Golden Eagle Jazz Band, 11/09/2013

GOLDEN EAGLE JAZZ BAND returned to Farnborough on Friday, 11 October 2013.  The band consisted of leader KEVIN SCOTT (tenor banjo, MIKE SCROXTON (trumpet), ALAN CRESSWELL (clarinet), ROY STOKES (trombone/vocals), MIKE BROAD (double bass) and PETE JACKMAN (drums).  I mentioned last week that I peeked into their website, to check name spellings (www.gejb.webeden.co.uk  – click on ‘Home-The Golden Eagle Jazz Band’).  I had forgotten we posted a comment to the band.    Most likely adapted from our own website, but temporarily lost, so you must check it out to remind yourselves of their first evening here!  I did say ‘You came, you played and you conquered’.  Well I have to say they did it again.  There was so much dancing going on, with so many smiling faces.  Well done again boys.  Anyhow, here is a smattering of some of the tunes played.  The first number I jotted down was ‘Isle of Capri’, a lovely tango, yes of course dancing took place.  Our line-dancing was enjoyed with the next number called ‘I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream’ sung by Kevin.  The next number ‘In the Sweet By and By’ was sung by Roy.  It has such a happy beat, so once again plenty of dancing.  Dancing continued to take place with ‘One Sweet Letter from You’, which again was sung by Kevin.  That lovely number made famous by Harry James & Frank Sinatra, which again brought on the dancers, was ‘Ciriciribin’.  Next came ‘I Thank You Mr Moon’ which was sung by Kevin.  He is marvellous on the ‘mike’, introducing the tunes and telling short funny jokes.  However, I must tell you of the weirdest of things when he introduced the next number called ‘Smile, Darn you, Smile’.  Before they started playing it, Kevin mentioned W.C. Fields and told us one of his famous many quotes.  By sheer coincidence, I was working on the internet that morning, ‘hit’ on W.C. Fields somewhere, saw this actual quote and read it out to Keith.  W.C. Fields had a wicked sense of humour!  The quote was ‘Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.’ (Kevin emulated WCF’s voice too).  How weird is that, for Kevin to choose that particular quote, there must be billions of quotes over time, from all of history’s characters from all 4 corners of the world (dom dom dom dom)!  To continue … the next number was also sung by Kevin, called ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’.  Of course the audience naturally sang, plus again there was plenty of dancing going on.  I filmed their last two numbers, which were ’Collegiate’ and ‘Walking with the King’. ‘Collegiate was a new one on me.  I found out it was written back in the 1920’s by a couple of students.  They had not set up a copywrite, but had been playing it on campus with their own band ‘Jaffe’s Collegians’.  Fred Waring was booked to play at their Uni’s Annual Ball and was requested to play it.  When he heard of the students, he met up with them and set about sorting their copywrite.  Then recording the song with his own band ‘Pennsylvanians’ in 1925, making it a hit number, reaching No 3. Hopefully, our recordings will be good enough to put both numbers on the website, because they were great to hear ‘live’.

Weather is pushing us into the winter months, so keep fit and well, so we can enjoy your company, especially at our Farnborough Jazz Club here in Kent.

Keep dancing!

Diane and Keith

‘Ciribiribin’ – (m) Harry James, (l) Jack Lawrence (1939) [based on melody by Alberto Pestalozza 1898]
’Collegiate’ – Moe Jaffe & Nat Bonx, students (1925)
‘In the Sweet By and By’ – Joseph Pilbrick Walker (1868)
‘I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream’ – Howard Johnson, Billy Moll&Robert King (1927)
‘Isle of Capri’ – (m) Wilhelm Grosz (aka Hugh Williams), (l) by Jimmy Kennedy (1934)
‘I Thank You, Mr. Moon’ – Abel Baer, Dolly Morse & Dave Oppenheim (1931)
‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ – Jack Judge & Harry Williams (1912)
‘One Sweet Letter from You’ – (m) Harry Warren, (l) Lew Brown & Sidney Clare (1927)
‘Smile, Darn You, Smile’ – (m) Max Rich, (l) Charles O’Flynn & Jack Meskell (1931)
‘Walking with the King’ – pop gospel, origins unknown.

