NEWSLETTER   MAY 2023

Hello lovely Jazzophiles,

Belated Beltane greetings from the beating heart of Narberth. We hope you have enjoyed a month of fabulous melody and sanctified soul.

The April gig with Simon Spillett was a stunner as you will know if you were there. We were treated to a torrent of saxophone improv from a master of be bop. Sharp suited Simon’s devotion to the music of Tubby Hayes was in evidence from the first number to the very end. His fleet fingered variations on all the tunes kept us all on tip toe, especially the JG Trio who had to work hard to keep up on the fast tempo’s Simon set for most numbers. John Paul Garde who was guesting on piano and Bass player Ollie Blanchflower rose magnificently to the challenge and they made a marvellous racket.

This month’s gig sees the return of the Coltrane Dedication Quintet who were very well received here last year, with many requests for a rebooking and this is it!     Thursday 18^th. May.

Coltrane Dedication is co-led by the twin saxophones of Lyndon Owen and Caractacus Downes, both based around Monmouth. These two are the only constants in a pool of musicians that has included bassists Ashley John Long, Dominic Lash, Aidan Thorne, Erika Lyons, Bill Fletcher, Dane Cronenberg and Steve Tarner, pianists Dave Jones, Paul Jones, John Paul Gard, Mark Latimer, Mike Collins and Lynn Thomas and drummers Ian Poole, Iolo Whelan, Mark O’Connor, Greg Evans and Bob Duck.

Here they are on home ground https://youtu.be/30Id4IFoNL0

Always a profound evening, the intensity of the dynamic between these five players produces a single entity whose unity and trust in each other is palpable.

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Coming up at Narberth Jazz

22^nd June. Dick Hamer’s Jazz Passengers with singer Jenny Jones

Narberth Jazz proudly present for your delight Dick Hamer’s Jazz Passengers with singer Jenny Jones. This is a 7 piece group comprising Sax, Trumpet, Trombone, Piano, Bass and Drums accompanying one of our favourite singers Jenny Jones. This will be on Thursday 22^nd June at the Plas hotel Narberth Doors 7:30

20^th July . 7 Steps to Heaven, Tomos Williams pays homage to Miles.

5^th August. Our famous Garden Party at Lampeter House with 2 of the best bands around.

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Around About Dusk are a fascinating group of young players from Bristol area   https://youtu.be/OnQvmqOVZv4

One of the many minor names in jazz history who deserve a little more attention is trombonist Jimmy Cleveland who played with Lionel Hampton and Quincy Jones in the fifties. In 1955 he made this lovely record under his own name. https://youtu.be/0kbwFUHX8BM

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Aberjazz has The Nuadha Quartet on Friday 2nd June in Peppers

On Thursday 8th June in Ffwrn Afternoon in Paris

Tenby Jazz has the Haines-Davies Quintet playing  on 11^th June

That’s all until we meet again under the sign of the swinging cymbal. Good luck and good listening.

President Connolly takes a bow.

After over 65 years of involvement in organising live music events Declan Connolly has now accepted the honorary title as President of Narberth Jazz..

His enormous contribution to making things happen in Narberth goes back to 1987 when he was part of the group that organised free children’s festivals on the Town Moor for ten marvellous years featuring No Fit State Circus, Benjamin Zephania, Nik Turner and countless others. Eventually he led Span Arts to promote many art events at The Queens Hall and was elected to be the first Manager after the 1992 refurbishment. Due to a huge building overspend he led the appeal to raise £80k to complete the transformation of the hall to a fully equipped multi use venue and art gallery. As Manager of Span Arts for 30 years he founded the famous Plant Sale, The Acapella festival and Spanjazz to provide first class monthly jazz concerts. These included Alan Barnes, Andy Shepard and Tim Garland. In 2021 the Jazz was separated from Span Arts and became Narberth Jazz which continues at the Plas Hotel every month.

Declan has accepted the honorary title as President of Narberth Jazz. Ben Morris, Chair of Narberth Jazz said ‘Declan has been the focus of performance art in Narberth for decades and responsible for bringing famous names to the Queens Hall through the 1980’s to 2001, as well as continuing enthusiasm for music in general’. These included storytelling, puppetry, and theatre as well as music. Folk stars Martin and Eliza Carthy along with Dave Swarbrick and Robin Williamson being featured. African and world music was a particular interest of his and during the ‘90’s  The Bhundu Boys, Quatre Etoile, Santana Mondolay and many more played on the stage.

