God Bless The Child – Jazz Jam at the Alibi, Friday 20th April

We had a great night at the Alibi, Hove, last Thursday, with a whole host of performers and a loudly appreciative audience. We began with singer Jenny Dee and some 30’s songs, including Why Don’t You Do Right, the slight crackle from the badly set-up pa (my fault!) adding to the pre-war feel. Mark Lanahan gave us That’s Why The Lady Is A Tramp, Kirsty Saunders followed with Sunny Side Of The Street and Cry Me A River (great to see the both of you back), and Ali Dolloso sang Ain’t Misbehavin’. Flautist Sarah Monk joined singer Fiona Bennet for a couple of songs, including Detour Ahead, a lovely tune I wasn’t familiar with. Sarah joined myself, Darryl Boon, and David Thomas, trying out a new song before his tour of the States, and Kiersty Boon showed again what a good combination her poetry and a jazz band is. It was good to have Steve Early back on Sax, and he raised the roof with some great playing. He stayed up to accompany singer Sam Chara and they performed a genuinely moving version of God Bless The Child, along with Caravan and ‘Round Midnight. Finally, before we went into the open jam, Rebecca Wheatley, gave us an upbeat, lung-busting All Of Me. Big thanks to the band, James Farebrother (piano), Oli Vincent (bass) and Gianni Greco (drums) for tirelessly supporting the acts throughout the evening. I don’t have any news yet of upcoming events, but watch this space!

It don’t mean a thing – Alibi Jam, 15th March 2012

Our biggest night yet at the Alibi, and what a great evening it was, with a whole host of performers, some great music and real variety throughout. It’s a particular thrill to have performers from other genres doing their thing with a jazz band – I hesitate to say ‘contemporary’ genres as I’d get hammered for suggesting that jazz isn’t contemporary, but you know what I mean. We’ll announce the date of the next jam as soon as we can.

Our contributors yesterday evening were:

David Thomas is a big favourite of the jam and has always been happy to take time out when he can from his busy schedule to support us. Once again, he happily cussed the band until he got the sound he wanted, and was ably supported once again by Sarah Monk (flute), with Patrick Knowles (guitar) and John Hodge (guitar).

John was new to the jam and put in a really good shift through the evening. Patrick, who’s another staunch supporter of the jam and responsible for the excellent photos on this blog, got together with Andre Pallat in the break and they entertained us with some guitar duets. Sarah and Fiona Bennet (vocals) performed a couple of numbers for us – this was the second time Fiona has sung at one of our jams and it was a very confident and assured performance.

Kiersty Boon gave a medley of four of her poems with the band improvising freely, featuring John Hodge again on a bluesy guitar. It’s worth checking out the Unusual Suspects open mic evening at the Alibi on Saturday 24th March which Kiersty’s hosting with Alan Mars, the jam’s special advisor on Caledonian matters – should be a really fun evening.

Ali Dolloso (vocals) was also debuting at the jam and she gave a very attractive, contemporary feel to My Funny Valentine.

Annie Lightly (vocals) and Rob Andrew (alto sax) performed Fly Me To The Moon in what was essentially a “Brighton Jazz Musicians’ Co-Op Executive Committee” line-up (not quite the same ring as Sgt. Pepper’s….) – if you want some jazz tuition by some of the UK’s most prominent jazz artists and educators, check out the Co-Op; they meet on Tuesdays at the Open House in Springfield Road, next to London Road Railway station.

Ah, bliss! A trombonist, Fergus Paton, who I immediately press-ganged into performing a trad version of Sweet Georgia Brown with me on clarinet. It’s always a lot of fun doing the old style, and popular with the audience, too; however, it does annoy the modernists who can be quite vitriolic in their views on trad jazz music and musicians, and this of course is an added incentive for playing it! Fergus did a great job, and was joined later by a veteran Alibi jammer, Ian Anderson (guitar) for Our Love Is Here To Stay.