ChezChestermanBandBrothers 4/10/13

CHEZ CHESTERMAN’S BAND OF BROTHERS appeared at Farnborough Jazz Club, Kent on Friday, 4th October 2013.  Trumpeter CHEZ, was joined by JOHN CROCKER (clarinet & sax), JOHN FINCH (trombone), JIM DOUGLAS (guitar), TERRY LEWIS (double bass) and BILL FINCH (drums).   Last week, I said you cannot go wrong with great names such as these and I said to get your butts down here and enjoy a fabulous evening.  I also said that If you know anything about jazz, you will know there will be plenty of top class entertainment in store for you to dance the night away and I was right, so let me tell you how it went.  The first number I noted was ‘High Society’.  I adore that number and of course the film.  It is just such a happy number. Then came ‘Heart of My Heart’ (sung by Chez) and ‘Breeze’, a lovely old standard, but cannot find out who wrote it, so will return to update there.  Chez also sang ‘Dinah’, with John C playing sax, oh what musician aye?  The next number was a beautiful Acker Bilk oldie called ‘Goodnight, Sweet Prince’.  John C was with Chris Barber’s Band and when Acker guested with them, John and he would share the spot on clarinet.  I must ask John if he did to this number, it isn’t played that often – mores the pity (Chez tells me the Danish band ‘Papa Bue’s Viking Jazz Band’ introduced it to England).  The next tune ‘Down by the Riverside’, was sung by our audience (with Chez joining in – seriously, of course it was the other way round).  ‘Weary Blues’ is a brilliant up-tempo tune (not depicting its title) and was/is marvellous to dance to.  John F was featured with the next number ‘I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love with me’ and brilliantly too.  The last number I noted was ‘Careless Love’.  This was made famous by Buddy Bolden, played at a jaunty tempo, good for slower jiving to.  To end this evening’s write-up, I must talk about Terry Lewis.  He was playing this evening, but we know him from way back before the club house was extended.  Do any of you remember George Howden and his Hotshots appeared here, with three (one being Terry) of his six piece band?  The other three had gone to Farnborough in Hampshire!  Realising they were in the wrong place, they turned around and made their way back to us in Kent.  They walked in (about 9.45pm) to a huge cheer and stepped up without a break to play their hearts out, that’s musicians for you.  Lovely memories.

Cheers,

Diane and Keith

P.S. Chez’s Band is back at Welling 1st Sunday of the month from. 3rd November 2013.

‘Breeze’ – to be updated
‘Careless Love’ – W.C. Handy (©1921) Obscure origins (first association – Buddy Bolden Band (circa 1890’s)
‘Dinah’ – (m) Harry Akst, (l) Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young (1923)
‘Down By the Riverside’ – Gospel song (first published 1918)
‘Goodnight, Sweet Prince’ – Gene Fowler, (Acker Bilk 1960)
‘Heart of My Heart’ – Ben Ryan (1926)
‘High Society’ – (m & l) Cole Porter (1956) (& additional l) Susan Birkenhead
‘I Can’t Believe that You’re in Love With Me’ – (m) Clarence Gaskill (l) Jimmy McHugh (1925)
‘Weary Blues’ – (m) Artie Matthews, (l) George Cates & Mort Green (1915)

Mike Barry’s XXL Jazz Band, 27/09/2013

MIKE BARRY’S XXL JAZZ BAND, returned here at Farnborough Jazz Club on Friday, 27th September 2013.  Leader and trumpeter Mike had a bad time getting to us due to his new car not starting, but you would never had known it!  He proudly introduced his band as reeds player GOFF DUBBER, trombonist REX O’DELL, pianist TIM HUSKISSON, double bassist ROGER CURPHEY and drummer PAUL BUDD.  As mentioned last week, they are certainly a swinging, fun filled lot and the evening went well.  Mike reminds me of Paul Whiteman and certainly should have been as successful.  I hope Mike doesn’t take exception to me saying this, because I’m not sure why I think so, especially as PW only played violin/viola.  Maybe I feel he should have played trumpet, being a band leader!  We had some lovely numbers played for us, such as ‘I Wanna Say Hello’, ‘The Jazz Me Blues’, ‘River, Stay Away From My Door’ (which was sung by Mike) and ‘Riverboat Shuffle’.  I just loved how the next number ‘Georgia on My Mind’ was sung up-tempo by Rex, and Mike gave a marvellous rendition on trumpet too.  I jotted down that everyone played wonderful solos especially Roger, to the following number ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’, (Shirley MacLean’s song in film ‘Sweet Charity’).  It certainly lured the dancers out. They also played ‘Brown Skin Girl’, which was a great calypso number made famous by Harry Belafonte.  I just love a calypso.  Another dance and (I‘m sure you can guess) audience participation occurred with ‘Everybody Loves Saturday Night’, great fun.  The next number to mention was the brilliant feature of Tim.  He played ‘You Took Advantage of Me’, which showed his massive talent (his other hat is as a fabulous clarinettist).  Our line-dancing occurred next with ‘Dr Jazz’.  I always ‘play up’ continuing with the Charleston, which sometimes ‘throws’ the other liners (just for a bit of fun).  Well thank you Mike and gang, we had a small crowd, but we all enjoyed ourselves.  They are back 29th November 2013, so make a note in your diaries and let’s give them a bigger welcome with a larger audience please.

