London Jazz Singer - Sarah Ellen Hughes

January News

2012-02-06T10:15:00.000Z

So, we're truly immersed in the winter of 2012. February seems to be the month for snow, where January was mild and tame(ish).

I started off the new year by going to bed at about 12:01 having been exhausted by Christmas! At least I saw the new year in.

Then came the first of my four January reviews for the LondonJazz Blog - I had the pleasure of going to see NYJO first, followed by the Guildhall Jazz Singers, American singer Rachel Gould, and the legend that is Mark Murphy (which hasn't been published yet).

As well as all this writing, I've had a few gigs of my own:

A genuine shriek while trying
to pose for a picture!

A sophisticated evening of jazz with my pianist Rick Simpson at the Archduke, which was a good warm-up to some cold birthday ice-skating the following day. I did not fall over once. (For those clever clogs of you out there, no, this doesn't mean that I fell over more than once!)

I was pleased to be invited back to sing at The City Pipe the following Friday, despite it being Friday 13th. Apparently I was the only singer who wanted to take that date! The City Pipe has free Friday jazz on every week, and they have just purchased a piano, so it looks like jazz is in their long term plans. The gig was great - the only downside being that because it was free, I had to compete with a very very very noisy drinks party in the adjacent area. Shushing them did not help!

I'm back at The City Pipe on April 20th.

Singing with the City Pipe house band.

A crowded City Pipe.

The rest of January was quite quiet, giving me a chance to write some music, do some rehearsing, go on a make-up course, and enjoy a Sunday roast at a lunchtime jazz gig - a beautiful change to running around the country day and night. Here's to a relaxing February too!

Top Ten Quiz Team Names

2012-02-05T17:26:00.001Z

Last week we went to a quiz night on a whim... which turned out to be actually quite good. Interesting questions and well-organised rounds. (It was at the Grape and Grain in Crystal Palace which incidentally also does a great Sunday lunchtime jazz session.)

One of the rounds was a hoopla for a bottle of wine, which involved 4 seemingly randomly-picked teams. I asked the quizmaster later how he picked the lucky 4. "The ones with the best team names," he said. "But we are called Quizzie Rascal!" I protested, to which he replied, "Yes, I hear that one all the time." . Oh, ok. Well then I better get thinking of better ones. I've only got 5. Help anyone?

1. Quzzie Rascal - brilliant although apparently not original enough
2. The Quizzarss of Oz
3. Born again quiztians - or should it be "born again quiz-teams"?!
4. The quiztal maze
5. Quiz-team Aguilera (I bet he's heard that one before too!)

I'm trying to start a trend with this on Twitter so if you have any good ideas then you could tweet them to me (@Sarehug) using the hash tag #goodquizteamnames if you so desire!

Farewell 2011

2012-01-05T14:08:00.002Z

January

I did lots of travelling in 2011, and it all started with a trip to Swansea Jazzland in mid January. It was a fantastic way to start the year, and great to visit Swansea, where some of my family were originally from, and still live. I wrote about it at the time and you can read the article here: http://www.sarahellenhughes.blogspot.com/2011/02/swansea-jazzland.html

February

At Seven Jazz. Photo by Tom Swire

As a teacher it's difficult to get work around the UK in term time, so during February half term I managed to cram 8 gigs into the week, flitting between Manchester and Yorkshire. From supporting Denis Rollins at the Scarborough Arts Festival, playing two gigs with Manchester maestro Jeremy Sassoon, to my first booking at Manchester's Club 43, to making a second appearance at Seven Jazz, to travelling home from Leeds overnight in order to teach at 11 the next morning, it certainly was eventful!

For a more detailed and wittier round-up, here's my original article: http://www.sarahellenhughes.blogspot.com/2011/02/another-northern-tour.html

March

The Sector7 singers at our launch gig.

My proudest moment in March was the launch of my group Sector7. We had a fantastic launch gig at the 606 Club, and since then have played at the London Jazz Festival, Pizza Express Dean Street, toured to Lancaster, and have plans in 2012 for a tour to Germany. Have a look at our website to keep up to date: www.sector7.org.uk, or join us on facebook: www.facebook.com/sector7jazz.

In the studio - Darren top left,
Rick bottom left,
Derek's empty chair top right,
Me and Dave O'Higgins bottom right.

Also in March, I recorded my second album. As an indicator for how long things take in the process of making a CD, I finally finished the vocals and production in August, got a physical copy in my hand in September, and will be launching it in February!

April

Once again I travelled to Lithuania in April. This was to perform at the 2011 vocal competition which I won in 2010. Read my account of it here: http://www.sarahellenhughes.blogspot.com/2011/05/weekend-in-lithuania.html
I had a great time.

There were posters of me everywhere!

May

Travelling again in May. This time to:

BBC Radio Kent with Sector7...

...Abergavenny with the Dolphin Quintet
(Click on the image to purchase this live charity CD)

...Wakefield Jazz Club with Dave O'Higgins

...Swindon for a charity event

... And to Bradford Jazz Club, where I got perhaps my favourite review ever! It's on their website - scroll down to about the 6th paragraph down and there I am.

June

June started with glorious sun in Nice (holiday - not singing unfortunately), then turned into the wettest month I can remember - or maybe my memory is influenced by the fact that I had three outdoor gigs which were an utter washout. I also travelled up to Menai Bridge for a gig at the North Wales Jazz Society.

The Menai Bridge.

Catching the rain in Regent's Park
- The Taste of London Festival

July

In July I continued my experience in jazz singing competitions. I was invited to the semi-final at Montreux Jazz Festival vocal competition. I didn't win anything, but got to meet Quincy Jones, and managed to get this amazing quote from him: "You reminded me of Billie Holiday." Sadly, he was referring to the flowers in my hair rather than anything else, but still - he said it!

Quincy Jones and me.

August

Not much to report in August, as I was scared out of London by the riots. But I had a lovely weekend in South Wales playing some jazz and pop with a local band.

September

My album was finally delivered, just in time to start jetting off around the country to promote it. There were so many gigs and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them! Pontypool, Hereford, Ilminster, Aylesbury, Cardiff, Porthcawl and Didcot.

Read the reports here:
Pontypool
Hereford
Ilminster and Aylesbury
Cardiff, Porthcawl and Didcot

Sector7 performing at the London Jazz Festival 2011

October and November

In October and November, we continued the tour, going North to Newcastle, East to Norwich, West to Abergavenny and South to Jersey.

Pictures by Dave Ohm

I probably spent about 6 hours documenting my trips! There are too many to link to here, but they're all on my home page so all you need to do is scroll down from here and you'll find the summaries for the entire tour.

November was also the month of the London Jazz Festival, and Sector7 were invited to be one of only four bands performing at the festival venue The Green Man. Drummer Dave Ohm took some pictures (not from the band stand - he was in the audience!)

December

And finally, to finish off the year, my big band was invited back to Ruislip Manor. We've been there 4 times now in total, and should be there again in 2012. I'm holding out for another December gig, as I'm developing quite a collection of Christmas tunes.

Here's the Ruislip Manor website, where you can find a review of the band: http://www.jazzupstairs.comxa.com/

So that's my round-up of 2011. Roll on 2012!

8 days...

2011-12-05T07:07:00.001Z

Monday 7th November.

Time: 06:30. Place: Peckham. Bus stand 436. Destination: Victoria Coach station, for a 4.5 hour journey to Manchester. Unfortunately the bus timetables never seem to account for traffic, so by the time I arrived in Manchester it was well past 1pm.

I had arrived to start a week of gigs based in the North West, continuing the promotion of my second album. I am particularly drawn to the North West because my sister lives there, so I have a spare floor to sleep on whenever required. Sadly, my sister will soon be moving to Cardiff... so South Wales, expect to see more of me!

The first gig of the week was at the Wilmslow Conservative Club. I was treated to a fantastic local rhythm section, and although the place wasn't full, the select audience was appreciative and interested. Unfortunately for me, I was coming to the end of a cold (which had started at the end of September), so singing wasn't very easy. Luckily, the band were happy to play plenty of tunes without me so I had the opportunity to rest. Not what I wanted at the start of a busy week of gigs!

At the Royal British Legion in Llay - North Wales Jazz Society.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday featured a local band of my choice - some fantastic musicians I regularly work with when in this area. We travelled to Wrexham, Kendal and Bury, sampling some excellent local ale, and being blessed with some great audiences and well-organised venues.

Underneath my poster at The Met, Bury.

Friday 11th November

Towards the end of the week, I travelled down to Cambridge for a concert at the Mumford Theatre at Anglia Ruskin University. It was brilliant! (This venue has made it into my Top Ten this month). A fab little theatre, with a good following for their lunchtime concerts - probably helped by the varied program of professional groups they program each week.

My picture was selected as the one to advertise the entire concert series!