With Todd Sharpeville he brought many famous bluesmen and women to Narberth and went on to work with Chris Osborne and Malcolm Cawley to found the Tenby Blues Festival. Later he helped found Narberth Food festival and always included a chance for performers to display their talents. Many people remember Nils Lofgren and Richie Havens were among the high light concerts he organised.

The Narberth Jazz next event featuring Simon Spillett with John Gibbon is on the 20^th April at the Plas Hotel, Narberth, will likely see Declan with his usual smile to welcome to all.

Declan is proud to accept the title saying ‘What an honour! I am pleased to see Narberth Jazz going from strength to strength and will be doing everything I can to help the organisation into the future.’

It is worth adding that his partner Maggie Moss has been a continuing stalwart support by the side of the new President

Spring Greetings Jazz lovers,

We can look forward to a season of great live jazz in Narberth. We started well with the free improv of Duski in February, contrasting with the highly arranged music of Kenny Garrett with Dave Jones’ Quintet last month and now star saxman Simon Spillett with John Gibbon Trio, this month with John Paul Gard on piano.

Over his twenty-five year career Simon Spillett has worn almost as many hats as it’s possible to wear within jazz; multi-award-winning instrumentalist (BBC Jazz Awards, British Jazz Awards, Jazz Journal’s Album of The Year), quartet and big band leader, recording artist, author, historian, record producer, archivist, magazine columnist, Social Media commentator and latterly blogger.

However, for all these varied skills he identifies most strongly as a powerfully swinging, straight-ahead tenor saxophonist, one capable of taking the audiences who hear him on a roller-coaster ride encompassing everything from energetic bebop to heartfelt balladry.

A charismatic performer, gifted with a dry observational wit, he’s never lost sight of the fact that jazz is entertainment as much as self-expression and whether playing, writing or articulately holding forth on his favourite subject – UK jazz history – he’s an infectiously passionate communicator.

We are proud to have him here to play for us on Thursday 20^th April order your tickets via the website at an early date www.narberthjazz.wales/events

18 May  23       John Coltrane

22 June 23       Jazz Passengers

13 July 23        Thomas Williams Seven Steps

5 August 23      Garden Party – an afternoon/evening at Lampeter House. Music tba

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Other Jazz in the Shire

Tenby Jazz brunch is on 16th April with The Keith Little Trio and Jane Williams

Aberjazz Fishguard has Huw Warren & Iain Bellamy on March 31^st but you have missed the boat as it is now sold out.   Here is a nice link to a Huw Warren solo for home enjoyment  https://youtu.be/wbI-r-Up6-k

Jazz in the Village. Saturday 29^th April

At Longstone Community Hall -Ludchurch (SA67 8JG)

Part of Ian Miller and Dominic Spencer’s UK tour  www.millarandspencer.co.uk

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Jazz on the media

Wayne Shorter died on 2^nd March and Jazz record requests on Radio 3 has a tribute edition on Sunday 26^th. March https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001bs8x

In the heady days when David Attenborough was in charge at BBC2 we had Jazz 625, a weekly live jazz programme, often introduced by Humphrey Lyttleton. These days Jazz on TV is a rare thing but last Friday BBC 4 had a documentary about Ottilie Patterson who oldies will remember singing with Chris Barber in the 1950’s.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001ht97

Be warned, Chris Barber comes out of it badly.

Scrolling through the suggestions on YouTube, I came across this fascinating radio programme on Art Tatum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G4wtPG33Ss from 1991.

To celebrate women’s history month, Blossom Dearie https://youtu.be/4hGjzuXchGg

We would like to expand our core group of volunteers so if you have any time to spare to keep live music going, please let us know info@narberthjazz.wales

‘That’s All Folks’

Declan on behalf of the NJ team

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Early January News from Narberth Jazz

Greetings Jazz people,

Welcome and may we wish you a Happy New Year, one we hope will be better than 2022.

This will be a slightly abbreviated newsletter as your Event Organiser Declan is going on holiday for a well-deserved rest and recuperation break.

Our Christmas event with the Constellation Big Band at the Queens Hall really went with a swing and was enjoyed by a good crowd of participants.

Now; our first event for 2023 was Dick Hamer’s Jazz Passengers with singer Jenny Jones  on Thursday 19^th January at the Plas

Saxophonist Dick Hamer has been a leading figure on the jazz scene for a number of years and leads this stellar band featuring Trumpeter Gethin Liddington, Trombonist Phil Jarvis with a rhythm section of Paul Shepherd drums Ashley John Long Double Bass, and Richard West piano. They are graced with an experienced singer in Jenny Jones.

