Welcome to ” The Jazz Cat Blog “

It looks like October is set to be quite a busy month for me and I thought I’d remind you of where I will be. Next Wednesday, 8th October, my Quartet, featuring two wonderful players from Leeds, Joel Purnell on tenor saxophone and Jami Sherrif on piano will be at the Grey Horse, Huddersfield. The excellent Dave Tyas will be on drums. Have a look at www.thegreyhorseinn.co.uk  for more details of forthcoming gigs. Richard is trying hard to build the Grey Horse into a long term venue and he needs your support. So forget football on the tele and enjoy some live music!!

Friday 10th sees the start of the Marsden Jazz Festival. My gig is at the Royal British Legion on the Friday night. ’A Dales Day’ was released in 1998 and I thought that it would be good to give the charts another airing after 10 years. The band comprises Steve Waterman, trumpet and flugelhorn, Dave O’Higgins and Rod Mason, saxophones, Jim Mullen, guitar, myself on bass and Dave Tyas on drums. In addition to my pieces, we will be playing music composed by Steve, Dave and Rod. It promises to be an excellent night and I hope to see many of you there. Visit www.marsdenjazzfestival.com for full details of the festival programme.

The following week, I am touring with the Rod Mason/Jim Mullen Quartet, along with Dave Tyas. We are at the Rhythm Station, Rawtenstall on 14th October, the Cask and Sigma, Scarborough on 15th, Cooper’s at Guisleley on 16th and the Cinnamon Club, Altrincham on 17th. We have toured several times now as a Quartet and it is always a pleasure and a privilege to work with a genuinely world class player like Jim. Catch the band if you can. 

Finally, my Quartet featuring Rod Mason, saxophones, Richard Wetherall, piano and Dave Tyas is at the British Legion in Llay, North Wales on 21st October. We had a great gig at the Farmer’s Arms in St Asaph last year and I’m sure that history will repeat itself.    

A quick reminder that Threeway are appearing at the Cleethorpes Jazz Weekend which is taking  place this coming weekend. We are playing on Sunday afternoon between 1.30pm and 2.45pm and we would be very pleased to see you all at the gig. The festival has been running for several years now and is renowned for its friendly atmosphere. We are really looking forward to appearing. For further details of the festival visit www.nelincs.gov.uk/leisure/entertainment/jazzfestival  For those with Sat Nav, the postcode is DN36 4ET!! 

The Grey Horse Inn at Birchencliffe, Huddersfield has started a trial period of jazz presentation. So far, Julie Edwards, Kevin Dearden, Adrian Ingram and Jami Sheriff are booked in July and August and Stuart McDonald is booked in September. My Quartet, featuring Rod Mason, saxophones, Jez Platt, organ and guitar and Dave Tyas, drums, is booked to play on 30th July. The Quartet is also booked for 20th August and 17th September. Jon Taylor will be featured on saxophone on those gigs.

It’s wonderful to have a new jazz venue and Richard and Kim, the new managers, are keen to promote jazz at a venue that hosted the music several years ago. This is a trial period, so it is essential for all jazz fans in the area to support the gigs. Let’s hope that the Grey Horse will again become a regular jazz venue for Yorkshire audiences.

Further details can be found at www.thegreyhorseinn.co.uk   

Just a reminder for those who are around that Threeway are appearing at St. Cyprians, a wonderful church venue in central London next Tuesday, 15th April. The concert begins at 6.30pm and finishes around 8.30pm, so perfect for those on their way home after a hard day at the coalface. More details are available at www.bashomusic.co.uk/cyprians.htm . See you there, I hope.

Due to other commitments, I have had little time this year to post new items on the blog. I am now putting that right and, very belatedly, I have got round to our autumn tour with John. We played the Puzzle Hall, Sowerby Bridge, the Goodfellowship Inn, Hull, Cooper’s at Guiseley, the Padgate Recreation Centre, Warrington and the Vortex, London.

As usual, John was in great form and we had an excellent week. Although we didn’t know it at the time, the Puzzle gig was to be our last, because unhappily, it closed as a venue not long after. I have been playing the Puzzle Hall for fifteen years or more and am very sad at this turn of events. Pete Martin and Geoff Amos have worked tirelessly over the years to present the very best that northern jazz has to offer. Newcomers just starting to make their way and established artists all got a gig and all loved to play the Puzzle. Although the money was never great, the atmosphere was fantastic.  It was the type of gig where you could try new things out and no one minded if it didn’t always work. I think that we all owe Pete and Geoff a huge debt of gratitude for their dedication and commitment to the music. We will miss the Puzzle. This was a great gig to go out on.

