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 8th. 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 9th 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