Celebrating the Joy of Jazz
Get down to The Peartree Jazz Club in
Welwyn Garden City this coming Monday for a
jazz session with a twist.
to blow away those post Christmas January Blues!
The show starts at 8.30 sharp so come along, join in and make yourselves stars!
The Golden Eagles at Hemsby, September, 2013: Kevin Scott (Leader/Banjo); Roy Stokes (Trombone); Mick Scroxton (Trumpet); Alan Cresswell (Clarinet); Pete Jackman (Drums); Mike Broad (Bass).
Always popular at UK festivals, it was The Golden Eagle Jazz Band’s joyfully dynamic performance at the 2013 Autumn Jazz Parade in Hemsby, Norfolk, that clinched their booking with Ramsgate Seaside Shuffle.
Ramsgate Seaside Shuffle Jazz Club
Now entering it’s fourth year, the Shuffle is bringing New Orleans jazz back to Ramsgate, on the remote south east corner of Kent. It all began with The Ramsgate Seaside Shuffle Festival in July, 2011. Now, not only has the festival become an annual fixture, but the Seaside Shuffle Jazz Club meets monthly and welcomes local Kent based bands and bands from all over the UK and beyond.
Atmospherics
The Golden Eagle Jazz Band led by Kevin Scott always deliver top dollar entertainment and their Seaside Shuffle gig was no exception. The one sure sign of a good jazz band and an enthusiastic Jazz Club is the atmospherics between the band and the fans as is demonstrated in my following YouTubes. Be sure to listen out for one very special fan!
The Ramsgate Seaside Shuffle Committee is to be congratulated for sticking with it through thick and thin to establish a viable club in these very lean times for New Orleans Jazz.
Peter M Butler
Jazz&Jazz Editor & Proprietor
Please Note: You should find the YouTubes of a superior quality to the norm. This is due to the recently launched innovative Sony Karl Zeiss “Lens Camera” linked by local WiFi to my iPhone. Discreet but powerful. Kevin Scott emailed me: “The quality of the video is amazing and I’m very pleased with how the song came over. Please feel free to publish anything you want. Thank you for all your hard work in promoting jazz, and for what you do for bands. It is greatly appreciated.”
“Canal Street Blues”: http://youtu.be/qgFiitCqsKk
“When I Grow Too Old To Dream”: http://youtu.be/PdNs-KlxbuI
Ramsgate Seaside Shuffle – Capturing the Jazz Club Atmosphere : http://youtu.be/Jdiu87_mL3I
Hot Jazz with Canine Acclaim at Ramsgate Seaside Shuffle : http://youtu.be/sDZAeo4GYq0
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:
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
The Weave. L to R: Rob Stringer (Piano); Tony Peers (Trumpet); Hugo Harrison (Double Bass); Tilo Pirnbaum (Drums); Tony Ormesher (Guitar); Martin Smith (Leader/Trumpet)
The Weave is a Liverpool based Jazz Sextet which veers more towards modern jazz, but with their own entertaining, exuberant and amusing twist as demonstrated in their video, “Cold Wet and Sockless”.
Led by trumpeter/composer Martin Smith, this is Scouse Jazz with a difference.
One review infers that The Weave “can be Satchmo-like … you can easily picture yourself sitting in a dark and smokey American jazz club. This is no wonder, since the two trumpeters have played in a New Orleans-style band for some years.”
So fellow Jazzers, they may not be the full monty when it comes to New Orleans Revivalist Jazz, but they are for entertainment value and you may well enjoy “Cold, Wet and Sockless”.
Discover more about The Weave on their excellent website.
Thank you Weave Admirer, Derek “Degsy” Lovelady, for introducing us to The Weave.
I will never forget those magical steps my wife and I took up the staircase from the Palm Court Jazz Café to George Buck’s Jazzology premises back in 2010. It was a brief but impressive visit, surrounded as we were by his lifetime’s work.
So much so that I feel impelled to include on Jazz&Jazz Lars Edegran’s obituary to George posted on JazzNorthWest, along with the touching eulogies.
One passage from the obituary I find especially striking, given, as some would put it, the parlous state of jazz today:
“Very few people get to spend their lives doing what most of us dream about- George Buck was able to make a living from a music most people eke out a living at- no one in his right mind would try to make a living from a music thought to be extinct about the time he started his label. He kept his firm running successfully for over sixty years and had a lot of fun doing it.”
This inspires me all the more in my efforts through Jazz&Jazz to make that essential difference to achieve a New Orleans Jazz revival.
Peter M Butler
Editor & Proprietor, Jazz&Jazz
Eight Street Orchestra in Concert
Yesterday I received a wonderful email from Canada about The Eighth Street Orchestra, based in Owen Sound, 220 kilometres north west of Toronto. Ever heard of them? If not, you have now! The email was from Band Leader, Gary Lawrence Murphy. He wrote:
“Your About page didn’t say how you found out about new jazz bands, but on discovering your pages via the Toronto area trad jazz group on Facebook, and in the spirit of “exuberant smaller bands” and especially young players, I thought I might invite you to check out our facebook.com/eighthstreetorchestra page where we post our day-to-day happenings with our band of mostly 15-16 year old players (plus a few others who’ve gravitated to our exuberance). I hope you enjoy it!”
Swinging Along with Happy Jazz
Enjoy it, Gary? You bet I did! The Eighth Street Orchestra fits right in with my “About Jazz&Jazz” declaration to “focus on the vitality of younger, emerging stars and on the inexhaustible exuberance of smaller bands on the jazz circuit.” Under the heading “Jazz Fans” I go on to say: “JazzandJazz aims to become a force for jazz by galvanising jazz fans everywhere into a trad jazz revival and by helping to win over a younger generation of fans to swing along with happy jazz.”
Eighth Street most certainly meets and surpasses all of those criteria! They swing along with happy jazz right out on the peninsular that divides Georgian Bay from Lake Huron. As Gary puts it, “out on the edge of cottage country really”. There is an argument that nowadays the only chance of live jazz surviving is in city zones where there are nuclei of fans. Eighth Street most certainly scuppers that!
Breathing New Life into a Jazz Revival
So thank you, Gary, for introducing me and the increasing number of jazzers following my site, to the 15-16 year old players (plus “those few others who have gravitated to your exuberance”) who form The Eighth Street Orchestra.
This is a breath of fresh air! The kind of fresh air that can breath new life into New Orleans Revivalist Jazz!
I am proud to feature The Eighth Street Orchestra on Jazz&Jazz! So Jazzers, be sure to visit and “like” their Facebook page. For me it is solid evidence that I appear to be achieving what I set out to achieve when I launched Jazz&Jazz.
The photos, courtesy of Eighth Street Orchestra, demonstrate the bands diversity.
Eighth Street Links:
News & Video: facebook.com/eighthstreetorchestra
Blog: EighthStreetOrchestra.blogspot.ca
YouTube: youtube.com/user/8thStreet
Gary Lawrence Murphy
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)
