Gig reports

The music you can hear is "Come on and Stomp" by annual visitors to the Harp, Frog Island Jazz Band.

Further gig reports will be on the More Gig Reports page as this one has now become rather long.

Sunday, November 12th. was one of those sessions you wish could go on forever......we always have good jazz gigs, some are just a little bit special and occasionally one comes along which is absolutely brilliant.... today was one of the latter!
Richard Leach's Club House Five features some of the Midlands finest jazz musicians so we were expecting an enjoyable session but I think this beat all our expectations. Led by Richard on trombone the "Club House Five" started off as the "Four" as banjo player Dennis Mowatt was caught in the Remembrance Day traffic in Wolverhampton.
	The front line of Gordon Whitworth on trumpet, George Huxley on clarinet and saxes and Richard on trombone had the superb bass playing of Howard Worthington to drive them along.....not that any of them really needed pushing in their rocking versions of numbers such as "Papa Dip", "Old Miss Rag" and "Rent Party Blues". In the photo Richard and George are seen during a great version of "When I Get Too Old To Dream" with Gordon listening to every note. Dennis arrived in time to join Howard on bass to complete the rhythm section, backing George in a trio version of "Red Sails in the Sunset".
Richard, Howard and Dennis played a rather nice version of "Until The Real Thing Comes Along" with Howard taking the vocal and excellent solos from his two accomplices.
	A bonus during the second set was the appearance of Amy Roberts on alto sax. Amy came in with Antique Six drummer Graham Smith and his wife, and what a revelation she was! Truly superb alto playing with all the confidence in the world and able to fit in quite brilliantly with the "slightly" older and much more experienced Club House Five. Her "Georgia on My Mind" duet with George, acknowledged as one of the finest reed players in the country, was truly breathtaking from one so young.
Other numbers that featured Amy were "Canal Street Blues" and a cracking version of "East Coast Trot". After more excellent numbers from the band Amy was called upon to join them for the finalé, "Salutation March". My comments at the end of the session included an invitation for Amy to bring her own band to the Harp next year, even if it meant cancelling a Club House Five or Antique Six gig!
Amy would be welcome anytime and Richard's band will be back on April 3rd.
November 5th...we have many excellent bands at the Harp whether they be local or touring bands but they don't come much better than New Orleans Heat. With musicians who come from places as far apart as Loughborough, Swansea, Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Dudley, Lincoln and Cardiff the band play as if they all live just round the corner from each other, they gel together so well.
Led by Barry Grummett on the keyboard (no that isn't the bands interval refreshment in the background!) NOH played numbers as varied as "Old Kentucky Home" and, sung by Gwyn Lewis without a mike, a splendid version of "Breeze". Also in the first set was a high tempo "China Town", again with vocal by Gwyn and further variety from "Lead me Saviour" and the interval waltz, "Sunday Morning at the Harp Blues!".
	Starting the second set with "Apple Blossom Time" we were treated to more superb music with some numbers that we don't hear very often such as "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano" sung by Gwyn. This was followed by a truly remarkable "Ciri, Ciri Bin" by John Skentlebury on alto, a number that proved to be so good that even hardened saxophone haters admitted to loving it and demanding he be brought back before too long!
Stan Stephens showed there is plenty of talent in our neck of the woods with excellent trombone solos.
The front line of Gwyn Lewis on cornet and flugelhorn, John Skentlebury on clarinet /alto sax, "local lad" Stan Stephens on trombone and Barry on keyboard were driven along by the backroom boys Tony Peatman on banjo, Harry Slater on bass and Dion Cochrane on drums with Barry on keyboard (yes he does play front line and rhythm! One comment heard more than any other (except how brilliant the band were!) was how nice it was to see a band who only used a mike for announcements and vocals, quite refreshing in a small venue like the Harp! New Orleans Heat will be back next year! Next year's dates are now fixed...... May 20th. and July 8th.....don't miss!
October 24th....13 years ago Jazz Club 90 moved into what has now become a jazz venue known around the world....the Harp in Albrighton Tonight's session with the Heart of England Jazz Band was a celebration of "Jazz at the Harp", and a chance to thank Terry for his backing and our audience for their support.
	Hiding in the corner here is Bill Bickerton on keyboard, depping for banjo player Dave Smith, with Pete Ainge on trumpet and Malcolm Smith on trombone whilst the rest of the cast of thousands for this extravaganza were Roger Heath on bass, Clive Millward on drums and Selwyn Newton on clarinet. The band's talent for entertaining ensured that the evening was enjoyed by another very full house
In the absence of Dave Smith the bands programme was printed by Pete Ainge with some decidedly dodgy spelling of most of the tune titles. Tunes announced as "Underecidered" and "Wherey Blues" were met with laughter and Selwyn played an excellent version of "Bungainy Street ". After a break for sandwiches, black pudding and Spanish onion, provided as a small "thank you" to our audience, the mis-spelt numbers continued with "Isle of Crapi" (which Selwyn at first wouldn't announce to our very correct and proper audience!) and "Rail Garden Blues" to name but a few.