Pete Wells (clarinet) finally appeared from the back room where he’d been watching the second half of Manchester City’s Europa League game (I ask you! – he said he could still hear the music though), and performed Topsy with the band.

Towards the end of the evening, we were treated to Alicia Bodnar (vocals), another first-timer at the Alibi jam, with a lovely version of Everything Happens To Me, and she was followed by Alison Boston singing Ain’t Misbehavin’.

I finished the evening on clarinet with the band – James Farebrother (piano), Oli Vincent (bass), Gianni Greco (drums) – and a version of It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing); I asked Gianni for Gene Krupa and we got the most fantastic, crashing 32 bar drum intro, which set us up for some rip-roaring, fast 30’s swing which had a few people up and dancing and brought the evening to a close with a bang.

A big thank you to everyone who came to listen, play and sing at the Alibi – see you again soon.

Jazz Jam at the Alibi, Hove – 1st March 2012

It was a very cosy atmosphere last Thursday evening at the Alibi, with a gaggle of guitarists (I think that’s the correct term) and some fine music. We’ll keep you posted on when the next one will be. Thanks to all the contributors at the last jam: James Farebrother (piano), Oli Vincent (bass), Gianni Greco (drums),  Darryl Boon (clarinet), David Thomas (vocals), Pete Wells (clarinet), Terry Pack (bass), Andre Pallat (guitar), Patrick Knowles (guitar), Ian Anderson (guitar), Kiersty Boon (poet), Sam Arts (guitar), Alison Boston and Eva (vocals) – you’re all welcome back any time. This time, I’ll let these great pictures from Patrick Knowles (www.patrickknowlesdesign.com) tell the story.

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Jazz Jam at the Alibi, Hove – 16th February 2012

Jazz singers and instrumentalists tend to be different breeds: singers are keen to connect with the audience and engage them by direct eye contact, whereas the more introvert instrumentalists, perhaps as a result of the years of solitary practice it takes to reach a basic level of proficiency, tend to shun the spotlight. So when we were moved to the side of the substantial central pillar which holds up the Victorian pile of brick and lime mortar which is the Alibi, the fruit machine provided a haven behind which the musicians’ quest for anonymity could be indulged. Of course, there wasn’t a lot of choice over where to stand owing to the limited space, but from much of the audience’s viewpoint, as the singer was commanding the room, the fruit machine was chipping in throughout the evening with some great solos.

But, as Sonny Rollins probably said, there are pros as well as cons. From a playing point of view, the acoustics behind the fruit machine were magnificent, a kind of Wigmore Hall in a bar room; as a clarinetist, it was almost life-affirming to be able to dispense with the mic and play acoustically for a change. Another benefit was that the instrumentalists, relieved of the necessity of facing the mic and audience, could see the band and this helped make it much more of a collaborative playing experience.

The band, James Farebrother (piano), Oli Vincent (bass) and Giovanni Greco (drums) with myself on clarinet, kicked off the evening with a couple: Charlie Mingus’ Nostalgia in Time Square and an old Trad number, Bob Carleton’s Ja-Da (written in 1918 but most famously recorded by Louis Prima – Sonny remade it later as Doxy), which I threw in to be mischievously provocative but which actually turned out to be a hit with the band. Alex Tierney took over with some fantastic sax playing on Just Friends and All of Me, and Joe Sharpstone played a lovely version of Everything Happens To Me on Piano. Alison Boston sang Summertime and the Gerry Mulligan tune, Line for Lyons, and she’d been joined by Rob Andrew with some powerful and fluent sax solos in sharp-infested keys.