I was lucky enough to spend the Saturday relaxing at Center Parcs for a friend's 30th birthday, as I had the night off, but Sunday launched me straight back into work again, starting with a 3-hour drive to Hull (following a 30-minute walk to my car - I don't know if you've ever been to Center Parcs, but the car park is miles away!)

First Stop: Pave Bar, Hull. I had played here before during my last tour in 2010, and that time it was full of Tiger fans, waiting to go to their final game of the season before being relegated. Luckily this year, Hull City were in no such predicament so we had a relatively peaceful gig with a great ambience and interested audience.

Pave Bar, Hull. Gavin warming up.

Second Stop: Grove Inn Jazz Club, Leeds.

Again, this was another revisit. Not such a great audience, but a great gig nonetheless - fantastic to play with my Northern Band who I don't get to gig with much, and good to be back in Leeds. The only downside of this was that I had to drive back to Hitchin afterwards, which is 34 junctions on the M1. I slept well that night!

Jersey 2011

2011-12-05T07:04:00.001Z

Last weekend, we returned to Jersey for a Jazz supper concert at the Radisson Blu Hotel in St Helier. Apparently, the hotel is one of the most hated buildings on the island, as it's got such a strange and large design that the locals detest it. However, once you're inside it's wonderful - and of course, it's the best place to be on the island because it's one place that you can't see the hotel!

We arrived in the afternoon, ready for our concert in the evening, and departed by lunchtime the next day. A flying visit, but plenty of time to take pictures...

Cool clouds from the plane.

You could be forgiven for thinking we were about to land on
an exotic Mediterranean island!

Jersey has an interesting history, and we had some
time to see the island.

On the red carpet at our gig.

To see more pictures, and to keep up to date with regular touring, find me on facebook: www.facebook.com/sarehug.

Top Ten... Venues On Tour

2011-12-05T06:58:00.002Z

Throughout September, October and November, I've been on tour with my quartet, promoting our new album "The Story So Far." (Stuck for a Christmas present? - buy it on Amazon or on my website!)

We've been high and low, far and wide, and have visited a great mix of venues all over the country. It's a difficult task, but I've managed to whittle down all the gigs into my 10 favourite venues of the album tour 2011...

On stage at Cornerstone Arts Centre.

1. Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot

This was one of the first dates of the tour, and it was a wonderful venue to play at. The fact that it was a gloriously sunny day and I arrived with 3 hours to spare helped the overall ambience, but we were exceptionally well looked-after, and the venue had done a fantastic job of advertising to ensure a good audience. A thoroughly enjoyable evening!

Mumford Theatre. This is not my 'nines' outfit!

2. Mumford Theatre, Cambridge

We played the lunchtime concert at the Mumford Theatre, which is part of the Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, on Remembrance Day. There was an amazing turn-out - over 200 people - which was one of the largest audiences they'd had all year! As it was a lunchtime concert, we had to fit all our chosen repertoire into only 50 minutes, and my band did a superb job of delivering slick arrangements in the allocated time. It was such a special day in the tour and a very memorable one, although a little bizarre and disorienting to be dressed up to the nines at lunchtime (as my pianist said on the way home: “This is so weird… I feel like I should be heading to bed!”)

Outside The Met, Bury

3. The Met, Bury

As a touring singer, I play at quite a few theatres, but never before have I been featured in lights on the sign outside! The Met, Bury, had done a fantastic advertising campaign, and as such had sold out the show, apart from 3 seats. Add to this the fact that they served me the best Southern Fried Chicken I’ve ever had, (none of this KFC nonsense!) and this gig definitely has to make the top 3!

The Lion

4. Lion, Nottingham

This is the second tour for which I've played at The Lion in Nottingham. The first gig, in June 2010, was great fun, and as such was one of the first gigs I re-booked for the 2011 tour. The Lion is a fantastic Sunday lunchtime jazz venue - excellent roast dinners, great local ale (for my bass player fanatic, not me!) and free entry, it's a quality weekly gig.

Unusually, I didn't take any pictures in Kendal -
even though my band will tell you I'm addicted to my camera!

5.Kendal Jazz Club

I had tried to get a gig at Kendal Jazz Club in 2010 when on my first album tour. However, they are such a popular club that they had been booked up well in advance, and so I had to wait until 2011. Well worth the wait, though, and I can see why it's such a popular club. Good room, knowledgeable and helpful promoters, and a great sound leant themselves to a lovely gig. Being back in Kendal was great too - I used to live in Lancaster so there were quite a few locals who came along that I used to know 7 years ago. Thank you for making the return so enjoyable! (There's a review here - scroll down to the bottom and I'm under the December heading)

Me on the big screen at Stratford Jazz Club

6. Stratford Jazz Club

As with Kendal, Stratford Jazz Club is booked up months and months in advance, so I had been waiting for this gig for nearly a year when it came along. Stratford Jazz Club is held at number one Shakespeare Street, in The Chapel ("A Shrine Of Entertainment") which is an inviting room with a good stage, good sound and various nooks and crannies for the audience to ponder. The only trouble with this gig was the timing - we were playing at the end of the Stratford Music Week, so the potential audience had already had the choice of various superstars of the jazz world that week, and only a few of them turned up to see little old me! Nevertheless, it was a great gig, and I'd love to return another time, when not competing with the best jazz names in the business. (This gig was review too - catch up with all the tour reviews on www.sarahellenhughes.co.uk/reviews)

On stage at Black Mountain Jazz. If you look closely there's
the sign indicating the Old Town Wall behind us - Circa 1200.

7. Black Mountain Jazz

A trip to Abergavenny is always right up my street, and this time I was looking forward to featuring my drummer Darren Altman with local musicians Dave Cottle (owner of Swansea Jazzland) and Alun Vaughan. The difficulty of touring an album is that you're expected to - and I want to - play tunes from the album, some of which may be particularly difficult. But that just makes it all the more exciting! Two of my arrangements - an original called Busy Bee (listen here) and Gershwin's Fascinating Rhythm - are not for the faint-hearted sight-reader, and entailed a collective sigh of relief at the end of each.
Black Mountain Jazz is held in the back room of the King's Arms, which is an interesting place because the wall providing the backdrop for the bandstand is actually the ancient town wall.

Club 43 after our gig.

8. Club 43

This venue was another re-visit for my band, after playing a successful gig there in February. I am always impressed with Club 43 in its food, ambience, and ability to set up the evening so that the audience really listen rather than chatting over their dinner - even without a compère to ask the audience to button it! Club 43 is named after the 1950s Manchester Club, which was something of a late night hang for the jazz stars who had been playing in the city earlier that night. The present day Club 43 is now a jazz supper club, but it still has bags of charm, and I hope to re-return one day!

Enjoying the Green Man.

9. Green Man Norwich

On entering the Green Man in Norwich, I was disheartened to find a low-ceilinged country pub as the setting for this jazz club. (Nothing wrong with this - except that in similar venues, the ceiling has been so low that the bass player has got his bass wedged underneath the roof!) I thought too soon, however, as on walking through the pub, a vast back room greeted me, with balconies adorned with all sorts of musical instruments, a piano on stage, and many seats set out jazz-club-style. The gig continued to be fantastic from this minute on.

After the gig at NC Jazz.

10. NC Jazz

I have never sold such a high volume of CDs as I have at Northampton Contemporary Jazz Club (unless you count my sister taking them round and forcing people to buy!) This is quite often indicative of a successful gig, so our concert in October was certainly successful. We were playing in a small room off the main theatre, and competing with Ian Shaw supporting Rory Bremner, so I was thrilled with a lovely venue, and an attentive audience.

Roll on Tour 2012!

Top Ten... Songs for Hallowe'en

2011-11-01T21:14:00.001Z

What do you sing for a gig around Hallowe'en? A couple of years ago, I was performing with the Mark Armstrong Big Band on Hallowe'en weekend, and we managed to find quite a few numbers to fit the occassion: That Old Devil Called Love, That Old Black Magic, Spooky and Bewitched. Here's my top ten of Hallowe'en-related tunes.

1. Spooky
A brilliant song made famous by singer Dusty Springfield, but starting off life as an instrumental by Mike Sharp.

2. Superstition
The first Stevie Wonder song I ever heard! It wasn't until I was 17 that I first listened to Stevie Wonder - I had to learn this song for a jazz/funk band I had been asked to sing with (before showing any interest in jazz). And thank goodness I did! The start of my jazz career.

3. Moondance

4. Bewitched
This is one of the first jazz standards I learnt for the Lancaster University Big Band - only the third big band I had ever sung with. I remember being really struck by a Frank Sinatra version at first.

5. That Old Black Magic
One of my favourite big band tunes to sing. I have recorded this with the Minden Band of the Queen's Division - on the CD Qunitessence. Listen or buy it here: www.sarahellenhughes.co.uk/bigband

6. That Ole Devil called love
Sung here by Carol Sloane.

7. Witchcraft
First written by Cy Coleman as an instrumental for the revue "Take Five," lyrics were added in 1957 by Carolyn Leigh to make a hit for Frank Sinatra.

