May News 2025

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Narberth Jazz News, June 2025

Greetings Jazz Lovers,

I wonder if you were aware of the important cultural event that took place in the town last Saturday. I was vaguely aware that the high street would be closed, but not that a parade of druids, dignitaries and dandy’s  would be going round for the inauguration of this year’s national Eisteddfod.  They marched to the beat of young brass band, which reminded me of our project which is currently abandoned to create a youth band here. It proved to be beyond our capabilities last year despite an encouraging meeting of young players in Haverfordwest last March with Jazz Explorers, including guitarist James Chadwick and Tomos Williams.

Tomos is  the trumpeter who we feature at The Plas on Friday 30th. May.

The National Youth Jazz Wales is an ambitious new partnership between Jazz Explorers Cymru, National Youth Arts Wales and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, supported by the Arts Council of Wales and National Music Service Wales. Together, they aim to build a new talent development programme to inspire and support young jazz musicians throughout Wales.

https://www.nyaw.org.uk/jazz

I am sure Tomos will have more news on this when his trio plays for us later this month on FRIDAY 39th May

Our June jazz night features Llandjango, a name which includes a clue that you might recognise as Manouche music played by Welsh people. In fact four talented chaps from Cardigan area with guitars, bass and a fiddle playing the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephan Grappelli   Find them on Facebook (1) Facebook

Your committee is currently planning for the annual Garden Party at Lampeter House, which will take place on Sunday 20th July with 2 great bands and maybe a mystery guest spot?. If you have time to spare we could do with a hand. Please volunteer at the box office when you next come to a show. Thank you.

  • The festival season is already upon us with London and Cheltenham already in the past. We can look forward to
  • Brecon 8-10 August, Swanage 11th – 13th July,
  • Swansea International Jazz Festival September 4th, 5th, 6th & 7th.
  • Aberjazz Fishguard 21st-25th. August.

We welcomed back the Dick Hamer quartet with singer Jenny Jones to the Plas Hotel Narberth on 17th of April. Dick Hamer is a wonderfully fluent tenor sax soloist with a big, round, warm tone on the instrument. He names his three main tenor sax influences as Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane and Joe Henderson. Jenny Jones is a talented jazz vocalist who has performed with Dick Hamer many times as well as singing with the Capital City and the Morriston Big Bands, to name but a few..

We also welcome back from last month’s superb  Narberth Jazz event ‘Trunk of Funk’, Dave Jones on piano. With the foundation rhythm accompanists  of Alan Vaughn – bass and Nick Hislam – drums to complete the line up.

So to the opening set which set the pattern for the evening. Starting with Wayne Shorter’s “Yes or No”, then the “Recado Bossa Nova” Next up it was Jenny Jones’s turn with a couple of Big Band numbers “All of Me” and Hoagy Carmichaels evergreen  “Georgia” Then on to the instrumentals compositions of Lee Morgan (of “The Sidewinder” fame) with a trip to Salsa territory ‘Ceora’, with the quartet bouncing ideas and solo’s for our delight. Back to Jenny with Peggy Lee’s  “Do right” then “Smile” and “Bluesette” The Quartet got really stuck into “Star Eyes” and then the closer “Cherokee” Altogether a wonderful evening of musicianship and entertainment

As passing note we had a lot more younger people in our audience at this event. We also tried to make the Plas room more like a jazz club with subdued lighting and even table lamps!!

That’s all for now from —

Narberth Jazz team