After the break, we were given a treat as the quartet of Py (sax), Alice Hawkes (piano), Isaac Murray (bass) and Corrado Bargione (drums) took to the stage. They don’t have a name yet, so I suggested something Brighton-related, such as the Pavilion Quartet, but Py thought this too much like cricket, so we introduced them rather garishly as the Royal Pavilion Quartet – I don’t think they’ll keep it, somehow. They did their own medley arrangement of All The Things You Are and Softly As In A Morning Sunrise, and played them with a very classy, cool sound. Pete Wells and I ripped it up with a clarinet duet on It Had To Be You and St James Infirmary; Pete’s an avowed modernist but as you can see from his song choices, I’m gradually and surreptitiously winning him over. We were very lucky to have guitarist Patrick Knowles back with us, and he did a very pretty and contemporary version of the Django Reinhardt Gypsy swing classic, Nuages, and stayed with the band as we moved into the open jam which took us happily through to the close.

And when all was done and the equipment packed up, the fruit machine, so accustomed to being abused by frustrated punters but now revelling in its new role as acclaimed jazz multi-instrumentalist, gave a happy electronic gurgle and flashed a row of plums; now, if we horn-blowers could learn to do that….

“Monk meets Rocket From the Tombs” – 26th January Jazz Jam at the Alibi

Phew! A packed Alibi enjoyed a great evening of live jazz yesterday evening. It was fantastic to see so many of you there, and a big thank you to everybody who got up and performed. Once again, the talents of James Farebrother (piano), Oli Vincent (bass) and Giovanni Greco (drums) made the whole evening come together beautifully. We’re pleased to announce the next jam at the Alibi on

Thursday 16^th February 2012 at 8.30pm

There were more singers this time which was nice to see: Kirsty Saunders and Lizzy Boyd sung an upbeat version of All of Me and Paper Moon (speaking as a clarinetist, it’s fabulous to hear some straight-ahead swing) and there were also contributions from Annie Lightly on Night & Day, some blues from Alison Boston, and Mark Lanahan suppressed his full operatic tenor to give us some great Gershwin. We also heard Fiona Bennet, who was singing for the first time at a jam and did a great job with Autumn Leaves. We were very lucky to have some more incredible instrumentalists along on Thursday: John Harris put in a long shift with the band on guitar, and we had two amazing sax players, Mark Abel and Steve Early, contributing great solos throughout the evening. One of the many highlights in the evening was Mark with a blistering interpretation of Duke Ellington’s Caravan, featuring an exhilarating duet of Neil Bogart on congas and Giovanni Greco on drums, and which got one of the loudest cheers of the evening.

Another first-timer was Sarah Monk with some beautiful flute-playing on the Freddie Hubbard standard, Little Sunflower. David Thomas was impressed enough to invite Sarah up for some free-jazz accompaniment to his song, good-humouredly addressing her as “Whatever your name is, I don’t care”! We’d been joined by then by the fabulous Alice Hawkes, taking over from James on piano, Chaims Hamza on bass and Corrado Bargione on drums (yes , it’s an Italian thing), and the band made a great sound. Kiersty Boon gave us her own very witty and risqué Food Sex. Alice, Chaims and Corrado were completely nonplussed when Kiersty asked for some ‘50’s adult movie’ accompaniment; all except John Harris that is, who leapt in with a guitar riff that at once seemed right on the money!

So, a thoroughly enjoyable and lively Thursday evening in Hove. We’re still working at getting the perfect balance between an open mic and organic open jam, but we were pleased that again we got that informal, friendly atmosphere we wanted with good variety, and that everybody who wanted to play or sing got a chance to do so. See you on the 16^th!

Darryl

First Jazz Jam

I’m happy to say that our first jam at the Alibi yesterday evening was a great success, hugely enjoyed by a great turnout considering the short notice at which it was arranged, and thanks for all your appreciative comments. We can confirm that our next jazz jam at the Alibi will take place on:

Thursday, 26^th January at 8.30pm

It was exactly the intimate, informal atmosphere we’d hoped to create, with some great playing, and those singers and musicians who had just come to listen and check us out were encouraged to have a go next time. A feature of the evening was the variety of jazz being played, reminding us that it is an art form which encompasses many different styles.