8. Thriller
The ultimate Hallowe'en video.

9. A ghost of a chance
(1932) Victor Young, Ned Washington and Bing Crosby.

10. Devil May Care
Again, I make it onto my own top 10! This great Bob Dorough is the fourth track on my first album. I was lucky enough to perform it as a duet with Ian Shaw. Above is a live version from the Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival 2010. Listen to the album version, or buy it here: www.sarahellenhughes.co.uk/dtd

October gigs: Norwich, Leigh-on-Sea, Manchester

2011-11-01T19:46:00.000Z

So far the tour has taken us far and wide. But none so far as Norwich, a solid 3-hour drive. After I had booked the gig, I realised that it was further from London than Wales, so we were in for a mammoth journey there and back. Lucky then, that we had been booked to play at a terrific jazz club. To be honest, I hadn't been sure what to expect when we walked in because it was a typical country pub - low ceilings and comfy seating, but not quite conducive to a great jazz acoustic. I needn't have worried though, because towards the back of the pub there was a high-ceilinged area with upright piano and a PA set up, lighting and atmospheric seating. Perfect!

Proud to be playing at The Green Man

The following Tuesday we journeyed to Leigh on Sea, to play at Annie's Jazz. Another pub gig, another weekly jazz night and another free event, this was just as good an atmosphere as the Norwich gig, although not quite so good acoustically owing to being crammed under a low-ceilinged alcove (Tom's bass barely missing scraping the beams). Still, a very enjoyable gig, and Leigh on Sea will definitely be a place to revisit, probably in daylight next time!

Squashed but happy at Annie's Jazz

The week ended with a second visit to Club 43 - a jazz supper club held at the Radisson Edwardian hotel in Manchester. Always a popular event, Club 43 runs a monthly gig which pays tribute to the heydays of jazz in Manchester where the jazz greats used to take to Club 43 (previously across the road from the current hotel) to jam into the night.

The only similarity now is the name, and possibly the attentive audience. Again, facing difficulties with funding, I booked a half local, half London-based group. Rick, my pianist, joined us there from a previous gig in Bishop Auckland, and Dave Walsh and Gavin Barras made up the North West contingent. With no time for rehearsal (punters were let into the room at 7pm although the gig didn't start til 8:30 so we had to be off the stage by then), the boys sight-read quite a few of my nigh-impossible arrangements. Brilliant! They did a fine job, and I'm looking forward to more gigs in the North West over the next few weeks.

The backdrop at Club 43 portrays jazz greats who would
frequent the club in the 50s and 60s.

October gigs: Newcastle, Nottingham, Stratford-upon-Avon

2011-11-01T17:26:00.000Z

Performing at The Customs House, South Shields.
Photo by Lance Liddle

We had a full-on weekend planned for late-October, starting off with a journey up the A1 to Newcastle. The A1 is a surprisingly pleasant road, but quite slow, so our enjoyable amble meant that we didn't have quite as much time to rehearse as we had wanted to when we reached the theatre. Never mind, I got to take this brilliant picture of our pork pies when driving past Melton Mowbray!

Our destination was The Customs House, a theatre complex at the edge of the Tyne river in South Shields. We arrived after dark - such a shame, as I'm sure the venue and surrounding areas must look great in the daylight. In fact, throughout this tour I have lamented the fact that our gigs start later than the sun sets, meaning that we are travelling to so many interesting places, but don't actually get to see any of them. Serves me right for planning an autumn tour!

The gig went really well, and our stand-in bass player Paul Susans did a fab job. Read the review here:
http://lance-bebopspokenhere.blogspot.com/2011/10/sarah-ellen-hughes-customs-house-south.html

On Saturday we had a rare night off, and decided to stay up in the North East as it was better than driving all the way back to London, only to drive back to Nottingham for our Sunday lunchtime gig. So, after taking a lengthy walk on South Shields beach, we chilled out at Rick's parents' house, talking about home brew, jazz and the X Factor.

Darren and I enjoy the sun

Shadow play

Sunday brought two gigs: the first at The Lion in Nottingham, where we first played during our 2010 tour and loved it. A very interesting little pub, with good value Sunday roast, a great selection of real ales (more for my band than me), and an enthusiastic jazz crowd. After the gig we had time to relax before heading down to Stratford-upon-Avon, to play at Stratford Jazz Club. SJC is such a popular venue with artists that I had booked this one nearly a year in advance, and will have to wait until Spring 2013 if I want to play there again!

The club is hosted in The Chapel ("A Shrine of Entertainment")! in the upstairs floor of a pub on, appropriately for Stratford, Shakespeare Street. The only downer to this gig was that it was at the end of the Stratford Music Week, but not included in it, so the jazz fans of the region had already had a choice of three gigs that week. Many of them therefore chose not to come to mine, which was a shame, but difficult to avoid. You can read a review of the evening here: http://www.stratfordjazz.org.uk/roy's_review_sarah-ellen-hughes_at_the_chapel.html

At The Lion

Stratford Jazz Club

October gigs: Rochester, Wellingborough, Bristol

2011-11-01T16:57:00.000Z

This mini-tour started off in Rochester at the 144 Club: "The Ronnie Scott's of Medway!" Set-up and run by the Kearsey-Lawson family, with son compering, brother drumming and mum on the door, the 144 club presents fantastic guest performers with the house band each week.

On arrival I had to make my way up a long and winding staircase, passing by posters of past gigs all around, rather like a hall of fame. And there was me right at the top! I'm chuffed to think that each week that passes I'll be there, pride of place next to the jazz greats of this country.

Posters of Dave O'Higgins and Sam Mayne (bizarrely on a toilet)
in the Medway Hall of Fame.

The next night, we jetted off to Wellingborough to continue the album tour at The Castle, quite a large theatre in the town centre. We pulled up to the foyer to find it packed with people - a mix of ages but mostly the older generation: a typical jazz crowd! This excited us somewhat until we realised that they were all there to see Rory Bremner in the main auditorium, supported by Ian Shaw! Oh well.

Our gig turned out to be well attended too, and a very appreciative went away with 17 CDs by the end of it! Nearly a single-gig record.

Next stop Bristol, to play at the Bebop Club. Run by local trumpeter Andy Hague, it's an incredibly popular weekly jazz night in the back room of a pub, which attracts many of this country's top jazz names. The only problem with this gig is that it's in Bristol on a Friday night, so once you've got out of the ridiculous traffic in London (the world and his wife are trying to escape with you) you've got to endure the M4, then get stuck in Bristol as you enter during rush hour. As such, we had about 10 minutes to sound check before trying to find somewhere to eat to scrabble down a hasty dinner. Solution to finding a swift meal? An Indian restaurant just around the corner seemed the best choice so we walked in I immediately told the waiter that we had only 35 minutes so did he think we would be able to have our meal in that time. He looked around the restaurant as if surveying the diners to infer how busy the kitchen would be, and went over to an un-made table and started to dress it for us. Why we couldn't just sit at a ready-laid table I have no idea, but nevertheless we were in too deep by then to back out now! Finally, at 9:01pm, we beat a hasty retreat from the restaurant and managed to make it back on stage only 6 minutes late. During this time, the sound guy had gone looking for us and was told we were at the Indian, missed us in transit and arrived half an hour late himself!

Band curry

Setting up at the Bebop Club

After an enjoyable gig we headed off to our 4-star hotel which we had got for an absolute steal, and made the most of chilling out in Bristol. Good times.

October gigs: Monmouth and Abergavenny

2011-11-01T16:19:00.011Z

October saw my second ever tribute gig to the great Shirley Horn. I'm really struck by this tribute theme - it gives a cohesion to the gig that could otherwise be missing, and is a great way to find out about one's idol. I'm going to think about doing this more once the album tour is over.

This particular gig was in Monmouth, at The Queen's Head, where regular gigs are every Wednesday. The venue quite often attracts some great touring bands, and it was a pleasure to play there. We packed the place out and it would be great to play there again sometime. I have a growing fondness for South Wales! So much so that I was back there within a month, this time at The King's Arms in Abergavenny for Black Mountain Jazz.

A jazz club run by local musicians, this venue attracts top-class acts monthly and no wonder - staged in the backroom of a pub, the venue is spacious and comfortable, sporting a midi piano (cross between a mini and a grand) well-stocked bar and complimentary tapas in the interval (for the band!). The backdrop of the stage is even the old town wall.

For this gig I had booked a mixture of local and London-based musicians, to help ease the funding difficulties that the tour was presenting. Darren, my drummer, and I drove down on the Sunday afternoon, and met Swansea based musicians Dave Cottle (who runs the superb Swansea Jazzland) and Alun Vaughan, one of the busiest bassists in the region. The boys coped marvelously with my arrangements which led to an incredibly enjoyable gig for me. Read the review here:
http://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/sarah-ellen-hughes-quartet-at-black-mountain-jazz-kings-arms-abergavenny-30/
Hopefully we'll be back in 2012 for a one-off festival so watch this space.

