Jazz West Midlands     A site for Jazz Fans in and around the West Midlands
The John Williams Music Festival Click on Buttons to view                                       To contact click here Click on a town for information This site is on Explorer 7	Ironbridge   The Worlds First Iron Bridge which spans the River Severn at Ironbridge in the County of Shropshire.

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It's Holiday Time

Devon Glorious Devon. A spacious 1 Bedroom apartment located in a beautiful country setting six miles from Dartmouth For more details click here. My personal recommendation

Mid Wales A delightful three bedroomed stone cottage (sleeps six) with all facilities inc Sky television. Set in a wonderful location on Cwm Nantcol, situated 2 miles from great sandy beaches nr Harlech. Also available a large static two bedroomed caravan in a private situation Addtionally. there is a caravan and camping site in stunning countryside with newly built washing and toilet facilities. For more details click here Advise you book early.

Bishops Castle Jazz at The Three Tuns Pub Bishops Castle   New Web Page for John Williams http://www.johnwilliamsjazzmusic.com/     The Band Dick Pearce James Hunt click on pictures to enlarge  The Wow Factor On Friday 29th May John Williams and Geoff Grimes presented their band The Wow Factor. What a great wow it was ! They had assembled a band of first class musicians of which they were part. The band was as follows: John Williams baritone, Geoff Grimes hammond organ, James Hunt tenor , Casey Green alto & flute, Dick Pearce trumpet & flugel horn, Lee Jones guitar, Geoff Ockenden bass and Sticky Wickets drums. There was an eclectic mix of music Jazz, Swing, Latin etc and the standard was set with the opening number Crescendo Date and a fine solo by Dick Pearce on flugel horn. The band has a sound which I just do not hear anywhere else, three reeds of quality and a very fine brass. The flute solo of Casey Green was a delight to hear. John Williams, as ever, plays such a fine baritone and is responsible for many of the arrangements.  James Hunt was in fine form and upping the pace on more than one occasion. The rhythm section drove the band from start to finish and was much enhanced by the fine drumming of Sticky Wickets. Geoff Ockenden on bass was in full support. I must mention also the very young unknown guitar player Lee Jones, what a great player this man is and I am sure he will do well in the music world wherever he goes. Lastly, a surprise of the evening with Serena Howard Douglas who gave us some very jazzy vocals such as Flat Foot Flugy and the room just took off !!! Geoff Grimes presented the band and how refreshing it must have been to see such a good and appreciative audience. I hope this will all happen again in the Autumn. It was a great evening Serena Casey Green Lee Jones Geoff Grimes John Williams

The Heart of England Jazz Band. are going to Gran Canaria again and invite you to join them. 28th September - 12th October Bar Marina at Bar Marina Puerto de Mogan, Gran Canaria Phone Dave Smith on 01384 298132 if you would be interested in joining them there They do like to be beside the seaside !!! http://www.hofejazz.co.uk

Roger Marks

Roger Mark's Armada Jazz Band Plymouth Devon If you go to Devon and need some good jazz then do try this fine trad band who play at The Odd Wheel Wembury nr Plymouth most Thursday nights. 01752 862287 We have just had a very good evening with them at The Foxhound Brixton nr Plymouth

John Shillito

Menorca The Jewel in the Med Summers here again and time to book a holiday. Click on my Menorca button for more details. Jazz Fans and Jazzmen there is a great jazz club which meets once each week in the season The Casino San Clemente

I have been a Jazz fan nearly all my life from the early days of Geoffrey Everitt and Radio Luxemburg and the wonderful A.F.N. ( American Forces Network) in Germany. I even built a one valve radio so I could listen to this station late at night. At this time the disc jockey was Moff Moffat and his programme was Midnight in Munich. He played the greatest jazz of that time on V Disc. Woody Herman. Stan Kenton. Benny Goodman and of course Louis Armstrong. If there is anybody who remembers these times and programmes I would be interested to hear from them.
I recall going to a meeting in Sutton Coldfield some years ago and we had a lecture from a collector of V Discs.
If you know of this gentleman I would be pleased to hear from you
In those days we only had 78rpm records 10 or 12inch. My dad had a spring wound record player with needles that you had to change after a couple of plays. In time I bought an arm with a stylus which played through the radio. (wonderful).
It was a Guy called John Tims who started my interest in Jazz, he is a drummer and lives in Ellesmere and became a good friend. He had his own room with his kit in and a radiogram to play his records on! He invited us there on a Sunday afternoon's and we played his and our records. What a great time it was.
John was the drummer with The George Riley Band a local dance band located in Oswestry and resident at The Victoria Rooms but quite often they came to play at the Garrision Theatre. Park Hall Training Camp.

My earnings at that time were about £2-00 per week and after giving my mother twenty five shillings for my keep this left me with fifteen shillings of spending money! Records as I recall were around two shillings & sixpence so much care was needed before buying. As time progressesd LPs came onto the market and 3minutes of playng time became a thing of the past, of course it was not quite that simple as I had to aquire a record player to play at 33 RPM.

Most of the Jazz I went to live was with the Big Bands Ted Heath,Geraldo, Joe Loss and if very lucky Vic Lewis.
One great treat was the Dance Band Championships held at The Winter Gardens in Blackpool and if I remember correctly a band called Ken Mackintosh won in that year and went from strength to strength. The resident band for the show was Geraldo.
Over the years I have been fortunate to see and listen to many fine bands. Woody Herman. Buddy Rich and of course the great Ted Heath Band never to be forgotton. Then along came George Shearing, The MJQ, Stan Kenton etc
But the great change came with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Miles Davies and of course our own Johnny Dankworth Seven who were leading lights in this change of style. It is good to see that for all these changes that the Trad /New Orleans jazz is still played throughout this country, and bands like Chris Barber, Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk and Phil Mason must take much credit for this.
As any Jazz fan knows the local musicians who form the many bands throughout the country and play for peanuts must also be given great credit for keeping this music alive. But dont forget it is our support that can keep them playing.

Geoff Inwood