In order to raise funds to help to keep the jazz "live" at the Harp we had been running an extra raffle over the previous 3 sessions and the draw was made tonight. A grand total of 18 prizes including a case of wine, a CD/radio, several Cds, chocs etc. all eventually found their way to new homes....we are only sorry that not everyone could win! Marie and I would like to thank all who donated the prizes. A superb evening, enjoyed by everyone and a chance to say "thank you" to Terry for putting so much funding in to the jazz....what more could you want?! HoE will be back on November 21st.
October 22nd.....John Beckingham, seen here with bass man Tony Capaldi, brought in his JB Jazz and Blues Band to another full house at the Harp with many regulars arriving early to ensure their places for the 12.30 start.
The band have featured the same line-up for some time now and it shows in their approach to entertaining the audience. Blues, boogie, jump/jive, even a couple of "trad" numbers were all brilliantly played in the styles of Louis Prima, Louis Jordan and Fats Waller to name but a few who went along the same entertainment path. Roger Manwaring on reeds, Andy Wood on guitar, Paul Holder on drums and Tony on bass all made sure that the solos, the vocals, the jokes(!) all contributed to an excellent session. No excuses for this report being very similar to the last JB report, the band are just brilliant every time...comments like "the best" or "truly professional" and "a great polished performance" were just a few of the remarks from the audience.
Next year...January 21st...they will be back...be there!
	October 15th...the long awaited return of the Ralph Allin Quartet gave us another truly brilliant session. This time we had the same four excellent musicians who amazed us all the first time that Ralph brought them in about 3 years ago....Jadie Carey on bass, Steve Street on drums and, after spending some months in the sunshine of Cyprus, Rich Hughes on piano with of course Ralph on violin. .A most varied choice of tunes meant there was something for everyone (I would suggest every number suited everyone!) and once again time passed much too quickly. If you haven't heard these wonderfully talented, and young musicians I would suggest you look out for them......if you haven't booked them for your club give your audience a treat....book them now!
Ralph will be back at the Harp on February 27th.....don't miss!
September 26th....a rare visit by the Millennium Eagle Jazz Band once again showed why they are a very popular band on the jazz club circuit. Right from the start they played the music guaranteed to put a smile on faces and get feet tapping.
	The front line of Matt Palmer on clarinet, soprano and tenor sax, Andy Holdorf on trombone and Pete Brown on trumpet and trombone produced superb solos and duets with driving backing from the rhythm section of Brian Lawrence on double bass, Chris Etherington on banjo and action man himself, Julyan "Baby Jools" Aldridge on drums
With numbers ranging from "Gatemouth" to "Petite Fleur" and "Panama Rag" there was something for everyone, with brilliant drum solos from Julyan just to make sure no one was nodding off! Millennium Eagle Jazz Band will be back on Tuesday, November 14th. and are booked in for several gigs next year
September 19th....another chance to see the Heart of England Jazz Band, this time with drummer Barry Norman standing (or rather sitting) in for Clive Millward.
	During a "little French number" there was rather more audience participation than usual when several HoE fans put on berets (and one fez!) to match the bands headgear whilst Selwyn was singing "La Vie en Rose".
There is no truth in the claim that the name on the front of John's T-shirt is in any way a true reflection of his mood!
	From the opening "Wabash Blues" to a brilliant "Chimes Blues" and on to a superb "Sweet Georgia Brown" by Malcolm Smith the music was of the usual high standard we expect from this bunch of extremely talented musicians, with excellent solos by all concerned. Harp regular Frank Pardoe joined the band for a couple of rousing numbers, "Dr. Jazz" and "Sit right down and write myself a letter", during which Frank's solos drew the now compulsory rapturous applause from the audience! All too son another evening of great entertainment came to a close.....
Heart Of England will be back on October 24th.
Sunday, September 17th....plaudits galore for the Antique Six Jazz Band, another band who fulfil all our criteria for a successful session, superb musicians who enjoy playing their music and entertaining the audience. With the young Dave Deakin on trombone (brought in not only for his exceptional talent but also the fact that he brought the average age of the band down by several years!) the music was as brilliant as usual. Graham Smith on drums, Andy Robins on bass and Clinton("up the Baggies!") Sedgley on banjo backed Chris Pearce on clarinet and soprano, Chris Mercer on trumpet and of course Dave on trombone.
Whilst 5 year old grandson Jamie spent some of the time with his hands over his ears, much to the amusement of the band, the music must have had a soothing effect as he managed to fall asleep on my lap for about half an hour! Another excellent session which kept everyone else very much awake! Antique 6 will be back on December 3rd....don't miss!
Tuesday, September 12th...the end of an era with the last visit of Mark Challinor's Wabash Jazzmen. Led by Mark on banjo the Jazzmen have been firm favourites at the Harp since their first appearance some 8 or 9 years ago. Their tremendous swinging front line led by Mike Hayler on clarinet and tenor sax was driven by along the superb duo of Mark on banjo and Howard Worthington on bass, surely the best ever two man rhythm section. The cornet section over the years has featured the likes of Geoff Wilde, Ged Hone, Bill Smith and latterly Gordon Whitworth while the trombone has appeared with Dave Vickers, Mike Pembroke, Reg Fuery, Derek Halford and Malcolm Smith. If ever Mark decides to reform the Wabash they will be more than welcome at the Harp!