Crossing the Severn Bridge.

The band perform... with the old town wall in the background
(here adorned with skeletons for Halloween!)

Top Ten Autumn Songs

2011-10-02T10:44:00.002+01:00

It feels a bit weird writing about autumn songs when we're clearly in the middle of the summer that never was, but there're a lot of songs to celebrate in this category so here goes!

1. Autumn Leaves - performed by Miles Davis.
So many people have recorded this song, but I guess my favourite version has to be a Cannonball Adderley recording featuring Miles Davis.

2. Autumn Leaves - performed by Eva Cassidy.
This is definitely my second favourite version! Amazing vocals.

3. Autumn in New York - performed by Sarah Vaughan

4. Early Autumn - performed by Anita O'Day

5. September in the rain - performed by Tina May.
I love the way that Tina does a verse or two in French. It's on the album "I'll Take Romance."

6. September song - performed by Gill manly.
It's on the album "With a Song in My Heart," and features Guy Barker on the trumpet. Gill includes the verse, and doesn't change the gender - which I think is great, because it keeps the scanning and rhyming exactly as the composer intended it.

7. 'Tis Autumn - performed by Carmen McCrae

8. Autumn Fires - by Alex Hutton
Alex Hutton is a London-based pianist and exceptional composer. His latest album will be released this month (album launch on Thursday 6th Oct at The Forge in Camden). This tune is from his second album "Songs from the Seven Hills."

Now, two songs that have to make it into this top ten. These are songs I've loved teaching my primary school to sing in assembly because they were favourites of mine as a child... anyone else remember them?

9. Autumn days

lyrics hint: (Autumn days when the grass is jewelled and the silk inside a chestnut shell, jet planes meeting in the air to be re-fuelled, all these things I love so well.)

I remember even when I was an 8-year-old that my teacher said "Now, jet planes don't meet in the air anymore - that happened a long time ago." Must be a very old song!

10. Paint Box

lyrics hint: (Cauliflowers fluffy and cabbages green, strawberries sweeter than any I've seen. Beetroot purple and onions white, all grow steadily day and night. The apples are ripe, the plums are red. Broad beans are sleeping in a blankety bed)

One thing I love about this song is that on the opposite page to the music in the song book, there's a recipe for fruit fool. How very healthy!

.

Album tour ... South Wales

2011-10-01T22:42:00.000+01:00

Wednesday September 28th: Cafe Jazz, Cardiff.

This week I had three gigs in the book - Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - so I decided to turn it into a bit of a holiday and get away from London for an extra day, so on the Tuesday night I took a train out of the big smoke to spend an evening in Appledore (North Devon) with my boyfriend and sister. My sister, Anna, is cycling around the coast of Great Britain and has been travelling for almost 2 months so far. She's got just 2 weeks to go.

(I joined her on the third and fourth day of her mammoth journey and wrote about it here: www.sarahellenhughes.blogspot.com/2011/09/august-news-round-up)

(She's writing a superb blog herself, which is well-worth a read: www.eatsleepcycle-anna.blogspot.com)

Anna arrives in Appledore

We arrived into Appledore at about 5:30 and settled down to a pint and cup of tea on the seafront, which I enjoyed for a full minute before getting a frantic call... "Sarah can you meet me off the ferry... Do you have £3? I spent my last £3 on sweets!" Oh, Anna! So while my tea got cold I rushed down and struggled to find the ferry landing spot (there was no jetty), but got there in time to see a small (tiny) ferry being battered about by the wind and carrying a waving sister! Hooray! It was great to see Anna as I hadn't seen her since we waved goodbye in the rain on 5th August in Cromer. Since then she's travelled all the way up and round Scotland, and back down to Devon via the bays and coves of Wales. Now she's only a few counties away from home (Tower Bridge is the finishing point on Tuesday 11th October, at about 6pm... for those of you living in London who fancy joining her welcome home party. I've been instructed to bring champagne!)

Outside the Cafe Jazz.

So after enjoying a small holiday in Devon, James and I got the train to Cardiff for my gig at Cafe Jazz on the Wednesday. With this weather like it is, it's easy to think of the whole tour as a holiday. We had all afternoon to enjoy the city so wandered up and down the shopping street, enjoying our leisure.

I had performed at Cafe Jazz once before, and remembered it as being a friendly venue with an appreciative crowd and good sound. This gig was no different. Good staff, great sound, and a good amount of jazz fans in the audience. I was joined by local musicians Dave Cottle on piano, Alun Vaughan on bass, and Tom Cottle on drums. They did a great job coping with my difficult charts, and we had a very enjoyable gig. A reviewer was there, who both bought a CD and added himself to my mailing list - always a good sign! Read the review by clicking HERE.

Thursday 29th September: Porthcawl Pavilion

Porthcawl is only about 25 miles away from Cardiff, so I didn't have much travelling to do. I could relax, enjoy the sun, and take advantage of the free wifi at Cafe Jazz, before getting a lift with the drummer to Porthcawl. This was another seaside venue. The last time I did a gig at the seaside was in February in Scarborough, and it had been raining, so it was brilliant to visit the seaside again on a beautiful day. We arrived with the sun ready to set and I got my hotel organised, then wandered onto the seafront. There is a beach here although it's not really for swimming - large rocks loomed out of the breaking waves, and an even larger sign saying 'bathing dangerous' accompanied the promenade.

The sun sets over Porthcawl. Thank goodness for digital
cameras. A few years ago, this would have ruined my film!

Children brave the waves then run away at the last minute.

Once again, we had a very enjoyable gig. The jazz nights at the Pavilion are organised by Sue Scott, who does a great job at getting about 80 people in each time. We had a few less this month (ironically, some had been kept away by the nice weather, deciding to take a holiday instead). The performance was in the downstairs room which is set up like an intimate jazz club and everything, apart from the stage piano which had seen better days, was great. An early finish meant that I could enjoy a drink in the hotel bar before bed, and prepare for tomorrow's gig.

Friday 30th September: Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot.

The quartet on stage.

After checking out this morning, I spent about 20 minutes sitting on the seafront, my hair being whipped up by the sea breeze and listening to the waves crash up to the beach. It was so glorious; I can see why people retire to the seaside. I caught quite an early train to Didcot so spent most of my day sitting in the cafe next to the box office, reading and working. Every so often people would come in and ask what was on tonight and the receptionist would big me up massively, unaware that I was sitting right there! This happened too at Cafe Jazz in Cardiff, when I was waiting to check in to the hotel above the club, and the receptionist was telling a gentleman next to me about tonight's gig... "Well, it's a very talented young singer," at which point I piped up and said "It's me!" Very amusing.

The gig at Cornerstone was amazing; I definitely hope to return. We had a great audience - about 80 people, and I sold and signed plenty of CDs at the end of the show. Touring is great when you get gigs like that - appreciative audience, helpful venue, and a good lot of merchandise sold. So here's hoping the next two months has lots more great gigs in store!

The Tour begins...

2011-09-29T16:35:00.004+01:00

Stonehenge through the windscreen

Friday 23rd September: Ilminster Arts Centre

I was particularly looking forward to our trip to Ilminster Arts Centre - I had been told great things about the venue, and I knew the journey there would take us past Stonehenge and through the lovely West Country. The only downer was that it was a Friday, and traffic all around the country can be a nightmare! So a few accidents, jams and rubber-necking drivers later, we glided into a peaceful Ilminster. Thank goodness we had left London early - we arrived about 3 hours before the gig was due to start, but I would much rather have spent those 3 hours in Ilminster than on the M25.

What a lovely venue! It's had its share of money troubles in the past, but things have improved over the last year, and we arrived with the Somerset Arts Week in full swing, showcasing the diverse range of arts that the centre presents. We were greeted by Tony - the promoter and our host for the night - and we spent a relaxed our setting up the stage and wandering around town, picking up the local newspaper with a great big feature on tonight's gig.

The Meeting House Arts Centre has an interesting history - an 18th century Unitarian chapel, which was converted to a school in the early 1900s, then sat derelict for a few decades before it was taken over by the local council and converted into an Arts Centre. It is currently up for being awarded £6000 for development, which it would very much benefit from. If you would care to vote for the Arts Centre, please click here. It's quite a long process, but very much worth it.

Sound-checking at the Meeting House.

The gig was great and we were properly looked-after - a superb supper before the show, and a lovely setting with a beautiful grand piano. The band played great and, for the first gig of the tour, there were only a couple of hitches (how can someone forget the words to My Favourite Things?!) It will only get better!

Playing with the dogs in the morning.

Our hosts - Tony and Christine - have a beautiful farmhouse in Ilminster, with enough beds to fit a travelling quartet. It's an amazing house - it could be a museum, what with all the artefacts and brick-a-brack decorating the area. The bathroom is full of original tins of nivea and other such ointments and the house comes complete with two old-style flush toilets. Somehow, after having been in their amazing house for less than an hour, I had managed to break the chain pull off one of them! You can't take me anywhere.