Dick Hamer’s career to date has been mainly as a performer and teacher on sax, clarinet and flute, ranging from jazz, with his own ensembles from quartet up to big band, and appearances with various leading UK and USA players, (Bobby Shew, Stan Tracy, Loren Schonberg, Lew Tabackin) to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as plenty of varied broadcasting, recording and theatre work. He has previously served as musical director of the Welsh Jazz Orchestra, and in the mid 80’s founded and directed the successful South Glamorgan youth jazz. He has always composed and arranged for his own and other ensembles, and recently decided to expand on this by writing pieces for publication. Some people will remember Ashley John long as the bass player featured recently here with the trio Yetii. A great evening’s musical entertainment is assured from this excellent band

Discography below: –
www.discogs.com/artist/642209-Richard-Hamer

Go direct here to get your tickets The Jazz PassengersNarberth Jazz

or call on our new number 07551 793388

Please put the following dates in your Diaries:

Friday 24^th February 2023 the exiting DUSKI – at the Plas Hotel

Thursday 16^th March 2023 – Dave Jones Quintet again at the Plas Hotel

Lots more events to follow in 2023

Thank you from the Narberth Jazz team

Please don’t forget to update your 2023 Membership at:-

Membership Renewal 2023Narberth Jazz

For new and returning Members

Please go to the website and fill in the Membership form at –

Membership | Narberth Jazz This  will allow us to contact you legally for information and updates as required.

You may then pay By visiting our website www.narberthjazz.wales

Click on Events/Tickets and Membership Renewal and “Get Tickets” which will allow secure Card payment.

Or if you prefer pay by BACS transfer to:- HSBC bank, Narberth Jazz,

Sort Code 40-23-21. Account Number 11620630

November News updates from Narberth Jazz.

Greetings Jazz people,

Welcome to the winter Newsletter, which has to start with an apology. We have been having trouble with our phone supplier and find that we have not been able to hear or respond to calls for some time – so sorry if you have been calling us. To resolve this issue we have had to change our contact number to 07551 793388. We love to hear from you on any subject so do call us. Tickets are best ordered online as usual, but if that’s not convenient for you, we can take telephone orders.

Now on to our special winter event. Which will be in the local community venue the Queens Hall on Thursday 8th December.

This will feature the premier West Wales big band, The Constellation Big Band. You may remember that in October 2021 we featured the Tribute to Humphry Lyttleton 10 piece band led by Chris Hodgkins and now we are proud to have this marvellous co-operative unit, who have been playing swing music since the 1970’s, based in Neath. They were featured at Brecon Jazz in the summer and went down a storm on the outside stage.

This party type evening is a rare chance to have a full 16-piece band of experienced players in Narberth. They will not only bring us well known swing tunes but also contemporary songs and Christmassy confections in line with the season. Please bring your family and friends to enjoy a rare treat just before Christmas.

It was a joy to hear the young trio Yetii at our last Plas gig, who kept us attentive to their beautiful original tunes and we gave them a rousing send off after they had encored with Lady Madonna. It was thanks to Ben, our chairperson, who rescued them from a broken-down car in Fishguard and took them to our venue along with their instruments in time to soundcheck.

The rest of the winter programme is now arranged and I think you will enjoy the mix of new and familiar faces we have lined up.

• So on the 19th January sees the debut of singer Jenny Jones with an all-star 6 piece band  led by ace saxman Dick Hamer
• February 24th a Friday night The guitar bass and drum unit DUSKI  https://duskimusic.co.uk/track/simple-song
• Then on March  16th Dave Jones Quintet The tremendous Welsh piano star playing the music of Kenny Garrett.       https://www.davejonesjazz.com/videos

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Tenby Jazz Brunches continue at The Imperial Hotel with Afternoon in Paris on 11th. December.

BBC Four The young Jazz Musician finalists. Fantastically talented young people well worth seeing if you missed it. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b00bb3wt/bbc-young-musician

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Membership

We appreciate the support all of you have given Narberth Jazz over the past year, but we would like more people to become members and help to keep us relevant for the needs of the whole musical and community of Narberth.

Besides getting a discount on all ticketed events members have the warm feeling of supporting a voluntary group, as well as adding spice to the local music scene.