Sunday, August 13th......Another superb session by JB's Jazz and Blues Band was today's great way of spending a Sunday lunchtime.

With the encouragement of the band Jamie played a couple of numbers which he had never played (or even heard!) before and received very warm applause from the audience. It was very nice to see all the band make the effort to speak to Jamie at the end of the session to say how much they enjoyed his playing and to give him even more encouragement for the future.

Two and a half hours went by much to quickly but the band will be back on October 22nd whilst Jamie will be bringing his own JB Quintet in on August 27th.

Sunday, July 30th......not a day for the fainthearted or devotees of serious/classical jazz!

Heart of England Jazz Band were playing their first Sunday gig at the Harp for some time, and how they livened up our Sunday lunchtime! The jazz they played was as brilliant as ever and further enhanced by the wonderful sense of humour from all the band.....jokes from Dave Smith seriously lowered the tone but brought tears to the eyes, even if some jokes had to be explained to the more genteel members of the audience!

This combination of superb musicians who enjoy entertaining their audience is exactly what we want from our bands...perfect!

Selwyn Newton announced that the donations in memory of Derek Halford had exceeded £1,000 which was to benefit research into pancreatic cancer. A letter of thanks from Derek's wife for the contribution to this sum from the Harp audience is now on the pub notice board.

Sunday, December 17th...the last session of 2006, other than our Christmas Party on the 19th., gave us another chance to see the Martinique Jazz Band.
The now well established front line of Bobby Johnson on trombone, Terry Roberts on sax and clarinet and Tony Billingsley on trumpet played numbers ranging from "Autumn Leaves" to "Jive at Five" and "Hindustan" very well backed by the boys (?!) in the rhythm section......Jim Harney on drums, Ken Jones on piano and Dave Boxold on bass. Apart from their instrumental talents we were also treated to the vocal offerings of Tony Billingsley on such numbers as "A Kiss To Build a Dream On" and Dave Boxold with, amongst others, "Just a Gigolo" in which Dave not only sang the original words but also displayed his multi-lingual expertise by singing in numerous other languages, or so he tried to kid us!
Solos from everyone were excellent, particularly Terry Roberts' verse to "Honeysuckle Rose". Another enjoyable Sunday lunchtime also notable for the number of Christmas cards that changed hands! Martinique will be back on January 23rd. 2007
Tuesday, December 12th....was the end of an era when Central City Jazzmen played their last ever gig as a band. Back in the early 90s Ken Ingram's Vintage Jazzmen were becoming established as one of the favourite bands at the Harp until Ken relinquished the running of the band to Nick Williams, who then resurrected the Central City Jazzmen name. The band continued to enjoy success at the Harp but, unbeknown to the audience, Nick was having problems getting a regular line-up together in the last year and decided that putting in 2 or more deps was not what he or the audience wanted and he decided to call it a day.
Tonight's session featured some of the musicians who have been with the band from the start or certainly for many a year......Nick on trombone and Brian Kellor on sousaphone were were in Ken Ingram's band whilst Griff Thomas on banjo replaced George Linders. Dave Andrews was on drums, John McGregor on clarinet and Chris Carmel on cornet. Nick announced at the start of the evening that this was the band's swansong, but just to show that nothing changes he still introduced "Algiers Strut" as "Algiers Slut" and said that was the end of the carefully arranged programme! The next tune was allegedly played at a police function and the band cautioned for playing "Flatfoot"!
Sophie Tucker's "Some of these Days" was a vocal for Nick as was "Sunset Café Stomp".....not quite Lil Hardin! Chris Carmel played a superb solo in "Louisiana Fairy Tale" and John McGregor was featured in his own composition "Isabelle's Lullaby" and Bechet's "Blue Horizon" The rhythm section of Brian Kellor, Dave Andrews and Griff Thomas as usual kept the band on the straight and narrow...or tried very hard to!
A bonus during the second set was the appearance of two other Harp favourites, Pate Ainge on trumpet and, inevitably, Frank Pardoe on tenor sax. "Rosetta" was just one of the numbers they played whilst John McGregor and Chris Carmel had a deserved rest. I must say Frank looks almost angelic with a halo around his beret! Later we had the Central City Big Band when Pete and Frank joined Nick and the rest of the boys (?!) for another number and the finale.
On being presented with a "Sorry you are leaving" card Nick said again how much he had enjoyed playing at the Harp, if for no other reason than he could look forward to seeing "the legs" (also known as Marie!). We wish all the band well in the future and look forward to seeing them in disguise with other bands!
Tuesday, December 5th.... Rod Chambers brought in his Louisiana Joymakers to give us another evening of most enjoyable entertainment. Once again it was superb jazz played by musicians who truly enjoy playing and believe very much in entertaining their audience. The slightly late arrival of bassist Jim Swinnerton meant we started with a 5-piece band playing "Beautiful Dreamer" until Jim arrived amidst various comments as to the reason he was delayed!
The entertainment standard for the evening was set when John Howlett produced his new "friend"......a small, black mechanical dog which he had trained to walk, stop, sit and to do a back flip!. This procedure was repeated before the start of the second set for the benefit of latecomers when these marvellous feats of training were demonstrated along the surface of John's trombone case, held aloft with great difficulty by yours truly. John also displayed the other aspect of his talents with some superb trombone playing throughout the evening