(Images copyright Alan Ainsworth 2008 www.jazzshot.co.uk)

Ken Ford at Hull has supported the Trio from the very first tour. We have never missed a year at Hull. We started at the Dee Street Club, then moved to the Goodfellowship Inn, then moved to the YPI Club and are now back to the Goodfellowship. Ken is a real star, a genuine unsung hero of the music. Through good times and bad, for many years, he has continued to promote jazz in Hull, often subsidising the gigs from his own pocket and we are really grateful for all he has done for us. Our gigs at Hull have always been well received and supported and 2007 was no exception. And we had an excellent meal at the Jericho Cafe just down the road!

Cooper’s at Guiseley was a new venue for us and we had a great time. Keith Jeavons has really developed a superb gig and long may it last. It was good to see my old mate Steve Halliwell, who plays Zak Dingle in Emmerdale. Steve used to come to gigs at the Duck and Drake in Leeds, another jazz venue which has gone and is sadly missed, and he loved Rod Mason’s Quartet, in which I played, which featured Jez Franks and Dave Walsh.

Jackie Moore promotes jazz in Warrington and we have played the Recreation Centre at Padgate several times. The surroundings are, it has to be said, less than welcoming: takeways, hoodies and general urban sprawl predominate in the area. However, once you get inside, it is a really nice space to play in. Peter, the sound man, bar man and general good egg, works wonders, and although the audience is generally modest in size, it comprises real fans who frequently travel some distance to make the gig, often players themselves, who want to hear you play your best. There is no ‘well impress us, then’, simply a wonderfully good humoured, friendly and supportive crowd. It is a very positive playing experience.

The Vortex was great fun. The place was packed and we sold loads of CDs after the gig! John reckoned that it was a Vortex record for CD sales but I take that with a pinch of salt! We were very well received and it was an excellent end to the tour. Here’s to the next one - our 10th!!  

Another feline photo for you. Although my friend Frances Meadows is not strictly a musician, she is a long standing jazz fan living in Paris with her two cats Wolfie and Dylan (named after Wolfgang Amadeus and Mr Zimmerman respectively) and when she sent me this great picture, how could I resist? Apparently, Wolfie is refined and elegant, whilst Dylan is generally noisy and out of control! 

2007 marked the passing, at the age of 78, of Rod Marshall, my longest standing friend in jazz. Rod was unique. He was a flautist and the licensee of the Anchor Inn in Brighouse and ran  jazz and folk evenings at the pub. He also ran a big band. In the 1960’s and 70’s, he was a kind of northern Ronnie Scott, bringing major national and international artists to the Anchor and to other venues in Brighouse, including Stephane Grappelli and Joe Harriott. He also supported up and coming British artists. I well remember seeing a wonderful concert by the Frank Ricotti Quartet, featuring John Taylor, Chris Laurence and Bryan Spring, a rare event at that time in Brighouse! As they also said of Martin Peters, Rod was 20 years ahead of his time.

Rod gave me my first experience of jazz playing and has always encouraged my music: he and Phyllis came to my gigs when they could. In recent years, he took up playing blues piano and gigged, enthusiastically and successfully, well into his 70’s.  Sadly, Rod suffered a good deal of ill health, but never lost his love of the music. He began to create a written history of the Anchor Inn and invited me to make a contribution, which I was delighted to do. Unhappily, Rod was unable to complete the project.

As a small tribute to a remarkable man, I set out below my fond memories of Rod and the Anchor, together with photographs of the concert given by the Anchor Big Band at the Ritz, Brighouse with special guest Harold McNair. Geoff Lorriman, now known for his excellent bass playing, is playing trumpet and the percussion section consists of Mike Ledgard and Denny Morris. I am the geek playing guitar! If any of you recognise the other band members, I shall be very happy to give further credits.

 My good friend and fine trombonist, Peter Maguire, was a regular at the Anchor in those days and he has kindly donated two photos of gigs at the Anchor, one of him playing with Johnny Beaumont and the other of him working with the Big Band with special guest Ronnie Ross, the great baritone saxophonist. Jack Airey, trumpet, Steve Devine, tenor saxophone and Joe Markey, alto saxophone, can also be seen. 

God bless you Rod, we miss you.  

MEMORIES OF THE ANCHOR

The Anchor Inn at Brighouse holds a special place in my heart. I first discovered it when, as an eighteen year old reared on rock and pop, but with an emerging but immature interest in jazz, I dropped in one lunchtime for a drink with my parents. I got chatting to Rod and he immediately took an interest in me and invited me to come down and sit in with the band. In those days, I was a guitarist and my playing experience was limited to imitating the small groups of the day. Playing in the Anchor Big Band was a revelation. I became part of a band with an established rhythm section, the Graham Lockwood Trio, and the sensation of playing in such a large and vibrant ensemble, boasting the likes of Geoff Lorriman on trumpet, was akin to being swept along by a tidal wave. It was the most exhilarating musical experience of my life.