Rick enjoys the fruit machines.

Saturday 24th September: St Mary's Church, Aylesbury

We set off at a reasonable hour to head to our next destination: Aylesbury. It wasn't an easy journey, as it is effectively a return to London and then back out again into Buckinghamshire, so it was a little frustrating doing the route that would have taken us home. We forewent an expensive trip to Stonehenge for a delightful pub lunch in Berkshire, and arrived in Aylesbury 5 hours early. How to entertain a group of travelling jazz musicians who are broke?! Rick spent £10 and won six at the 'Cashino' and we won our money back on the quiz machine in a local pub. Apart from that, it was a beautiful day weather-wise and we managed to make one cup of tea last over an hour.

Our quiz winnings. Don't we look thrilled!

Our concert that evening was at St Mary's Church - a lovely picturesque building with delightful grounds and streets lining the church yard. St Mary's is a popular venue for their classical concerts, but this was their first gamble at staging a jazz gig. A gamble it was, for there was a disappointing 14 people there (15 by the end - my Dad had arrived half way through the second set.) I hope they will persist with promoting jazz, as it would be dreadful if my gig were to be the first and last! So if you're local to Aylesbury, keep an eye on what's going on at St Mary's Church.

Some tour amendments...

2011-09-21T21:44:00.000+01:00

Three gigs have been cancelled on my tour. They are:

Sat 29 | GOSPORT Alverbank House Hotel | 8pm

Mon 31 | TEIGNMOUTH Clifford Arms, Shaldon | 8:30pm

Mon 14 | LEEDS Sela Bar | 9pm

These are because of problems at the venue. If you're planning on coming to any of my gigs, then please book ahead! This will really help with keeping live music (and my career) live!

A Sunday evening in Hereford

2011-09-12T23:42:00.002+01:00

I went to Hereford on Sunday for a gig at the Black Lion - an old pub (apparently it’s haunted along with quite a few other buildings in Hereford, including Sainsbury’s!?!), but a newish venue for jazz. The Dave Price trio host a monthly jazz night and had invited me to be a special guest on this occasion. The journey was tedious - a 4-hour stopping train from London, but at least I didn’t have to change, and it gave me some time to get Wikipedia working on my phone to prepare the spiel about my chosen dedicated artist (each month the group focuses on a different jazz great and deliver a tribute gig, so I chose to perform the songs of Shirley Horn, one of my favourite vocalists and a true jazz singer.)

Solar halo with a sun dog
to the left

With so much travelling to do as a touring singer, I prefer to travel by train - time to work, sleep or read, plus more chance to look out of the window! Today I managed to capture a solar halo on camera (the picture’s a little dodgy because it’s taken through the train window).
I have only seen one of these before - they’re very common but you generally can’t see them because the sun’s bright light overpowers it. A slightly overcast day and dark sunglasses help. To the left you can see a sun-dog, which is like a small vertical rainbow in the cloud.
I remember once being on a train from Hitchin (my home town) to London and seeing a very bright sun dog, and calling my mum who I knew was home-tutoring a young autistic boy at the time. I told them to look out of the window to see the sun dog and the boy said, “I don’t know about a sun dog, but I can see a sun crocodile!”

Anyway, I digress.... back to the music. The only trouble with doing a Shirley Horn tribute is that she was most famous for singing ballads at ultra-slow tempos, and I didn’t want to fill a set - or even half a set - with slow numbers. Fortunately, Horn recorded quite a few live albums and she, too, clearly didn’t want to fill a set with ballads so I had plenty of choice of swinging tunes. I found it incredibly interesting to find out a bit of recording history of this amazing singer, and I enjoyed the research part as much as the singing part. Now I have a tribute to Shirley Horn set all ready. (Click here if you want to book me for it!)

Being a Sunday, the gig didn’t finish too late so I was heading back to my overnight stop by 10pm. Then an early bus journey in the morning to catch the train home.

On paper, having to take a bus for over an hour to the nearest town with a decent rail connection to London seems like a ball-ache. But in reality, it’s a great way to see the country. I had stayed over night with family just outside Monmouth, and took the local bus to Newport in the morning. Local buses are great - they rumble through sleepy villages and along crooked B-roads (sometimes ones that have since been replaced by trunk roads), supplying public transport to the corners of the country that are too small to have a train station.

Monmouthshire is a particularly lovely part of this island, and I enjoyed snaking through picturesque little villages, passing the odd tractor and a great many country pubs, with the Black Mountains a backdrop. We meandered through a lovely selection of interesting places: Mitchel Troy, Raglar, Usk with its Castle ruins, and its bus stop in Twyn square, Coldharbour on the crest of a hill, the old city wall of Caerleon... It was so much better than bombing my way down the A40 in a car for one. A great start to a Monday!

Through the Monmouthshire
countryside

Pontypool Jazz Festival

2011-09-12T23:25:00.002+01:00

The photographer clearly had an eye for Tom!

The Pontypool Jazz Festival - formerly “Jazz in the Park,” - focuses on Welsh musicians to perform each year. (It used to be in the park until one year the rains were so bad that the Afon Llwyd burst its banks and flooded the marquees! Now it’s in various rooms in the Pontypool Active Living Centre) Being a Hughes, you would be right in thinking that my family originate from Wales - my Granddad from Llanelli and my Grandma from Blaengwynfy. Despite being London-based, I managed to get my band booked. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to sing my only Welsh song - Sosban Fach - as I had had a couple of bad experiences in the past...

Firstly, when I sang it in South Wales the last time, I was booed (mockingly) for my choice of song because it’s the Llanelli Scarlet’s Rugby Union team song, and I was in Swansea where the Ospreys reign supreme! Can’t sing it in South Wales then.

Secondly, I had a gig in North Wales in May but when I entered the venue and was greeted in Welsh by the landlady, I realised that my attempt at this language needed far more practise and therefore would have to be left in the folder! Can’t sing it North Wales then. Oh dear.

Darren and Tom waiting
for dinner... Rick at the
back of the queue feeling
forlorn!

So my all-English set at Pontypool began, and went very well. The festival seemed to be well-organised apart from a couple of hitches (we had to work hard to get the sound guy to pinch a monitor from another stage as ours didn’t have one, and a bar-lady tried to charge me one pound for a jug of water for the band!) We were on stage in the dance studio - a rather small space on the third floor of the Leisure Centre - which wasn’t ideal only because we were competing with a (much) louder band blasting it out on the floor below us, and we weren’t in a thoroughfare which would have encouraged more listeners. What a shame that that river burst its banks a few years back (apparently it only happens about once every 50 years) to put an end to the outdoor festival.

3 Welsh-cheese pizza

It’s also a shame that Pontypool was so far away because jazz festivals are usually great places to wander around and listen to other bands. But, because we had a long journey back (mine involved a night bus and ended up being about 4.5 hours), we had to head back soon after we’d finished playing. But we still had a chance to hang out a bit - I wanted to sample the “3 Welsh-cheese Pizza” (I must have mumbled when I ordered it because the waiter nearly brought me 3 of them!) - so we got to chill out a bit which is one of the delights of being on tour. Rick clearly had other moods on his mind judging by his posing in these pictures... But great fun was had by all, and looking forward to the next tour date which is Friday 23rd September in Ilminster.

August News Round-up

2011-09-02T21:33:00.000+01:00

Our bikes on Harwich sea front

August was a month for rain and riots.

I was able to escape for a few days, following my brave sister 150 miles up the coast of Essex and Norfolk, while she contemplated the next two months on her bike travelling round the rest of the coast. I joined her for days 3 and 4, before sensibly getting on the train back to London.

Anna is cycling around the coast of Great Britain, partly for a holiday and partly to highlight environmental issues by having a low-carbon trip.

Boat number 1

I joined her on a hazy morning in Harwich and we took 3 boats on our way to Lowestoft. I even swam in the sea! It was amazing, but painful after 60 miles of cycling. The second day took us through very, very heavy rain up to North Norfolk... at one point my shoes were so full of water I had to take them off and resort to my waterproof flipflops, believe it or not! I was very happy to have fish and chips in Cromer (where I had actually kissed the town sign when we got there) and get the train back to London.

Boat number 2

There are quite a few days when I wish I were still with Anna cycling round this amazing island we live on. Nothing to do but cycle all day - brilliant!

Anna dressed up in her
waterproof gear

Anna has been writing a great blog: www.eatsleepcycle-anna.blogspot.com

and tweeting interesting finds: www.twitter.com/eatsleepcycle

and uploading many photos to facebook: www.facebook.com/eatsleepcycleanna

Boat number 3

Follow her! It'll brighten your day!

Fish and chips by the sea-side!