Keep Happy.

Diane and Keith

 

‘Brown Skin Girl’ – Norman (‘King Radio’) Spann (1940)
‘Dr Jazz’ – Joe ‘King’ Oliver & Walter Melrose (1926)
‘Everybody Loves Saturday Night’ – Nigerian Folk (made famous Aldwyn ‘Kitch’ Roberts (1940’s)
‘Georgia on My Mind’ – (m) Hoagy Carmichael, (l) Stuart Gorrell (1930)
‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’ – (m) Cy Coleman, (l) Dorothy Fields (1966)
‘I Wanna Say Hello’ – (m) Jimmy McDonald, (l) Jack Hoffman (1051)
‘Riverboat Shuffle’ – (m) Hoagy Carmichael, (l) Irving Mills, Mitchell Parish & Dick Voynow (1924)
‘River Stay Away From My Door’ – Mort Dixon & Harry Woods (1931)
‘The Jazz Me Blues’ – Tom Delaney (1921)
‘You Took Advantage of Me’ – (m) Richard Rodgers, (l) Lorenz Hart (1928)

Dave Hewitt’s Condonians, 20/09/2013

DAVE HEWITT’S CONDONIANS certainly entertained us here at Farnborough on Friday, 20th September 2013.  Trombonist DAVE had booked ANDY DICKENS (trumpet & vocals), JULIAN MARC STRINGLE (reeds & vocals) RONNIE BOWATER (piano), ANDY LAWRENCE (string bass) and ROD BROWN (drums).  They are all brilliant musicians of course. The repertoire started with that great lively number called ‘At the Jazz Band Ball’, which certainly got us in the mood.  I have selected a few numbers to give you a flavour of the evening (not from being the best, but ones I had a moment to jot down).  There was ‘A Kiss to Build a Dream On’ with a marvellous trumpet solo from Andy – well, super solos from all the front line.  More came, such as ‘Big Butter and Egg Man’ and that Jelly Roll Morton number called ‘Whining Boy Blues’ (I can recall Andy (D) hitting top ‘C’ so smoothly).  I wrote ‘lovely jubbly’ against the next (Fats Waller) number called ‘Black and Blue’.  Then came a favourite of mine called ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’, which was absolutely wonderful.  (It brought back a time when I walked bare-footed in Berkeley Square – Keith and I had just got together. nearly 30years ago and were ‘painting the town’ – oh lovely memories)….  back to Friday, they then played ‘Lou-Easy-An-I-A’, Dave played his baritone horn (excellent), plus Rod gave a brilliant drum solo.  Keith, who was dancing with me at the time, got carried away and started tap dancing and moving his hands to the drums, so funny. and ‘Buddies Habits’ which has a very fast tempo, fabulous.  Next was Julian’s Solo, playing an amazing tenor sax to ‘Back Home Again in Indiana’, what a talent (and he can sing too)!  ‘I Can’t Get Started With You’ was superb, it’s such a lovely number.  Then came their finale ‘Bourbon Street Parade’ and was certainly a fantastic number to finish on.  It has a really good beat, so plenty of dancers enjoyed it.  I hope you can visualise how marvellous the evening was, so that maybe some of you reading this will be tempted to check us out for yourselves, as to what a fun time we all have here at Farnborough Jazz Club, here in Kent.

Keep jazzing.

