Beaufort Jazz Review

A slightly different review this month with a few more photos. If you missed last Monday it is a great pity as it was a splendid evening from start to finish. The featured guitarist was the eagerly anticipated John Wheatcroft. Needless to say, John didn’t disappoint as he covered the usual standards and even found time to include some of his own compositions. During  the set; vocalist Cathy Dignam was invited on stage to sing  and her mellow vocals brought the set to a most pleasant conclusion. Very enjoyable.

Following their recent trip to Samois, Swing Manouche found time to join us for the evening. It was good to hear them again and hopefully they will be able to attend again next month.  Likewise it was good to welcome back Hot Club of Knotty Ash, Ray and of course the ever-present Ted Hanley. Also many thanks to Mickey Dunne and John McCormick who it has to be said gave excellent support to John Wheatcroft.

Having a slightly later finish allowed us to time to have one of Beaufort’s famous jams to round of the evening. Tom Sykes and Adam Palma joined the other musicians on stage for a rousing finish. It was good to see that once again we had many new faces in the audience. Hopefully they will join us again next month for another Beaufort Jazz evening.

Douce Ambience

Steele and Friends

Beaufort Jazz

John Wheatcroft

John and Tom Sykes

Cathy Dignam and John Wheatcroft

It seems a good while since we were entertained by Douce Ambience in June. Paul Draper swapped his usual sound deck for upright bass in order to accompany Rachel and Rob for the evening. They played one of their characteristically melodic sets to a very appreciative audience. Later in the evening we had the pleasure to welcome back Doris Steele who was accompanied by Pete Shannon on bass with Brian Cuddy on keyboards.

Next Beaufort Jazz night will be on Monday 1st August and the featured group will be 3 Musikateers. Beaufort regulars might not recognise the name as they are a relatively new group. Having said that the musicians will be known to many in the North West as they currently play in quite a well known and long established  line up. A full announcement will be made in the next few days when all will be revealed.

Beaufort Jazz review

Djangobop

Holidays and other incidentals have got in the way of writing reviews on the last two Beaufort Jazz evenings, so a quick post here is overdue. Apologies for it being a little briefer than usual. The March evening featured the ever popular Djangobop. Normally performing as the duo of Matt Wells and Dave Stearstree the group was expanded by the addition of Paul Murphy on third guitar and John on upright bass. Djangobop are familiar friends to Beaufort Jazz evenings and their set was thoroughly enjoyed by a full house in the Ellerbrook Suite. Once again it was a pleasure to welcome the many new faces in the audience.

A special thanks to George White who kindly deputised for Paul Draper on sound.

Mike Dexter and Howard Shepherd

An unexpected March guest was the veteran banjo player Howard Shepherd who was partnered by the ever versatile Mike Dexter on guitar. Performing as Shep’s Rhythm Aces the duo have been together for nearly twenty years, though we think it was their first appearance at a Beaufort Jazz evening. It was one of those spontaneous and highly enjoyable moments which can only be found at jam nights like ourselves. The older members of the audience will no doubt have recognised Howard from his numerous musical appearances on the 70s TV series “The Comedians”.

Many Beaufort regulars were in attendance. In particular it was good to welcome back Bill Cox and Steve Cronin who have been ever present members of the Hot Club of Knotty Ash over the years. They formed in impromptu trio with Tom Sykes on violin.

La Paire Llamedos

Mike Dexter appeared in yet another guise as our featured act for April. Appearing with Les Cook as one half of La Paire Llamedos. Unfortunately this was sadly missed due to the aforementioned holiday. Reports however confirmed that this was another excellent Beaufort evening with yet another good turnout.

The next Beaufort Jazz evening will be on Monday the 2nd of May and we are very pleased to announce that the featured band will be the The Sharp Four Quartet. More information to follow in the next few days.

Anniversary celebrations

Neil Harrison and Ken Johnston - Zazous Anglais

Last Monday marked another milestone in the history of Beaufort Jazz as we chalked up our eighth anniversary in some style. Now firmly established at our new home in the Ellerbrook Suite at the Briars Hall Hotel, the future looks to be secure. The crisis of the closure of our old venue at the Beaufort Hotel is now well behind us and we are once again attracting many new faces to our monthly Manouche event.