Multi-coloured umbrellas
in Cromer

Top Ten Vocal Harmony Groups

2011-09-02T14:26:00.001+01:00

In no particular order, here's the countdown, followed more info below.

1. The Swingle Singers
2. Take 6
3. London Vocal Project
4. Lambert, Hendrix and Ross
5. The Boxettes
6. New York Voices
7. BLINQ quartet
8. Manhatten Transfer
9. Voxtet
10. Sector7

1. The Swingle Singers
I first heard The Swingle Singers performing on Songs of Praise (whilst channel hopping) a few years ago, where they performed a remarkably accomplished version of Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho. It was outstanding, down to the movements and facial expressions of these terrificly talented singers. I've yet to see them live, but am sure a great big treat awaits whenever I get the chance.

2. Take 6
Videos of Take 6 went flying round facebook a few years ago when my friends first discovered you could 'share' the amazing things you spotted on YouTube. I'm amazed at how they do a lot a capella, covering all manor of vocal ranges, and even emulating instruments (bass/trumpet) to add variety. Some of it gets a bit cheesy for me, reminding me of Boyz II Men or other 'boy bands' that sprung up in the 90s.

3. London Vocal Project
It was at an LVP gig where I was first inspired to create my own vocal group Sector7 (which you'll notice has also made it onto this list!) I remember watching Jess Berry performing with her quartet, with the LVP singing harmonies behind her and I thought, this is a sound that I'm inspired by and could make work as a smaller group. The LVP, directed by the genius that is Pete Churchill, has just got back from a tour of France, and can be heard performing live in London several times over the next few months. Here's their website: www.londonvocalproject.com

4. Lambert, Hendrix and Ross

I don't need to say much about these three vocal acrobats who brought the art of vocalise to the forefront of the jazz movement and explored thrilling and impressive vocal harmony. And they love to scat!

5. The Boxettes

The Boxettes are a London-based a capella girl group, featuring the female world beatbox champion Bellatrix. Impressive in harmonies, groove and style, this group is a force to be reckoned with.

6. New York Voices
A foursome of singers, plus rhythm section, this group is the closest in kind to my own Sector7. They have been going for 20 years, and have won a Grammy, so it'd be great to follow somewhere in their footsteps! Here's their website: www.newyorkvoices.com

7. BLINQ quartet
The Brit Jazz Fest (a 2-week August festival at Ronnie Scott's) was the setting for the debut of vocal group BLINQ quartet - a combination of some of the UK's top voices: Brendan Reilly (B), Liane Carroll (L), Ian Shaw (I), Natalie Williams (N) and I expect the Q stands for Quartet. The band also featured Gwilym Simcock on piano, I guess sharing the piano duties with Ian and Liane. I was unfortunate to miss out on a ticket, so am very much hoping to see them live soon.

8. Manhattan Transfer
Probably my first experience of singing vocal harmony work (apart from being in a chamber choir) was at the North Herts Youth Jazz Orchestra, run by Chris Pyne. This was a band overrun with flautists (I think there were 6 of us), who all fancied themselves as singers (bringing your flute to rehearsal could have been a condition to singing with the band). So Chris jumped at the opportunity to bring some vocal harmony charts to the band, including the impossibly fast and difficult 'Four Brothers.' Watch the video above to see the Manhattan Transfer singing it in style.

9. Voxtet
Clive Dunstall's Voxtet is the closest thing to a vocal big band that you'll come across - with 6 girls, 2 boys and a 7-piece band behind them. The line-up is superb, with singers including the ex-NYJO vocalist and my teen singing idol Jacqui Hicks, along with my first NYJO vocal coach Emer MacPartland.

10. Sector7
My own band makes it into the top 10 again! A perk of writing this blog myself.
Sector7 has been described by Ian Shaw as "Possibly the most exciting thing to happen to the London vocal jazz scene" (he said this before he created his own group, Blinq quartet!)
In our 10-month existence, we've released an EP, gigged at some of London's top venues and accumulated an impressive of forthcoming shows.
The video above is a sample of our EP. You can find us on facebook: www.facebook.com/sector7jazz, and follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sector7jazz
For all your other Sector7 needs, please visit the new website: www.sector7.org.uk

New Album Tour

2011-08-02T20:42:00.005+01:00

The good news this month is that I've been granted Jazz Services funding to take my band on a tour around the country to promote our new album. We'll be touring throughout September, October and November, all around the UK - as far South as Jersey and as far North as Newcastle.

The new album is called The Story So Far, which is a Dave O'Higgins tune to which I have written lyrics. I was lucky enough to record it with Dave earlier this year, and it will be released in September. Keep an eye on my website for updates on tracks from the album.

The tour dates are as follows:

The Return of the Big Band

2011-08-02T20:17:00.000+01:00

I wouldn't be a big band leader if I didn't stay up all night before a gig to make sure the parts are correctly printed and sellotaped. In fact, I had so much to do that I was up until 4am on both the Friday and Saturday nights before, printing music (and running out of ink) and sticking parts (and running out of sellotape).

It was all worth it, though, as this was the best gig we have played so far. In fact, it had been recommended by the Harrow Observer as the number one thing to do on that particular day!

I had managed to organise a fantastic band - the sax section included Frank Griffith, Dave O'Higgins and Sammy Mayne, and the rest of the band was equally star-studded. The main feature of this band is that it's fronted by me (on vocals and flute) and my twin sister Anna Hughes (on vocals and trumpet/flugelhorn) and I think we're the only twin-led big band in this country (please challenge this if you know otherwise!).

We played quite a few of my new arrangements which was nerve-wracking to say the least - it's very strange to hear something live, when the only opportunity I've had to hear it before is in my head or on my computer speakers with Sibelius instruments! Also, I was worried about conducting my new arrangements because, even though I knew them inside-out having been writing them for the last few months, it's a very different thing to then have to get up in front of an audience and a live band, and then to sing and perform the song, while still keeping half an ear open for the band arrangement so I knew when to conduct!

Nevertheless it was a great gig, and we had a good audience showing - although still room for about 50 more, so do come along when we next play in December.

The gig was reviewed by Steve Harris and Ian Fielding, who run the events and you can read their comments here.

Listen to a few tracks from the gig on my website.

And keep supporting weekly live jazz at Ruilsip Manor.

Top Ten Summer Songs

2011-08-02T19:17:00.002+01:00

It's summer! At least for a few days. So before it turns into a speedy Autumn I thought it was best to celebrate Summer with some of its best songs.

1. Summer Soft - Stevie Wonder

This song has possibly the most key-changes in any Stevie song taking us through a total of 5 modulations before finally settling on one key and fading out. It's from the album "Songs in the Key of Life," possibly suggesting that life is in all keys! Incidentally, with Stevie modulating in most of the songs he recorded, who knows how many modulations The Beatles recorded in total? Any ideas? Yes, it's zero.

2. Summertime - Jason Rebello

With Gershwin's Summertime (or, to quote Paul Pace on his website explaining the banned songs at his Spice of Life open mic, "Summer-bloody-time") being possibly the most overplayed song in the history of jazz, Jason Rebello gives it a refreshing treatment with the addition of an irresistibly funky bass-line, the amazing vocals of ex-Incognito singer Maysa Leak, and the most brilliant, if strangest, rap from Maxi Jazz (Bumble bees buzzing on a quest | I wanna wear my vest | I need to put some muscle on my chest | ... | I'll meet you at the pool, bring your friend | Is her name Jill? | She got movement even when she's sitting quite still)

3. Estate - Shirley Horn

An impossibly slow version of this wonderful standard, worth comparing with the Joao Gilberto version below. This one is first because I heard it first and, being a huge Shirley Horn fan, can't help but think of it as the definitive version.

4. Estate - Joao Gilberto

There's much to learn about singing in Portuguese - Gilberto sings most phrases ahead of the beat, and sometimes a whole bar before the music says. Contrast this with the way that Shirley Horn sings (behind the beat and sometimes two bars behind the beat), and you get two completely different versions of the same wonderful song.

Incidently, Gilberto's version is so definitive that people commonly misconceive that he wrote it himself. It's actually written by an Italian composer - Bruno Martino - and the original name of the song was "Odio l'estate," or "I hate summer."

4. Indian Summer - Sarah Vaughan

This footage is amazing - Sarah introduces the song and then starts singing with a voice that doesn't quite fit the picture... then goes a bit mad in the middle! Totally amazing singing though - she's so free with the melody and this version is a lesson in jazz singing for sure.

5. Indian Summer - Sarah Vaughan and Count Basie

The original recording with the Count Basie Orchestra

6. That Sunday That Summer - Natalie Cole

Complete with cheesy 1960s backing choir, this song has a summer lilt, and a great middle 8. Zena James (number 7) gives it a more funky treatment.

7. That Sunday That Summer - Zena James

From Zena's new album Captivated. www.zenajames.com

8. Orange Blossoms in Summertime - Kurt Elling

From the album "Flirting with Twilight."

