What's on (and has been on) at the club.

This just in from Club Secretary Geoff Mullett

Let them eat cake...and they did! 50 members and guests tucked into Frank Baker’s birthday cake at the Jazz Club last night – nice cake, but oh! The icing was so sweet it made my teeth itch!

A lovely evening, with the Queen Street Band lead by Peter Surfleet playing some great jazz. Frank is 90 today, so ‘happy birthday’ from all our 180 members!

It was a pity that the threat of bad weather deterred some of our regulars from getting to the Club, but it’s a testament to their love of the Club and the music played, that they are prepared to travel such great distances – our members are scattered from London to Worcestershire to Yorkshire. Thanks to all who helped last night, cake serving, running the raffle, collecting glasses and recycling the bottles; and of course Fred, who works tirelessly organising the bands each week.

There are some interesting new photos on our web site. I recently discovered some old pics of the South Wold band on another web site and have posted them on the archive page http://www.louthjazzclub.org.uk/mysteryphotos.html If anyone has any information on dates, musicians etc, please let me know.

On the gallery page, there are a few photos from last night, plus one of Barbara Dickson. Barbara is patron of the Club, and hired the club room last week for her and her band to rehearse for her UK tour that starts tonight in Watford. It was all very hush-hush and none of us got to hear any of the music, but we did get a photo of her and the band (all accomplished musicians in their own right). We had planned to ask her for a dress rehearsal for club members, but when we saw the amount of equipment they brought with them, that idea quickly vanished!

We have a feast of jazz for you this coming week. The Easy Riders return to their usual 1st Thurs of the month spot, then on Saturday, we have something a bit special - The Hammond-Clarke Sextet. Brian Clarke and Malcolm Hammond are well known in Louth, Grimsby and Cleethorpes, Brian as the leader of the popular New Riverside Band, Malcolm as the leader of the Gentle Jazz group. The two musicians have recently joined forces to play Mainstream jazz, with the accent on playing the music of one of jazz's greatest composers, Duke Ellington. The group consists of cornet and valve trombone, alto and tenor saxophones, piano (Peter Tabois, well known at our club), guitar, bass and drums. This will be special opportunity to hear a band full of very capable musicians getting together to play music of high quality, and of a type not heard often enough in Lincolnshire. Usual admission prices; expect a full-house!

Finally, if the lady who arrived home last night with one very cold hand would like to contact me, I will reunite her with the navy glove she dropped on the stairs.

Geoff.