Membership numbers are also very important for our credibility when we look for funding for the projects that we have had to defer at present, so please join up. It’s only £15per year.

There will be a subtle reminder before the new year to encourage you to renew your membership.

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As we said at the top, we love to hear from you on any subject so do get in touch when you feel like it.

Don’t forget your tickets for the Christmas party here https://narberthjazz.wales/event/christmas-party/

Very best Wishes for the season

Declan and the NJ team

Narberth Jazz News for November 2022

Please note our Mobile phone number has changed to 07551 793388

Hello Friends,

Welcome to our November news, as we watch the leaves falling all around us and wait for the official ‘Autumn Statement’ which will tell us how our finances will be impacted by war, climate change and the pandemic, we know it will not be good news but we have the joy of creative music at our monthly gathering to look forward to and take us to a different place.

Our next live show is on the 17th of November, we have a young pianist and composer who is poised on the brink of a glittering career in music with his trio called YETII.  Alex Veitch – piano Ashley John Long – bass Alex Goodyear – drums PLEASE book your tickets now as they are going fast!

He graduated from Cambridge University in 2013 where he played regularly with the Andy Bowie Quartet and went on to study on the Jazz Piano Master’s Program at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying under musicians including Gareth Lockrane, Jason Rebello and Malcolm Edmonstone.

Alex counts Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Fats Waller among his main influences. In his spare time Alex enjoys active pursuits such as running and cycling: a county champion athlete and long distance cyclist from London to Barcelona in summer 2016.The band has been playing together for 5 years, with a monthly residency at The Greenbank in Bristol. They’ve had time to hone their sound and their style is very interactive, with segues between tunes and frequent forays in and out of improvised sections.

Here is a link to an original composition by the band called ‘Summer’: https://youtu.be/v194E3DHzg8

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Inevitably at this time, thoughts turn to Christmas and this year we have an absolute corker of a party lined up at the Queens Hall.  Please book your ticket soon as places are going fast.

Constellation Big Band has been delighting audiences since1973 and was originally known as ‘Joe Berni Dance Band Neath’ Originally filled with musicians who played in bands during the war and post-war years, who came together to once again enjoy the pleasures of playing music that they loved. Over the years, the Band have toured Germany and played at various prestigious venues and have appeared on S4C’s ‘Heno’ TV programme.

Several personnel stayed with this fine Band over the years and they are very proud that a number of fine musicians remain amongst their ranks almost half a century since the beginning alongside the young players who have recently joined the ranks. The band recreates the sounds of music from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Stan Kenton and many more. They also take pride in having a vast array of music to play all genres of musical taste and style. They have two talented and versatile vocalists in Angharad Sanders and Chris Richards, both very experienced big band singers and presenters, under the musical direction of Phil Anthony. This will be the first time in many years that the band have played in Narberth and we can’t wait to enjoy this rare treat.

You can see more about the band here https://www.constellationbigband.co.uk/welcome

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I am still buzzing from the Jazz Promoters Network conference which I went to last week in Belfast. I made some great contacts for the future of Narberth Jazz. Plans for 2023 are well advanced, but we are always open to your recommendations, so please stay in touch.

An important word from the management

Because our only income comes from ticket sales and membership fees, we need to find other sources of income to keep ticket prices down as low as we can. We are considering some form of what is known as ‘Merch’. A tea/coffee mug is favourite among the committee, but it could be a cap or a T-shirt etc. We look to you for your choice before we invest.

We want to feature our logo and a brief, witty, relevant text following it.

Can you reply and tell us what you suggest? There will be a prize for the suggestion that becomes the one we use.  

info@narberthjazz.wales 

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Now a few interesting links for you:

Firstly, London Jazz Festival has a stunning line up and kicks off tomorrow and runs till the 17th.November https://efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/

Tenby Jazz features the Dom Norcross trio with Elaina Hoss next Sunday 13th at The Imperial Hotel https://tenbyjazz.co.uk/

Black Mountain jazz Wall To Wall festival in Abergavenny is coming up soon http://blackmountainjazz.co.uk/

I found a fun group called The Jazz Cannibals on YouTube, see what you think of them  https://youtu.be/rzdCxpXAFwM

The 100 year old BBC continue to cater to us on Saturday and Sunday afternoons on R3 and Jamie Cullum on R2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001dctt

I also found this on World service https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct43qq The Truth about jazz!