9. Summer Nights - from Grease

You can't have a list about summer songs and not mention this 1970s classic!

10. Here Comes The Sun - Dolphin Quintet
Ah, somehow I've sneaked onto my own list again! Ok, I'm not actually singing on this one but it's on a CD from a gig I did with the Dolphin Quintet. The CD is for sale from my website, and proceeds go directly to the Tri-Charity appeal, supporting Great Ormond Street Hospital, Asthma UK and DELTA.

Top Ten Bike Songs

2011-07-16T16:57:00.002+01:00

Le Tour de France is happening now. In other bike-related news, my twin sister Anna will be cycling round the coast of Britain throughout August/Sept for charity.

Sponsor her here: http://www.thedonation.org.uk/doers/eatsleepcycle/cycling-round-coast-britain

Follow her progress here: www.eatsleepcycle-anna.blogspot.com

So... here are my suggestions of the top 10 songs Anna should be listening to to keep her going.

1. The Bike Song - Mark Ronson

A very cool song with a chorus that says "I'm gonna ride my bike until I get home." What excellent sentiment!

2. You are the universe - Brand New Heavies

(Could be 'You are the coastal path...' An uplifting song anyway!)

3. Always There - Incognito/ Jocelyn Brown

(Could be 'Almost there!')

4. Do I Do - Stevie Wonder

5. Minuano - Kurt Elling

About 8 minutes long - perfect for timing 2 miles' travelling!

6. Back to you - John Mayer

7. Give me the night - George Benson

8. Workin Hard - Sarah Ellen Hughes

Just so I can get into my own top ten! But seriously, this song is a little bit about cycling, and I wrote it whilst I was on my bike so it's perfect really!

9. It's Alright - Jason Rebello

And on the last day, on repeat...

10. The final countdown - Europe.

Enjoy!

Montreux Jazz Festival Experience

2011-07-16T16:39:00.001+01:00

Friday 8th July

Left Peckham for Montreux. Last-minute check of details for hostel - luckily, for I discovered I had opted to bring my own sleeping bag and had forgotten to pack it! Good save.

I'm off to compete in the 2011 jazz vocals competition at the festival. The president of the competition is Quincy Jones.
The BA flight to Geneva was fine, and I arrived in time to take a beautiful lake-side train journey in the evening sunlight. It took about an hour to get to Vevey, where I'm staying. Vevey is a lovely small town with a lot going for it - picturesque mountain-scenery backdrop, 21°C lake, 2 mountain railway stations, excellent market, good (albeit expensive) restaurants and mountain-side vineyards. In fact, they make such good use of space here that even the railway tunnels have vines planted up the sides. When I arrived, the sound of a brass band coaxed me down to the lake-side and I spent a glorious half hour watching the sun set and listening to the music from the band stand.

Saturday 9th July

Semi-finals day.
I had spent the night in an 8-bed down, which was empty when I went to sleep and full when I got up. *(Bizarrely... it's now Sunday as I write this and I still haven't seen anyone awake!)* I crept out in the morning for my early bus to Montreux to rehearse with the band. I met a couple of other singers, but this isn't really like the other competition I've done - we have all been left to fend for ourselves and most people have a companion with them, so I'm all alone.

The rehearsal went well so I went back to Vevey and spent the rest of the day browsing the shops and market. This town feels very French - an accordion player on each corner, (at one point I heard the strains of The X-Files theme floating through the air!) and thankfully it is a French-speaking part of Switzerland, otherwise I'd be very lost! I have been massively impressed with the Montreux Jazz Festival so far - it's quite clearly a major deal through the Montreux Riviera, with massive amounts of advertising, and discounts for festival goers on trains to and from Geneva airport. There is even a free bus - the bus that runs through Montreux becomes free of charge to all public during festival hours. If only they did that for the London Jazz Festival!

So at 5pm, we began the semi-finals. Quincy Jones was in the front row, as the president of the Jury, although I couldn't see him because of the bright spot lights. My performance went well. I performed a complicated arrangement of Fascinating Rhythm and my own song Darning the Dream. The whole show ran very late, as predicted, with some singers using the whole 10 minutes' allocation on just one of their songs (although they weren't asked to stop!) so it wasn't til quite late that we heard the results. Three singers got through to the final. Unfortunately I wasn't one of them. There was so much talent on stage that I'm not at all surprised, but disappointed nevertheless.

Sunday 10th July

It's raining. It rained most of the night, and storms have continued through much of the day, limiting the day's activities particularly as I don't have a final to practise for! Vevey is a lovely place though to sit and have a cup of tea (or four) to pass the time before my free bus to watch the finals.

Quincy Jones telling me I reminded him of Billie Holiday...
because I wore flowers in my hair(!)

This year, the finals presented a one-off situation in that the first prize was split between two people. It's hard to see how that will practically work, as the prize is a week of recording at a studio to make a CD, but both the winners were great so I wish them well for the joint album! All the competitors were given a free ticket to the evening's main festival concert, which turned out to be... Natalie Cole! It actually started off with a performance from last year's vocal-piano winners, then the first set was Mario Biondi, which went on for a bit, but he had to please his die-hard fans who had travelled from Italy to see him.

Then the lady herself Ms Cole, who was the first jazz singer I really ever listened to. AMAZING!

It was so brilliant to see her in real life and a great way to end my Montreux Experience.

Sector7 free CDs

2011-07-16T16:07:00.001+01:00

"SOLD OUT" from HMV! (Well, "given away" anyway)

So go to Ray's Jazz in Foyles on Charing Cross Road to collect your free copy with any purchase.

Sector7 at the Pizza

2011-07-16T16:04:00.000+01:00

Our first gig in July was at the gorgeous Pizza Express in Dean Street. We had quite a lot of new repertoire to air and this was the perfect place to do it.

School-night jazz is always difficult to promote so I was glad to have a 3/4 full club. Congratularions go to my hard-working singers and band (Emma Smith, Kwabena Adjepong, Matthew Featherstone, George Moore, Tim Thornton, Andy Chapman) for a great show. We'll be returning there in 2012.

Out next London gig is at the 606 on September 14th. Put in in your diaries now! Or you can even book now: 020 7352 5953 or www.606club.com.

June Round-Up

2011-07-16T16:00:00.000+01:00

June saw the last in a 3-year run of charity gigs at the Borough Theatre, Abergavenny featuring The Dolphin Quintet. Organised by Dorothy Bayliss, these concerts have been raising money for the Tri-Charity fund which supports Great Ormond Street Hospital, Diabetes UK and DELTA.

Last year's concert was recorded and produced as a live CD which is for sale on my WEBSITE. All proceeds go to the Tri-Charity fund.

Our finale concert was a great success, and I'll be performing in Herefordshire next month with the Dave Price trio, supporting the same cause.

Jazz in the Nave

Sunday 21st August

8pm £8

St Nicholas Church, Grosmont, Monmouthshire NP7 8EP

Taste of London,
complete with rain coat!

From Thursday 16th- Sunday 19th June, the Taste of London food festival took over a small segment of Regent's Park. The excellent live performance and teaching agency Sound Generation put on a program of music, featuring a scaled-down version of my vocal group, which featured Emma Smith and Robin Phillips. It was great fun apart from the mud and the rain, and the cold wind and, oh yes, the rain!
Note to self: Do not wear a dress with flip flops at an outdoor gig in England, regardless of the time of year!

I did a bit of traveling in June - taking a first-class Virgin trains journey to Bangor for a gig in Menai Bridge. it was brilliant fun and I'm looking forward to the return leg to their sister venue in Wrexham in November.

The month's events finished with a roasting hot gig at the Princess of Wales. Imagine this... no blinds or curtains on the windows so the band, especially the poor drummer, were in direct sunlight the whole gig, and a day so hot that pianist Kate Williams found it nearly impossible to open her sun-baked car afterwards to pack away the gear. I was questioned over my decision to sing Autumn Leaves and another song that referenced autumn, so decided to finish the set with Cole Porter's Too Darn Hot. And it was!

Sector7 on the radio!

2011-06-18T22:31:00.001+01:00

On 3rd May, Emma, Kwabs and I trundled off to Tunbridge Wells on the train for a live broadcast and interview on BBC Radio Kent.

This was an interesting evening even before we got there - having to surreptitiously rehearse on the train (packed, commuter train), we were interrupted before long by a drunk business man (drunk?! - it was only a Tuesday) who wanted to have a sing off with some of his friends. He was actually serious and even took a sheet of music and attempted to sing it. Good effort, although slightly annoying after 10 minutes of trying to ignore him!

Emma, Kwabs and me outside the studio

So anyway, we were invited by Trudy Kerr to be featured on the jazz hour - her slot on the Tuesday evening Roger Day program. We sang a selection of Sector7 tunes, and chatted a bit about the band. You can hear the whole show on my website, or a selection of the songs we sang on my website too.

Click here to be taken to the audio player.