The boss, Rod Chambers, also showed us his ability to entertain with his clarinet and alto playing (no tenor, he forgot to bring it!), his vocals and his announcements which always build a great rapport with the audience. Two of the vocals were Rod's version of "Streets of London" and "Can I Sleep in Your Arms Tonight, Lady".......excellent. Rod demonstrated his "Band Management" skills by allowing Graham Smith (on his usual kit this time) to set the tempo for "Jungle Town" which Rod suggested should possibly be "brisk!" Graham then had no cause for complaint when he finished up a trifle out of breath after a long drum solo on top of driving the band along at rather a fast tempo!
	Brian Bates contributed his "two penn'orth" to the proceedings with fine cornet playing and vocals whilst Ian Parry on banjo and Jim on bass joined Graham to drive along the front line in fine style. Jim's accoustic bass solos are certainly in a class of their own. Frank Pardoe joined the band for a few numbers including "I Wanna Be Happy" and the finale "Goodnight Irene".....another great session.
Because of Rod's other commitments the Joymakers won't be in again until May 8th. 2007 but it will be well worth the wait!
Sunday, December 3rd....another session by the Antique Six Jazz Band in which Graham Smith caused quite a stir at the start with his drum kit on wheels which turned out to be a renovated Premier Swingster Console Kit, the actual set of drums which were pictured on the front cover of the Premier Drums catalogue of 1930. Needless to say Graham is rather proud of them and we were very honoured that he brought them out of hibernation to entertain us at the Harp. Questions were asked as to the origins of the red tassels on the cymbals..."strip clubs" were the most frequently mentioned words!
Starting with "Da Da Strain" the Six entertained us with old and new (to the band) numbers which featured all the fine musicians at their very best.
	Chris Mercer not only played excellent trumpet but also did several vocals including "Bye, Bye Blackbird" and "Since my best gal let me down" Chris also provided instructions for the audience to play "air trombones" during Richard Leach's cracking version of Ory's "Creole Trombone"
	Clinton Sedgley switched from his usual banjo to guitar for several numbers, watched intently, on the right, by Richard, whilst Chris Pearce, on the left, was featured on curly soprano in a superb version of "Singing the Blues".
	Below right......Chris had chance to show his prowess on the clarinet during "Papa's gone, goodbye" which featured a Chris Mercer vocal.
The quiet man in the background, Andy Robins on bass, helped Graham and Clinton to drive along the front line. The second set started with a rousing "Ostrich Walk" and included "Aunt Hagar's Blues" and Humph's "Memphis Shake" before ending the session with "Stevedore Stomp". Needless to say the splendid 1930's drum kit was very much in evidence during the proceedings!
This superb band will be back in all their glory on February 25th. 2007.
Sunday, November 26th....New Washboard Syncopators were today's visitors and once again showed why they are getting more and more gigs across the country.
A programme that included such tunes as "Long Tall Brown Skinned Gal" and "Perdido Street Blues" showed off the talents of Chris Carmel on cornet, guest Phil Wall on clarinet, Dave Braidley on trombone and slide whistle, Rob Hodges on bass, George Linders on banjo and Tony Quinn on percussion. Many of the numbers they played can be heard on their latest CD "New Orleans Shuffle" which can be obtained from Tony Quinn 01922 612374
	In order for Marie to follow the example set by the Queen and have more than one birthday celebration the band played "Happy Birthday" in their own style and Mo presented Marie with a card from the Sunday gang along with chocolates and more vouchers! By special request the band played one of Marie's favourite tunes, "Running Wild", which brought forth the most unlikely comment from Chris Carmel....he said that one rather deranged member of the public, on hearing Dave Braidley sing this Marylin Monroe song, likened the beer drinking, bearded David to the delectable Marylin , both in his appearance and his vocal talent! These comments would no doubt be disputed by all who saw and heard today's version!
New Washboard Syncopators will be back on Feb. 13th. 2007
Tuesday, November 21st.....Heart Of England Jazz Band once again produced one of their most entertaining sessions with numbers ranging from "Strutting with some Barbecue" to Selwyn Newton's "Streets of London".
The band line-up of Selwyn on clarinet, Pete Ainge on trumpet, Malcolm Smith on trombone, Dave Smith on banjo, Clive Millward on drums and Roger Heath on bass surprised Marie at the end of the first set when they played "Happy Birthday" in anticipation of her 60th. on Saturday. The usual discordant rendering of this delightful piece of music was accompanied by the Harp audience choir and the birthday girl was presented with a card, flowers and chocolates by John Hill, on behalf of the "Tuesday" crowd, to thank her for all the hard work she puts in to keep the jazz going at the Harp. It is amazing that the usually very observant Marie had no inkling of what had been going on over the last couple of weeks to get the card signed and contributions collected!
	The band was further augmented during the second set with the inimitable Frank Pardoe on tenor sax. Apart from his tenor playing Frank also joined in the spirited vocal of "Bourbon Street Parade". The solos and vocals from all the members of the band added enormously to the almost party atmosphere
A rare treat was a song from Dave Smith in response to a petition from the audience...his version of "I can't Give You Anything But Love" was heard for the first time at the Harp and greeted with rapturous applause!.
	Needless to say Marie thoroughly enjoyed the evening, as you can see, especially the giant birthday cake!
This superb band will be back on Tuesday January 9th. 2007