Diane and Keith

 

‘A Kiss to Build a Dream On’ – (m) Harry Ruby, (l) Bert Kalmar & Oscar Hammerstein II (1935)
‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’ – (m) Manning Sherwin, (l) Eric Maschwitz (1939)
‘At The Jazz Band Ball’ – (m) Nick LaRocca, Larry Shields (1917) (l) added by Johnny Mercer (1950)
‘Back Home Again in Indiana’ – Ballard MacDonald & James F. Hanley (1917)
‘Big Butter and Egg Man’ – Percy Venable (1926)
‘Black and Blue’ – (m) Fats Waller, (l) Harry Brooks & Andy Razaf (1929)
‘Bourbon Street Parade’ – Paul Barbarin (c. 1953)
‘Buddy’s Habits’ – Arnet Nelson & Charles T Straight (1923)
‘I Can’t Get Started With You’ – (m) Vernon Duke, (l) Ira Gershwin (1936)
‘Lou-i-Easy-An-I-A – Joe Darensbourg (circa 1949)
‘Whining Boy’ – Jelly Roll Morton (1907)

Sara Spencer’s Transatlantic Jazz Band, 13/09/2013

SARAH SPENCER’S TRANSATLANTIC JAZZ BAND made their annual appearance at Farnborough on Friday 13th September 2013. SARAH is a brilliant New Orleans tenor sax player, who must have a huge pair of lungs.  What a strong performance she gives.  The band are more than her friends, they are an extension of her ‘family’, so it is a joy to see them all perform together.  Sarah moved to live in America some 15years ago.  Since 2009, she has made an appearance at Farnborough during her annual tour back home.  As I said last week, she has a wonderful dynamic personality and her playing certainly depicts this.  Since the first time Sarah appeared with us back in ‘Badgers Mount Jazz Club’ days, she has played at The Purcell Rooms in London’s Festival Halls, plus world-wide festivals and of course, USA.  STEVE GRAHAM was on trumpet (who was with ‘The Panama Jazz Kings’), GEOFF COLE was on trombone (who was with Ken Colyer’s Band and his own Red Hot Five Band), ANNIE HAWKINS was on double bass (was a founder member with Max Collie’s Rhythm Aces, also with Ken Colyer and Sammy Rimington Bands), ANDY MAYNARD on banjo (was with New Orleans Echoes) and CHRIS MARCHANT on drums (was with Frog Island Jazz Band).  The band, I know, thoroughly enjoyed themselves, playing some great number.  I think it was Steve’s first appearance here at Farnborough.  His trumpet playing was beautiful and a delight to welcome. The first number I noted was ‘Mobile Stomp’, to which I remarked ‘Really full on and hot – fantastic’!  ‘Get out of Here and Go on Home’ was another number with a great beat and we had a few dancers appreciating it too.  Naturally they played Ken Colyer’s big hit from 1956, namely ‘All the Girls Go Crazy about the Way I Walk’, marvellous!  They followed on with lovely numbers called ‘Under the Bamboo Tree’, ‘I’m With You Where You Are’ and ‘On a Coconut Island’.  I managed to film their last number, ‘I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream’) and if the band don’t object, I will try to load it on this website.  It is good enough for you to enjoy musically, although the film is still too dark to see.   (Update – Video can be found on  Youtube as follows: http://youtu.be/GrVCB5cWxek )

What an evening, I just loved it all.

Diane and Keith

‘All the Girls Go Crazy about the Way I Walk’ – Kid Ory (?)
‘Get Out of Here and Go on Home’ – associated with Buddy Bolden (circa 1900)
‘I’m With You Where You Are’ – I shall return to update
‘I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream’ – Howard Johnson, Billy Moll & Robert King (1927)
‘On a Coconut Island’ – Robert Alexander Anderson (1936)
‘Under the Bamboo Tree’ – (m) J. Rosamond Johnson, (l) Bob Cole (1901)

George Tidiman’s All Stars, 6/09/2013.

