Newsletter 12th November 2021

​Something to write about... at last!

So ... shook of the rust, plugged in the wotsits, blew the cobwebs out of the saxophones, and waited to see if anyone would turn up - they did, and such was the pleasure of seeing some old and not so old faces, we almost forgot to play some jazz.

Not quite, as it turns out. Once we got started, it became quite clear that quite a few of the miscreants had been locked away in a dark room polishing their chops for far too long, resulting in a startling outbreak of competence. This sort of behaviour is reprehensible and should probably stop soon, b ut, hey, it was kinda fun..

First up, Jeff Harris played out of his skin. Probably used up a year's supply of notes in a coupla hours, but this was the best we have heard from him in quite a while...then Laurie played some elegant sax and Mihoko (sax) showed she had lost none of her musicianship with a fine interlude.

Dave Taylor (double bass) turned up just as my left hand was beginning to tire of playing bass lines - and the music got classier by the minute.

Gentleman John Curtis shone on piano - the usual array of subtly altered jazz chords; then the Good Captain, who we know has been practising, played as good as ever, if not better. Guitarists Roger, Mike, Fermin and Dean decided to provide some subtle comping, together with a coupla good solos.

Singers Kay, Aneta, and Jane shone, then Deborah got monstered by the band on Is You Is or Is You Ain't, before knocking I'm beginning to see the light out of the park. Phew... We even played Autumn Leaves and enjoyed it...

Late starters: Anton and Adam fffwhatever shared bass duties, Malcolm wapped out some fine chords to atone for the Ain't part of Is you Is, Rose was persuaded to sing sans chart, preparation or strong drink, but sounded good.

The afternoon ended with a lively bebop set probably the fault of Marion (recorder) - Freddie the Freeloader properly swung, and Malcolm leading a fine ensemble. All up, 22 musicians got up and boogied, with even some of the Bowls Club audience commenting favourably on what, even to a seasoned ear, sounded like a bunch of peeps enjoying themselves.

It might last - hope to see ya next Sunday. We are a long way from being back to the sorts of jam sessions that were the norm pre-pandemic, but not a bad start at all...

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