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Did you notice the poster images featured here? they are both the work of a talented designer friend of the club based in Preston where he runs a group called Jazzin the Park https://jazzinthepark.uk/

That’s all for now I hope to see you at an event soon

Declan and the NJ Team

October 2022 Jazz News.

Hello and welcome to The October news from Narberth Jazz.

‘More fun than you can shake a stick at’.

(Where did that stick shaking come from).

At least that was what participants told me about our September event which was aimed at widening the jazz audience with the St. Louis Express swing and jive band, who had people dancing from the first number – I’m told. I could not join in the fun because Maggie and I were laid low with a bout of Covid 19 Thankfully we are now over it.

There have been calls for more dance events and there is one in the pipeline for the Christmas Special which will be at the Queens Hall on Thursday 8^th. December with the Constellation Big Band. This band was formed circa 1973 and has been playing continuously since.

The 18 piece band recreates the sounds of the Big Band era with music from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Stan Kenton and many more. They also pride themselves in having a vast array of music to accommodate all genres of musical taste and style.

A recent picture of the front line. I could not find any recent film footage, but this might get you ‘In The Mood’ https://youtu.be/TlRlXk7nk1U

This month’s live event at the Plas will feature a fine Welsh Alto player – Glen Manby.

Glen Manby is an alto saxophonist, composer, and teacher, working primarily in straight ahead modern acoustic jazz.

His main influences are Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, and Cannonball Adderley. He gained an M.A. in Jazz at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and was granted a scholarship to study at a New York music college

He will be playing for us with the indefatigable John Gibbon trio on Thursday 20th October. Tickets  Glen Manby with John Gibbon Trio | Narberth Jazz 

In November we will feature a very talented young pianist – Alex Veitch who is based in Bristol and now calls his trio YETII, a strange name for creative but conventional piano bass and drum group playing Alex’s music. Their debut CD is showcased by this tour. I think you will enjoy their fresh music.

This is ‘Summer’ https://youtu.be/g61NxC9v-Bw

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Tenby Jazz has Moonshine Boulevard on 9^th October. You will need to book lunch at the Imperial hotel. More info here https://tenbyjazz.co.uk/

Sadly the great Pharaoh Sanders passed away recently, so you can find a number of tribute mixes here https://www.mixcloud.com/

I was reminded about the neglected piano master Dave McKenna by this terrific tribute film https://www.pbs.org/video/the-key-man-dave-mckenna-ybiywk/

I recently attended a Zoom meeting with others working in jazz in Wales (Jazz Promoters Network) where guitarist Nigel Price talked about his work in setting up Grassroots Jazz, to help clubs keep going in difficult times. He emphasised the importance of social media in bringing people into clubs.

We are looking for a person who enjoys working with social media to enhance our offering on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. If you have relatives who might like to help, please let us know.

That’s all for now, just a reminder that any comments you have would be welcome via our website or Facebook page which is found by looking for Narberth Jazz.

Declan and the NJ team

September Jazz News

It’s been a busy time in the jazz world since we last met up, with Brecon, Llandeilo and Fishguard festivals, packed with performances. Several of us (the NJ core group) took the A40 for a day at Brecon Jazz, which like ourselves is run entirely by volunteers, and enjoyed a hot day of free music in the town square and the church. We were impressed with the Constellation big band and have since booked them for our December show. Since there are up to 20 players, this will be at the Queens Hall.

Meanwhile back at the chicken shack, we chickens have been busy letting all our friends and relations know about the fabulous Swing and jive dance that is our next date at the Plas. Yes it’s Thursday 15th. and will be quite different to our previous shows. This one will have the dance floor cleared and all the large tables removed and replaced by small tables and lots of chairs!

A chance to dance but – sitting to enjoy the nostalgic music is also an option, there will be enough seating if dancing is not for you.

Click here to get your tickets now www.narberthjazz.wales/events

Click here for a taste of the band  https://youtu.be/80BXB4mQ85U  If you feel like dressing in swing era styles we would be delighted.

We have also been looking ahead so we can promise you an interesting autumn/winter programme with the return of The John Gibbon trio, with Guy Shotton on piano, Ollie Blanchflower on acoustic bass and John on small drum set and caustic comments.

They will be playing on October 20th with star alto sax player Glen Manby.