 I was made so welcome by seasoned musicians who, although they plainly recognised my rawness, nevertheless realised that I had huge enthusiasm and a desire to soak up all the influences that such a band presented. The funky power of pieces such as Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight” and the deep swing of “Take the A Train” still stay with me in almost tangible form. It was a wonderful Master Class that took place each Monday night for the several months between me leaving school and going up to University. The highlight of my time in the band was undoubtedly the concert given at the Ritz with special guest Harold McNair, a world-renowned flautist and alto saxophonist. Sadly, McNair was suffering from cancer that claimed his life shortly after the gig, but he still honoured that playing commitment in Yorkshire. I recall the night as being very special and I still have a photograph from the event – a photograph that I cherish. The lowlight was the Krumlin Festival, at which the band was to open up the Sunday lunchtime but which was washed out by torrential rain on the Saturday night! I did, however, enjoy working at Rod’s hot beans stall! In addition to being an excellent flautist and presenting jazz at the Anchor, Rod also promoted gigs at other venues in the town and I vividly recall attending concerts, put on by Rod, given by Don Rendell and Frank Ricotti. I still have an LP, “Our Point of View”, signed by Frank, John Taylor, Chris Lawrence and Bryan Spring, that I bought at the Ricotti gig!   The Anchor Big Band undoubtedly laid the foundation for my life-long love of, and involvement with, jazz music and Rod Marshall was as inspiring and generous a teacher as anyone could have had. 

One of the most enjoyable gigs that I’ve done this year has been as a dep for Jenni Molloy in Tina Featherstone’s trio. Tina, a very accomplished saxophonist and clarinettist, has a regular fortnightly gig at the Brasserie in Harrogate. I’ve done it a couple of times this autumn and have had a great time.

The Brasserie is an excellent restaurant and has regular jazz nights. The patrons clearly come for the music as well as the food and are very appreciative. We play a nice mixture of standards, bossas and the odd tango! The playing area is very cosy and makes a shoebox look spacious! Nevertheless, it is a really fun gig and I look forward to more in the future.

Below are a couple of photos from the gig just before Christmas. Andy Chollerton is the pianist. He is a superb musician. We hadn’t played together for some time and it was really good to work with him again . On the bossas, Andy has a neat trick. He plays piano with one hand and a little egg shaker thingy with the other. The only disappointment was that there were no egg shaker thingy solos! 

Good to have some sex appeal on the blog at last (and I don’t mean Andy or I!) Happy New Year!

As promised, here is another collection of catty pictures. Steve and Heather Lodder are serious cat lovers and have contributed photos of Belle and Lily, whom I have met and adore. We also have an image of Mimi, much loved but sadly, no longer with us. Aren’t they gorgeous? Thank you Steve and Heather. More musicians’ cats in due course!

Belle Lodder

Lily Lodder

Mimi Lodder

For nearly five years, I ran a Quartet featuring Steve Waterman. The other two musicians were wonderful young players from Manchester, Stuart McCallum on guitar and Dave Walsh on drums. I had worked with Walshy in Rod Mason’s band for several years and when I was putting the Quartet together, he was the obvious choice, being wonderfully musical, tasteful yet powerful, as well as being a thoroughly good egg!

Dave recommended Stuart. They were great friends and Dave said that Stu, although only 25, was already a great player. He was right. The band gelled from the start and we had some excellent gigs over the years. All the guys committed themselves fully to the band and I rarely had to use deps. Because of that, we developed into a real band, instead of the collection of individuals that jazz groups sometimes become.

We made two albums and toured, promoting the albums with Jazz Services’ support. After the last tour in October 2004, Dave decided that he wanted to concentrate on other projects and didn’t feel that he could continue to give the same commitment that hitherto he had. I was sad but understood his position and respected him for being so straight forward.

We have worked together since and are still good friends. The Quartet has worked since with Peter Fairclough and Matt Home, both wonderful players who brought something new to the band. I am ‘resting’ the band at present, focussing on other projects, including Threeway and Chain Reaction. No doubt the band will reappear in the future.

I do have fond memories of that original line up, however, and am so grateful for all the fantastic music making with Steve, Stu and Walshy. I have included a photo of Walshy’s last gig with the band at the Silkstone Festival near Barnsley in June 2005. It was a very happy gig and a fitting way for Walshy to take his leave.