‘GEORGE TIDIMAN’S ALL STARS’ was set to entertain us last Friday, 6th September 2013 here at Farnborough Jazz Club.  However, you may remember the M25 was suddenly closed, so we were worried as they fare from Essex (one from Oxford)!  We arrived early to set up anyway.  First to arrive was JOHN SIRETT (double bass), so with Keith on spoons, plus he and I could sing duets, we thought we would cope IF we had an audience!   Then BILL FINCH (drums) arrived – ah, Keith wouldn’t need to play spoons.  The next half hour, we had the band’s engine as ‘SOUTHEND BOB’ ALLBUT (banjo/vocals) turned up.  He had travelled 120miles round trip anticlockwise on the ‘A’ roads, well done Bob.  So now the audience would be saved from Keith and my vocals.  Soon DENNY ILETT (trumpet) arrived also after a horrendous journey, now we had a QUARTET! For the first hour, Denny held it together with some superb trumpet playing.  Considering the situation, we had a very good turnout too.  However, our band leader, GEORGE TIDIMAN (trombone/vocals), had the sound equipment, so Bob’s singing was ‘acoustic’ too!  George eventually turned up to receive an enormous cheer.  Having had an even worse journey, being on the bridge and shunted back through the Blackwell Tunnel, but he stepped up to play straight away.  Denny, playing a joke on him, said they were about to play ‘Ory’s Creole Trombone’.  What a number!  George being so dry, was not quite his excellent self – lip not quite ready, but that all added to the fun of the evening.  Unfortunately ROGER MYERSCOUGH also had a dreadful time trying to reach us, being stuck as there had been an accident too, was eventually redirected and after a few hours, was forced to return home.  Clarinettist Mick Collins and banjoist Brian Lawrence were both in the audience and had a couple of sit-ins (well done you two).  George, as usual, told some of his jokes, I don’t think he has ever repeated any here yet.  The band were fabulous, all performing some fantastic jazz solos.  Denny played with just his mouthpiece, so clever– sorry, didn’t write number down.  They played ‘Coney Island Washboard He Will Play’, with the usual audience participation. The next number I noted was ‘Do You Know What It means to Miss New Orleans’ to which Denny gave a fantastic intro to.  They then dedicated the next number to the M25!  It was ‘Route 66’! Bob sang the first part correct, but change the second part to places and ‘A’ roads in Essex, very clever Bob (what a great deep voice he has).  Another number I jotted down, was made famous by The Squadronaires, called ‘Strike up the Band’.  Wow, how they played that number.  Could they follow it, yes they did, with their last number ‘South Rampart Street’ (before ending with their signature tune of ‘Bye, Bye Blues’).  I had managed to video a couple of numbers on my (old) mobile.  The filming is too dark, however the sound of ‘South Rampart Street’ is worth putting on here and if George and the band agrees, I might do so later.

Keep our jazz alive.

Diane and Keith

‘Bye, Bye Blues’ – Fred Hamm, Dave Bennett, Bert Lown & Chauncey Gray (w.1925, p.1930)
‘Coney Island Washboard’ – (m) Hampton Durand & Jerry Adams, (l) Ned Nester & Aude
‘Do You Know What It means to Miss New Orleans’ – Eddie DeLange (1947)
‘Ory’s Creole Trombone’ – Edward ‘Kid’ Ory (1921)
‘Route 66’ – Bobby Troup (1946)
‘South Rampart Street Parade’ – (m) Ray Bauduc & Bobby Haggart (1938), (l) Steve Allen (circa 1950)
‘Strike up the Band’ – (m) George Gershwin, (l) Ira Gershwin (1927)

