Christmas Jazz.

This week we went to our Jazz club for the last time before Christmas. Christmas cards were handed out and we gave two special friends some home made ginger beer to sya thank you.

It was a lovely night with a Christmas tree in the corner of the pub and everyone in a happy mood.

We had a tight four piece - this is Mike Coates on Sax;

Jim Mullen was in fine form on Jazz Guitar - he's a big name on a number of scenes - he's a session musician has played with some big Funk bands and has a jazz pedigree too.

My friends make fun of me - he has a habit of inserting little segments of other songs into what he's playing.

Musicians respect the cleverness of it, everyone in the room thinks it's neat; it drives me mad.

Just to pull my leg, Robyn kept a tally; Jim put 30 'quotes' into songs during the evening.

Normally I'd be irritated but tonight I was just mellow.

There was 'The Christmas Song' and 'White Christmas.

Ross Stanley exchanged his normal keyboards for an electric organ - he just hit those notes so well. Trevor Tomkins was just fine on drums.

As I said, it was a good night.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Thanks Tassim.

U

That was eventful, I’ve been off air for over a day.

In that time I bought a new dongle at enormous expense, got it home only to find that network had no coverage in

Sleepy Hollow

Went into town this morning and after a long battle got a refund.

Came home and spent the afternoon trying to register an old dongle to top it up on line, except the company has been taken over and you can’t top it up anymore.

Going mad, I ended up going back into town again where I was lucky enough to speak to a real live human being; Tassim of EE in Staines who sorted it all out for me. So today’s entry is dedicated to 

                              Tassim

Without whom none of this would have been possible. So much for the internet and the 21^st century.

 

As for the club, how could anything compare with last week? That was so good there wasn’t anything better on in the whole of London.

This Monday night at the Red Lion, Isleworth was completely different – a debut for an exiled Canadian Mike Coates who took his Sax into the low, quiet breathy zone:

 And Steve Waterman  was playing a very bright and shiny trumpet very brightly:

 So while last week had them boppin’ in the lounge bar, tonight was more thoughtful. There were blues but they came from John Horler’s excellent and very precise piano work. He and Mike Coates pulled off a great duet on Benny Goldson’s ‘Whisper Not’.

Freddy Hubbard’s ‘Upjump spring’ was a treat but the best was last – they finished up with ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ of all things. Deconstructed by each of the players in turn, like a child taking apart an alarm clock and then looking puzzled by the pile of bits; somehow they managed to get them back together in time and it was a real joy to listen to them doing it.

Did I say it was quiet and reflective? Now I think about it Tim Wells on bass and Trevor Tomkins drumming didn’t get that much of a look in this week.

Still the best place to be in London, just as well it’s a secret, or it would have been without Tassim’s help.

Y
helpMesortoutstPeters.blogspot.com

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com