The vagaries of the weather

June can deliver so much in terms of weather.  Last Sunday we were performing in a soggy marquee in Aylsham, North Norfolk, and I ended up playing in my hand warmers.  The sky threw buckets of rain along with thunder and lightning. The latter caused a power cut all across the town and we played one number, Summertime (I think everyone was aware of the irony) acoustically.  By necessity, this brought us closer to our audience.  Fortunately the outage was shortlived and Andy, not relishing emulating the Jazz 'belters' of the 1920s, was able to resume a more varied vocal style.

After we played we stuck around for a very pleasant lunch, courtesy of Aylsham Manor, a photo opportunity and to hear the first couple of numbers by the Aylsham Band (pictured) before heading off to other engagements.

The following Thursday, in contrast, was perhaps the warmest day yet this year in East Anglia.  I don't remember seeing a cloud in the sky during our drive down to Woodbridge in Suffolk.  And it stayed warm all evening.

Andy and I even got out for a brief stroll in the break.  Our name wasn't exactly in lights - probably because of the long June evenings, but someone had obviously gone to some trouble making this sign.

Meanwhile, Cesar stayed inside to work on the finer details of his bass sound.

The Crown at Woodbridge

They certainly know their jazz in Woodbridge and we had an attentive audience who made the long journey south worthwhile.  The Crown is a lovely spot, recently and tastefully modernised and extended. And it seems they always have a jazz band playing on the last Thursday of the month.

I took this snap during Andy's guitar solo in Thelonius Monk's 'Round Midnight', Cesar Camba giving support on double bass.  We played three sets in all, enabling us to give an outing to many of our favourite tunes.

Tour Dates

OK, so we're not quite at the point of printing a roadie's T-shirt with all our dates proudly displayed.  For one thing, I don't think any of the brides and grooms would like to remember their wedding for the arrival of a hoard of uninvited guests.  But we do have a list of public performances which you are welcome to attend.

Most of our gigs are of the foody variety but you can see us in Woodbridge at the end of March or at Kelling in early June.  Food is available, but by no means compulsory, at these venues. (See the Dates page for details.)

And we're hoping to be headlining a large fundraising event in Norwich in April which promises to be a lot of fun.  Watch this space.