Tony Pitt’s All Stars, 30/8/2013

TONY PITT’S ALL STARS, here last Friday, 30th August 2013, was as expected, BRILLIANT.  TONY PITT, a fabulous banjo player (as mentioned last week), had put together a fantastic bunch of musicians, some of the best names in British jazz and we did not exaggerate.  ROY WILLIAMS was on trombone and as written, was voted No.1 jazz trombonist of the year, on four consecutive years during 1980’s.  He has played with Terry Lightfoot, Alex Welsh and Humphrey Littleton Bands and has guested with many more international stars such as Bud Freeman, Wild Bill Davison and Ruby Braff, it certainly shows.  We were very proud he agreed to play for us – his first and we certainly hope not the last.   ALAN GRESTY was on trumpet.  He has played with Monty Sunshine’s Band for many years.  AL NICHOLLS on soprano & tenor sax (also his first time at Farnborough and hope he returns too).  He has played with Paul Gelato and Blue Harlem.  ANDY LAWRENCE was on double bass and (as previously said last week) was also with Terry Lightfoot for many years.  JOHN ELLMER was on drums.  We found, no CV for him, but Keith and I could vouch for him –he’s brilliant, but what I didn’t tell you, was he is also a marvellous clarinet player (not that he played it last Friday).  Tony’s CV is with such great bands as Alex Welsh, Mike Cotton, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Alan Elsdon, Laurie Chescoe, Terry Lightfoot and our old friend, Phil Mason.  Right at the start, it was full-on hot, hot jazz with their first number ‘I Found a New Baby’.  Next was ‘Lily of the Valley’, with great solos and sung by Alan and of course audience participation (fabulous sax).  ‘Some of These Days’ was superb, with the front line playing a little bit of ‘bells’ (similar to that number ‘Chimes Blues).  Then they played ‘Chinatown, My Chinatown’, with amazing solos from everyone.  The next number was Roy’s feature, called ‘I Love You, Samantha’.  Roy said he hadn’t played it in years.  You wouldn’t have guessed it though, he played it with such sympathy, so beautiful.  Fats Waller’s number ‘Keeping out of Mischief’ was followed with ‘S Wonderful’, which was Alan’s feature.  What a great young player he is – wow.  ‘Davenport Blues’ was Alan’s feature (I was dancing and hadn’t written a remark, except “so pure”, I think that says it all!   They finished off with ‘Blues My Naughty Sweetie’.  What an excellent ending – brilliant.

Look out for Tony’s next date with us, being 18th October 2013.  I wonder who he will book for that date.  Whoever they will be, they cannot better last week, but if it is as good, DON’T MISS IT!

Nice to be able to write such words – but they are all true!!!!

Diane and Keith

Farnborough Jazz Club

‘Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me’ – Charles McCarron, Casey Morgan & Arthur Swanstrom (1919)
‘Chinatown, My Chinatown’ – (m) Jean Schwartz, (l) William Jerome (1910)
‘Davenport Blues’ – Bix Beiderbecke (1925) – named after his hometown.
‘I Found a New Baby’ – Jack Palmer and Spencer Williams (1926)
‘I Love you, Samantha’ – Cole Porter (1956)
‘Keeping out Of Mischief Now’ – Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller (circa 1920’s, r.1937)
‘Lily of the Valley’ – hymn written by William Charles Fry (1837–1882) in London for the Salvation Army.  Ira D. Sankey arranged the words to the music of “The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane” composed by Will Hays
‘Some of These Days’ – Shelton Brooks (1909)
‘S Wonderful’ – (m) George Gershwin, (l) Ira Gershwin (1927)

Tony Pitt’s All Stars 30/08/2013

The website is still undergoing re-construction, so please be patient during the interim.  Meanwhile, here is our write-up for next Friday.

TONY PITT’S ALL STARS are appearing here at our Farnborough Jazz Club on Friday, 30th August 2013.  Once again, Tony has put together a fantastic bunch of musicians, with some of the best names in British jazz.  You can’t get better than ROY WILLIAMS on trombone (Jazz Journal voted him No: 1 jazz trombonist on four consecutive years during 1980’s).  He has played with the likes of Terry Lightfoot, Alex Welsh and Humphrey Littleton Bands and has guested with many more international stars such as Bud Freeman, Wild Bill Davison and Ruby Braff.  As if that isn’t enough, Tony has booked ALAN GRESTY on trumpet (with Monty Sunshine’s Band for many years), AL NICHOLLS on saxes (was with Paul Gelato and Blue Harlem), ANDY LAWRENCE on double bass (who was also with Terry Lightfoot for many years), JOHN ELLMER on drums (no CV found, but Keith and I can vouch for him –he’s brilliant) and of course, TONY PITT on guitar/banjo (Tony’s CV reads such great bands as Alex Welsh, Mike Cotton, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Alan Elsdon, Laurie Chesco, Terry Lightfood and our old friend, Phil Mason).  No wonder Tony can obtain such an incredible line-up.  We are so thrilled and know it will be a knock out and magical evening, so don’t miss it.

Nice to be back, although the club has continued without fail, every Friday during our black out!