One of the benefits of our new venue is the monthly featured opening event where musicians kick the evening off with an extended set. It usually lasts about 40 minutes and gives the opportunity for musicians old and new to perform a greater repertoire in front of a friendly and appreciative audience.

And so it was on Monday when the Manouche trio Zazous Anglais made the journey down the M6 from Lancaster in order to open the evening. They gave us standards such as Swing 39 and also included numbers that you don’t hear that often. Melodie Au Crepuscule and Bossa Sephora were new to many, likewise Chez Jaquet and David.  This ensured that we were able to enjoy a very original set. They concluded with Menilmontant to very warm and generous applause. Hopefully Zazous can join us again in the near future, If however you missed them, try to find them playing one of their regular gigs in and around Lancaster. You will not be disappointed.

Mark Knowles - Zazous Anglais

Ted Hanley was joined by Paul Turner on bass for his monthly smooth jazz session. Bill Cox and Steve Cronin joined with Pete Shannon to give us some familiar numbers from their Hot Club of Knotty Ash repertoire. The evening finished with Trez Fez forming one of their impromptu ensembles.

And so onwards to hopefully our ninth anniversary.  December’s evening will have its usual Christmas spirit with another milestone being reached early next year when we hope to be able to have a few surprises. More of this to follow in the New Year.

November’s featured act will be announced shortly.

Beaufort regulars at the Southport Jazz Festival

Nouveau Django

As in previous years, Beaufort Jazz musicians were out in force at the Southport Jazz Festival giving some fine performances to audiences new and old alike. Many of the appearances this year were in the picturesque Town Hall gardens just in front of the Southport Arts Centre on Lord Street. 

Petrus with Tom Sykes on violin opened the Festival on Thursday at 12 noon in the gardens. A stiff Southport breeze and a grey sky didn’t deter an appreciative audience who were treated to a light and melodic start to the day’s program. 

Thankfully, the weather improved during the day and Funkus Monkus played their 5pm set in bright sunshine. Vernon Fuller was joined by Kim Rankin on vocals with Adam Wood in particularly good form on bass.  Feel good music at its best.

Friday showcased Nouveau Django who gave their usual accomplished performance to what was very nearly a full venue with standing room only in the gardens. It seemed that many of the younger members of the audience were hearing gypsy jazz for the first time -so hopefully they might search us out at Beaufort Jazz in the near future.  

Swingology

The outdoor programme in the gardens concluded at 5pm on the Sunday with Swingology in fine form. Once again the sunshine was in evidence and the growing audience spilled out onto Lord Street to catch a varied and entertaining set.  Complementing their gypsy jazz repertoire with numbers from Tom Jones and Mary Hopkin, they brought the audience to their feet for some impromptu dancing. A splendid finale. 

Sadly, we lost the Saturday events due to constant rain when we were expecting to see more of Vernon Fuller and Tom Sykes with various line ups. Such is life. 

The next monthly Beaufort Jazz night will be on Monday 7th June at the Briars Hall Hotel in Burscough, Lancashire when the Hot Club of Knotty Ash will be our featured band. It will be another excellent evenings entertainment, so please don’t be late. Doors open at 7.45pm – entry only £1

Hot Club to feature Monday 7th June!

We are delighted to announce that the Hot Club of Knotty Ash will be our featured opening act for Monday 7th June.  They will host an extended line up for the set including bass and violin. It is very good news to make this announcement as the Hot Club have been enthusiastic supporters of our Beaufort Jazz evening for many years.

Hot Club of Knotty Ash

The Hot Club have played support to some legendary gypsy jazz guitarists, including Gary Potter and Ritary Gaguenetti  As frequent performers on the Merseyside and Lancashire gypsy jazz scene, Hot Club have performed regularly at the Prescot Festival  and recently supported John Wheatcroft at the Mocha Lounge in Liverpool.

It promises to be another excellent night for Beaufort Jazz supporters. The Hot Club are a gypsy jazz group with wide appeal and a strong local following in the North West. If you have never heard gypsy jazz before its well worth making the effort to attend to see  them perform one of their very popular sets.

Please remember that the featured acts now start promptly at 8pm – so please try to take your seats quickly when doors open at 7.45pm. Entry only £1 as usual

Have a great evening