyers and Jazz Guide ads as well as heavily promoting the club on the Jazz&Jazz website.

Getting Involved

So do take a look at www.jazzandjazz.com and if you would like a mention on the site, email me: [email protected]. Above all please get involved and use the Comment boxes at the foot of each item to add your views and opinions. This helps boost jazzandjazz.com – and traditional jazz – in Google rankings. Come to that, since getting so re-involved, I’ve met a number of “lapsed fans” now getting back into jazz like myself. All grist for the mill!

I want to thank Pete Lay for his interest in my jazz portraits and photos and for the support he is giving me with Jazz&Jazz.com. Thanks too go to Trefor Williams, Bob Thomas and Emile Martyn, a fellow artist, for their support and encouragement. Also special thanks to Barry Martyn who wrote to me urging me to “keep doing what you are doing”.

JazzandJazz.com is dedicated to promoting jazz and more jazz for Jazz Bands,
Jazz Musicians and Jazz Fans. The aim is to raise the profile of jazz and to develop
a sounding board for jazz by inviting bands, musicians and fans to share news
and views about the jazz scene. As more jazz paintings are commissioned and
sales of the fine art prints and photographs increase to help cover costs of the site, 
the aim is to expand the scope and reach of JazzandJazz.com in support of jazz.