Glen Manby is an alto saxophonist, composer, and teacher, working primarily in straight ahead modern acoustic jazz. His main influences are Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, and Cannonball Adderley. He gained an M.A. in Jazz at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and was granted a scholarship to study at a New York music college. Glen has had some high profile gigs including the EU European Summit, the Queen’s banquet for the Opening of the Senedd Welsh Parliament, the Opening of the Wales Millennium Centre, and club dates around Britain, as well as gigs in New York, Germany, and Switzerland. In 2015 he was awarded an Arts Council of Wales Project Grant to compose, arrange and record a new repertoire with his recently-formed quintet, featuring Steve Waterman, Leon Greening, Adam King, and Matt Home. The resulting CD, “Homecoming”, is available on the Mainstem jazz label.

Glen has previously taught saxophone at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and was a part-time lecturer in music at the University of South Wales for 12 years. He was visiting jazz saxophone tutor at Cardiff University School of Music 2000-2021.

He will be playing for us with the indefatigable John Gibbon trio on Thursday 20^th October. Tickets here: Glen Manby with John Gibbon TrioNarberth Jazz

You can read about his career here https://www.glenmanby.com/about

and listen to him here https://youtu.be/2Frd_9a6jvs

On November 17th. we will feature a young group from Bristol on tour for their first album. They hail from Bristol where they have made a big splash with a monthly gig at The Greenbank. Alex Veitch, who is the very talented pianist, is a first class emerging artist and we are proud to present his band which is called YETII.

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The next Tenby Jazz Lunch at The Imperial Hotel, on 18th Sep, features the “swinging mainstream vibes with a hint of West Coast low-key coolness” from the Cool Jazz Quartet. Led by Greg Sterland (tenor & baritone sax).

We hope you were able to watch some of the BBC Proms, which I enjoyed, including the South African Jazz prom which was really exciting https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001bcrz

Welcome to the August newsletter from Narberth Jazz

Firstly a big thank you to all who helped to make our second garden party a success, without you we could not have pulled it off. The weather also has to be credited, it was a perfect Pembrokeshire day, and of course, our wonderful hosts Mr. and Mrs Williams who coped with the disruption and fed the crew afterwards.

Please see the Home page for further pictures of the event.

Onwards and upwards to an exciting autumn programme which I hope you will find to be interestingly different.

This month we are back at the Plas hotel, on the last Thursday of August, the 25th. with a great pianist and raconteur, DALE STORR. He became fascinated with the piano styles of New Orleans and has made it his business to bring the joys of ‘The Sounds of New Orleans’ to piano fans of the UK. Inspired by his parents’ record collection of early R’n’B he immersed himself in the evocative music of New Orleans and soon became a sought after pianist for many visiting blues artists. Eventually he immersed himself in the music of his heroes, professor Longhair, James Booker, Alan Toussaint and Dr. John. Eventually he took his show based on this music all around the UK and Europe, and now we can enjoy his acclaimed show, based on those styles.

There is a rolling example of his style on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/tim.aves.7/videos/1510977059322266

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In September we will do something that we have been asked to do for some time, and that is to host a dance event, and oh boy – we have been able to secure the best Swing and Jump Jivers available to take us back to the age of swing and sway – the incredible 7 piece band ST LOUIS EXPRESS.

Full of energy, great entertainment and fun, playing sounds from the Golden era of music 1920’s to early 1960’s. They have developed their sound to suit all ages from playing at various live music venues around the UK. Songs from legends, Ray Charles, Louis Jordan, Dean Martin. Louis Jordan. and plenty of swing classics. Playing Jazz and Swing standards that most people will recognise. They were the resident band for the Peaky Blinders events at Cardiff Depot & Motion Bristol, playing to sell out nights, attracting over 6,000 people. They regularly perform at Vintage festivals, corporate & special events. The band dress in vintage attire to take audiences back in time to the Swing era. They are known for entertaining audiences with infectious uptempo feel good music.

So look out your best vintage gear and get your tickets for this Narberth Jazz dance night at The Plas Hotel on September 15th. The band have a great following in South Wales and you are sure to find your feet heading for the dance floor as soon as they start to play.

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Thursday 20th October we will definitely welcome back the irrepressible John Gibbon trio with special guest, saxophonist GLEN MANBY.

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Lots of summer jazz going on around Wales including Brecon Jazz from 7th.-21st August www.breconjazz.org

Aberjazz Festival in Fishguard  26th – 29th August  has a host of gigs including actual jazz. www.aberjazz.com

Swanseajazz.co.uk has a packed programme  and Jazz in South Wales page

on Facebook has lots of events.

If you use Facebook , please visit our Narberth Jazz page and hit like!

That’s all for now

Declan and the NJ crew