Sunday, June 11th. On Sunday June 11th, a very hot day, we had one of the hottest bands around when the 10th. Avenue Band flew in from California to entertain a very appreciative audience.....they flew in via other gigs in Finland and the UK, we haven't won the lottery yet!! The professionalism of the band was is obvious from the moment they arrive with their equipment, they must have a special excess baggage allowance with American Airlines! Every little detail was attended to, right down to small electric fans to try to combat the rather hot day.
	Starting with "Everybody Loves My Baby" and "Jazz Me Blues" the band soon had the audience in the palm of their hand with vocals from leader Ed Zimbrick and superb solos from all the members of what at times sounded like a big swing band. "My Blue Heaven" followed with "organ" style keyboard from Charlie Clark on keyboard. The magic of trumpet player Ed Sherry was soon brilliantly demonstrated on "Toll Gate Blues" and the arranging skills of Ed Zimbrick shone through every number.
	All the other members of the band, Otis Mourning on reeds, Fred Watstein on bass and drummer Bruce Harper were featured during numbers which varied from "I've Found A New Baby", to "Love Songs Of The Nile" and "Georgia On My Mind" with the inevitable "Piano Medley" by Charlie Clark (who must have 10 fingers on each hand!). Bruce's drum solo during "The Sheikh of Araby" was another of many highlights that helped two and a half hours pass much too quickly!
	"Sweet Georgia Brown" as an encore brought another memorable session by 10th. Avenue to a very reluctant close.... Hopefully they will be back next year if they can fit us in between Australia, China, Europe. America and many other parts of the world....this band must be the most travelled band we have had the pleasure of hearing!
Our thanks to Bridgnorth District Arts for their help in funding this session. Book April 8th. 2007...they will be back!