Diane and Keith

Brian Carrick’s Algiers Stompers, 26th October 2012

Brian Carrick’s Algiers Stompers, who come from the Newcastle area, had their first visit last Friday, 26th October 2012 here at Farnborough Jazz Club in Kent.   Brian plays clarinet, tenor sax and vocals, with Peter Wright on trumpet. Chas Hudson was to have been on trombone, but unfortunately went to Farnborough in Hampshire, even though I did warn we are in Kent – still Chas, you are not the first and probably not the last to do so. Plus Chas, you probably enjoyed the drive through Hampshire’s pretty scenery and the pub you no doubt visited aye? Roy Mascal played trombone in your place and who had only to travel from Welling. Gabriele Gad was on piano, with Stu Morrison on banjo, Andrew Hall on drums and Bill Cole on double bass. (See our separate band ‘Page’ for their CV’s). You know, we all experience bad problems at one time or another, but what about this band! First of all, band leader Brian had a very serious accident when returning home from a gig back in 1998. He was very seriously injured and spent years in/out hospital. He is now a bionic man! But what about his face! Oh it is such a smiley one. I am sure he moans in private moments, but it doesn’t show, the lines on his face are smiley ones. Brian plays both clarinet and tenor sax spectacularly. Then I come to Andrew! I did mention in the separate band ‘Page’ how he had been living in New Orleans and had lost everything in Hurricane ‘Katrina’, so has returned to live back here. Likewise to Brian, you would not have seen any hint of all this in his face either – plenty of smiles. Playing jazz (or any music) ‘live’ has to be the most wonderfully therapeutic medicine there is. I also gain the same pleasure from listening and dancing too. So if you are feeling ‘down’, get yourself to any jazz club – preferably ours and you will feel a million dollars in no time, if only to set yourself up for another difficult week. Last Friday, everyone enjoyed themselves so much, both band and audience. The band’s excellent choice of repertoire was quite refreshing, with such numbers as ‘Hanauma Bay’, a song Gabby wrote, composed and sang herself and what a gorgeously deep and beautiful voice she has too. Well done Gabby. Other numbers I jotted down were ‘Can I Say Exactly How I Feel’, Louisian-I-A’, plus Hank Williams’ number ‘Take These Chains From My Heart’. Stu (ex Chris Barber’s Band) played a brilliant banjo piece in ‘Oreo Biscuit Cookie Blues’. Then Frank Sinatra’s number followed called ‘Black Cat On The Fence’. Another fantastically played number was ‘Bring It On Home To Grandma’. Gabby then sang ‘Heebie Jeebies’. Also Brian gave a brilliant clarinet performance to ‘Burgundie Street Blues’. He proudly explained his clarinet had belonged to George Lewis, which was presented to him by George’s daughter Shirley. I’m sure that had something to do with how he played it (lovingly) – great vocals too.

As with all clubs, we can always do with some more support.   So why don’t you come and find out for yourselves and join us – dancing is good for the soul, plus losing weight too. Whilst I’m on the subject of weight, have you enjoyed watching ‘Strictly Come Dancing’? I have to say we do enjoy the programme – Keith certainly enjoyed little Ola Jordan’s hot pants last weekend! However, I wished someone at the BBC could ask the band and/or the programme presenters, what is wrong with using the correct music for the VARIOUS dances? It is so soul-destroying to see the ‘Star’ dancers struggling to dance to ‘pop’. Don’t they see the standing ovations mainly happen when the music is RIGHT! The American smooth, the Tango, the Charleston and the Paso Doble are prime examples, they all have differing beats. Another point for the BBC to ask is if their audience could be informed before coming ‘on air’, how to clap to the ‘off beat’. Don’t get me wrong, as a dancer (amateur I may be), years ago, I always clapped ‘on the beat’ until I was shown by a band leader (Jeff of Manhattan Jazz Band) how I was wrong and I soon cottoned on. I now know it is very irritating to musicians. Some of our own audience get it wrong, but we are not ‘on air’!

Here’s the best of ‘jazz’ to you all.

Diane and Keith

‘Hanauma Bay’ – Gabriele Gad
‘Lou-Easy-an-i-a’ – Joe Darensbourg
‘TakeThese Chains From My Heart And Set Me Free’ – Hy Heath and Fred Rose (1953)
‘Oreo Biscuit Cookie Blues’ – Lonnie Mack (1990)
‘Black Cat On The Fence’ – (l) Frank Sinatra, (m) Charlie Love
‘Bring It On Home To Grandma’ – Richard M. Jones (1935)
‘Heebie Jeebies’ – Boyd Atkins (1926)
‘Burgundy Street Blues’ – George Lewis (1944)