As we were all set up and ready to go, we started the evening a little earlier than planned with James Farebrother on piano, Oli Vincent on electric bass and Giovanni Greco on drums, and they were joined by myself, Darryl Boon, on clarinet to play through some standards whilst Chris Hamilton manned the mixer and played around with sound levels: a big thanks to teacher Chris for dashing home at the end of his late class to pick up some mics and help us out.  We had a nice acoustic feel with the amplification, with people able to listen comfortably and talk to their friends without bellowing in each other’s ear.

Next was one of the highlights of the evening. David Thomas of American underground legends, Pere Ubu, stepped up and, showing a healthy disdain for charts, began by giving the band the background of a story for Oli to set up an opening bass line. There was a slight hitch as the band didn’t know what a Coupe de Ville was (they can hardly be blamed for that), but once this was explained Oli began a cool riff which was very much to David’s satisfaction (“Ok, I can buy that”) and David’s soulful singing was only interrupted by him good-humouredly berating the rest of the band in his mock-severe fashion for joining in too early! This could have been something of a cultural shock for the band, but it was pure, spontaneous improvisation which they grasped immediately and they made a great sound.

Patrick Knowles on guitar then joined the band to play a great fast-tempo version of Charlie Parker’s ‘Blues for Alice’, followed by ‘All the Things You Are’, and he continued to do sterling work for the rest of the evening, including a second song by David: I wanted to post this on the blog but unfortunately the sound quality of the recording doesn’t match the actual performance but, as Keith Jarret said, “Jazz is there and gone. It happens. You have to be present for it”.

I joined the guys to play a couple of choruses of the Charlie Parker blues, ‘Billie’s Bounce’, before Chaims Hamza, with a beautifully mellow sound on his fretless electric bass, stepped up to kick off the Miles Davis classic ‘So What’ with that famous opening riff. The musicians had been so into the music that they hadn’t realized they’d been playing for over an hour and half without rest, so I called a break and they finished the first half with ‘On Green Dolphin Street’.

After a much-deserved beer, the guys were keen to press on and we were lucky to have Herb Dixon on alto sax to play ‘Stella By Starlight’ and another Miles Davis song, ‘All Blues’: it’s always nice to hear a sax player for whom it’s more important to make a beautiful sound than it is to startle the wildlife in the surrounding countryside, and it’s no wonder that Herb is now much in demand for local gigs. Next up were the cool, understated, Jimmy Giuffre-inspired tones of Pete Wells on clarinet, and I joined him for a clarinet duo on a bluesy version of the evergreen jazz classic ‘Topsy’.  The impressive Ian Anderson on guitar took over for a great version of ‘Autumn Leaves’ and ‘Girl From Ipanema’, and he impressed me even more by his familiarity with the music of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw!

It’s always good to finish an evening with something really special and we got it. Kiersty Boon read one of her own poems, ‘Bartender Told Me’, while the band improvised ‘something mellow’ in the background. It worked really well and again emphasized jazz as a universal art form. By popular demand, David Thomas did another song, and he and the band produced a fantastic finale to the evening, that really magical moment which can happen when creative minds are fully connected and tuned to each other, as the music reached a feverish intensity and then, abruptly, just stopped: all together, no hand signals, no shared glances, just real musicianship as David used his voice and presence to end the song exactly where he wanted it to end. No wonder he was smiling!

The thing that really made the evening work so well, however, were the fantastic talents of James Farebrother, Oli Vincent and Giovanni Greco. They were all untiringly producing some really tight music and great solos throughout the evening and a big thank you to them.

It was nice to see people from the Brighton Jazz Musicians Co-Operative, Geoff Simkins’ workshops and graduates of the Chichester jazz courses catching up with each other. We want to encourage variety and all musicians are welcome, whether it’s your first time at this kind of thing, whether you are into modern jazz, free jazz, or old New Orleans style, and we love to see different instruments up there as well as singers.

That’s all. See you on Thursday 26^th Jan for the next one.