Sunday,May 21st. Another band who I had never heard before gave us a superb lunchtime session.
Liberty Street Jazz Band from the Swansea area proved once again that Wales can produce brilliant jazz musicians as well as singers! On their way home from Doveholes a stopover at the Harp fitted in very well and gave us an unexpected treat.
	With the trumpet/flugelhorn, introductions and vocals in the capable hands of the eloquent Marcus the rest f the line-up was Dr. John on clarinet/saxes, Simon on trombone, Graham on drums and Derek on bass/sousaphone. In the absence of banjo player Dewi (we hope his wife Ann recovers from her heart operation) we had Harp regular Dave Smith taking the banjo spot. With tunes ranging from lesser known numbers such as “Poor Papa” to “12^th. Street Rag” and “Stevedore Stomp”, with Billie Holiday’s “Comes Love” and Bessie Smith’s “Trombone Chollie” (featuring Simon on trombone and Marcus on vocal) time went all too quickly.
	A superb version of “Cathedral Blues” with a diversion into a double time “Chimes Blues gave the front line the opportunity to shine with superb backing from drummer Graham, satellite dish exponent Derek and Dave on banjo. The band’s inimitable version of “Happy Birthday” brought a smile to birthday boy Terry (the boss!), along with a card signed by most of our regulars.Liberty Street gained even more devotees when they played one of our regular requests “Running Wild”
Following my congratulatory comments at the end of the session the shy, retiring(?!) Dave Smith (right) added his own few words when he said how much he had enjoyed playing with the band, even though he had to use the chord book for some of the unknown numbers or arrangements! We have really only two criteria for bands who play for us….they must be competent musicians (Liberty Street were brilliant!) and must enjoy playing together (there is no doubt they do that, even though we Midlanders find it difficult to understand the implied attraction of Welsh sheep!!)
We sincerely hope to book the band for more than one session next year and suggest they would grace the stage of any jazz club in the land! (find more on their website: www.libertystreet.co.uk) Home About us News More news Gig reports. More Gig Reports Links Jazz Club 90 photos More Photos Regular bands e-mail: jazzclub90@supanet.com