Monday, September 28, 2009

I thought you might like to read the comments (above) made by my American friends "The Robinson's" upon their return to the U.S.A.

My thanks to you all as well, for making them feel so welcome. I know that you do that for all who come to Hedsor Jazz, which is why it is such a friendly place to come.

IF you are one of the people who have never tried the Hedsor Jazz Experience (!), then why not come THIS THURSDAY (October 1st), for the party launch of Martin Harts new CD. It will only cost you £5 to get in, and may make you some new friends.

Coming up next week, on the usual first Tuesday of the month at the Bourne End Community Centre Jazz Evening, one of the areas favorite singers, Lynn Garner is appearing
with Zane Cronje on keyboard and Brad Lang on bass. It was hoped that guitarist Peter O'Brian would also be on the bill, but unfortunately he is unable to do the gig. I'm am, however, sure it will be a very entertaining evening.That's Tuesday October 6th from 8.30 pm. Admission, including raffle ticket and a light supper is around £6



One of the reasons I haven't reviewed too many CD's this last few weeks, was that I was trawling through some of my collection in order to present a program to the U3A jazz appreciation group in Amersham. I did an ABC of my collection for them last Monday. Low and behold, what should turn up in the last week or so was an Arbors Records album of the same name. Arbors jazz releases are always worth a listen. They are always well recorded, and usually very well played too. This one is an absolute knock out. John Allred is an formidable trombone player (son of another one, Bill). I have never heard the clarinet solo from High Society taken as a trombone solo before! Amazing. Jeff Barnhart is a piano player who plays in a stride style, but who has obviously kept his ears open to more modern influences as well. Danny Coots is a pretty good drummer I hadn't heard before, and they are all joined by bass player Dave Stone.

The first track "Pick Yourself Up" is a killer punch that you will need to recover from! The individual skills of all are obvious, and the interplay very thoughtful indeed.

There is a real mix of tunes that runs the whole length of jazz ("High Society", via Cole Porter's "All Through The Night", to Charlie Hayden's "First Song").

It really is a lovely CD, Arbors Jazz ARCD 19371. You could do a lot worse than ordering it from Amazon!

Well, that's it for now folks. Don't forget, no matter how great the recordings are in your collection are, nothing beats live jazz, and tuning out to support live jazz will ensure it's still there to listen to in a years time!

Geoff C

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