Gathered around the mic

Roger Day looking engrossed in our conversation. In fact,
he was watching the football on the tv above my head!

Nearly 1000 views!

2011-06-18T21:56:00.000+01:00

Our sample EP video has clocked up 954 views. And I only watched it about 20 times! Maybe the others were my Dad.

Help us reach 1000 this month! And if you've got a YouTube account, please 'like' the video, to tip the balance even more in favour of likes... (thanks to the person who has disliked our video!)

Sector7 at the Green Man

2011-06-18T21:45:00.000+01:00

Photos from our latest Sector7 gig:

A month of Fridays

2011-06-18T21:30:00.001+01:00

May was a month of Fridays, with each Friday offering an interesting experience in a different part of the world.

Firstly, I was at Bradford Irish Club for a JATP jazz night (JATP stands for Jazz at the Priestley - where jazz nights in Bradford used to be held). It was a brilliant gig - one of my favourite of 2011 so far. I was playing with my 'Northern' band - a group of musicians that I regularly work with when I do gigs further north than the Hatfield tunnel! They were on fine form: Dave Walsh on drums, Garry Jackson on bass (who coped with my difficult charts amazingly, despite not having played with me for over a year - he was depping for Gavin Barras) and Dan Whieldon on piano.

It was so enjoyable, particularly at a point during Tea for Two where Dan was playing an amazing stride piano solo and I thought it would be a great idea for the band to drop out and give him some space so that the audience could hear exactly how brilliant it was... except that at the exact moment I signalled to the band to stop, Dan decided he'd had enough and his arms were aching by this point, so he too stopped! What followed were a few bars of silence, Dave Walsh laughing his head off at the drums, and Dan resignedly geeing up for another chorus of the stride solo. He said afterwards that he thought his arms may have fallen off! Nevertheless it was my favourite part of the gig, and showed not only what brilliant musicians I was sharing the stage with but also what great fun we had up there.
The promoter (the excellent Martin Powell) clearly had great fun too ("an absolutely wang dang doodle of a jazz gig") and his review is on THIS page. Scroll down to the second paragraph and you'll see me there.

The following Friday we were back in Yorkshire, and this time at Wakefield Jazz Club. My Northern band were joined by Dave O'Higgins which was so thoroughly enjoyable. Dave has recorded on both my albums (new album due out in September - write in on your shopping lists now!) but we haven't played together since May 2010. It was my first time there, although Dave had played many times before. The club had got a new gallery of photographs all around the room, including one of Dave, and they even had a selection of fridge magnets for sale! Here's a photo of Dave in front of picture of Dave holding a picture of Dave. That's now on my fridge.

It was a great gig, a great club, and a privilege to play there. I was presented with an extravagant bunch of flowers at the end which was so delightful - although I had to travel home with them on the coach at 2 in the morning, which wasn't so delightful!

The next week I was performing just outside Swindon, in the church at Highworth. What a building! Such lovely acoustics, and so lovely to have a grand piano there. We had an hour or so to kill before the sound-check so found a pub for a cup of tea, and wandered past this lamp post:

Fame at last!

And for the final Friday in May, I celebrated all that hard work by getting on a train at St Pancras and ending up, 12 hours later, in Nice. Very nice!

Top Ten... Jazz Francais

2011-06-18T20:56:00.000+01:00

At the end of May I spent a glorious 10 days in France, so to celebrate I've done a little piece on le jazz Francais...

1. Michel Legrand
A living legend, Legrand recently did a few nights at Ronnie's. Singing and playing his own songs, there are few musicians out there today who can make an entire set out of their original material - which are well-known songs to the average punter (Watch What Happens, You Must Believe in Spring, What are you doing the rest of your life?, The Windmills of Your Mind). Also a winner of 3 Oscars. Amazing!

2. Nice Jazz Festival 2011

Number 1 and 2 are related as Michel Legrand is appearing this year at Nice Jazz Festival. I took a stroll around Nice for about 20 minutes while waiting for a train home, and saw more than 10 of these billboards on various roundabouts and junctions. Good advertising skills!

3. Jacques Loussier
When I was at school my Dad, a classical pianist and general music enthusiast (although never a jazz fan until his daughter became a jazz singer - actually, I think he's more a 'Sarah' fan than anything else... still!), had a cassette tape entitled 'Play Bach,' which is a collection of Bach compositions used as a base for jazz improvisation by the Jacques Loussier Trio. It's an intriguing recording, and a brilliant concept, that led the trio to sell over 6 million albums.

4. Les Feuilles Mortes

Here is the wonderful Nat King Cole singing 'Les Feuilles Mortes,' a song by Joseph Kosmer with French lyrics by Jacques Prevert and English lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Excuse Nat King Cole's terrible French accent. And the terrible video. But his tone of voice is faultless, and the tempo of this song is more agreeable to me than other, more tortured, versions.

The original lyric is, as expected, quite different to the English version - which isn't really a translation, but a new set of words on the same theme. There's a good translation here: http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/~coby/songtr/lesfm.htm

5. Darling, je vous aime beaucoup

This song is a mixture of French and English - again with a questionable accent (particularly Natalie's lisp on tres/tway), but I love the way the French is tongue-in-cheekly used to rhyme with the English phrases, e.g. Je vous aime beaucoup / Je ne sais pas what to do.

6. Montreux Jazz Festival
I know it's not in France, but they speak French! And I'm going this year to compete in the Jazz Vocal competition, so I thought it was worth a mention!

7&8. Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli

These two musicians deserve a spot each for essentially creating and making popular a new brand of jazz - Gypsy jazz or jazz Manouche.

9. Blossom Dearie singing Comment Allez-vous

This is a great recording of a really swinging song.

10. Ne me quitte pas

An incredibly emotional version of this song.

Sector7 has launched!

2011-05-02T17:51:00.000+01:00

We had a brilliant first gig at London's 606 Club in March. The band is so exciting and I'm really proud to be the creator of such a fantastic group. Watch videos from the gig on YouTube:

My Favourite Things (Rodgers and Hart, arranged by SE Hughes)

Spaceship (Shakka)

Spain (Chick Corea, arranged by SE Hughes)

Butterfly (Herbie Hancock, arranged by SE Hughes)

Unfortunately one of our wonderful singers is already struggling to commit to the group, with a full time job and a happening career of his own to promote, so we are losing Shakka as a permanent member. We are really sad to not be working with him anymore, but wish him well in his future career, and he may be back sometime! Shakka's new release The Shakka Crown Affair is available as a free download from his website. Check it out - it's brilliant!

Speaking of free downloads, there are 3 live tracks on my website that are available for downloading:
My Favourite Things
Butterfly
Spaceship (this is also on Shakka's album. So you could get two stunning versions of Shakka's song for absolutely nothing at all!)

Click here to be taken to the download page.

Our next gig is on Wednesday 18th May at The Green Man on Euston Road. It's right opposite Great Portland Street station. The Green Man has a long history of hosting jazz and at the moment is being programmed and promoted by the Worshipful Company of Musicians and musicians from the Royal Academy of Music.

We start at 8:30 and entry is £8/5.

Click here to purchase tickets or reserve a table.

Sector7 Rehearsals

2011-05-02T17:38:00.000+01:00

Some new footage from our last ever rehearsal with Shakka...

Unfortunately I didn't realise that if you're videoing you can't change the viewing orientation! So sorry if you get a crick in the neck watching!

Kwabena on TV

2011-05-02T07:44:00.001+01:00

I can now call friend and amazing singer Kwabs, "TV's Kwabena Adjepong!"

Kwabs was selected for the BBC2 show Goldie's Band: By Royal Appointment, which was broadcast through March and April, as one of twelve talented youngsters to perform at Buckingham Palace.

Watch the video of his song here:

I'm so proud to know him, and even prouder that he is part of my band Sector7. Well done Kwabs!!

A weekend in Lithuania

2011-05-01T23:36:00.000+01:00

As you may know, last year I competed in the 9th International Jazz Voices competition, held in Lithuania, which I won. I had a really amazing time there and wrote an interesting blog about the quirky little town we stayed in and its love for - almost obsession with - jazz. Read about my experience here:
http://sarahellenhughes.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html

Anyway, one of my prizes was to perform a 'victory' gig at this year's competition. I was really looking forward to going as two friends of mine from England were competing - the wonderful Fini Bearman and Paola Bottomley. Unfortunately, I wasn't there for any of the competition! - I was flown in on the Friday night just after the semi-final had finished, then I had a gig on the Saturday which was rehearsal day, then was flown out again early on Sunday morning before the final began.

So Friday night my new Lithuanian experience began...

Friday 1st April

After my Ryanair flight (never again!! - I had to squeeze my handbag into my backpack so as not to incur the extra luggage charge for two bags (this seemed to be what every passenger was doing), only to take it out again once on the aeroplane - what was the point of that?! Also, I have never before been on a plane where the passengers break into a round of applause on touch-down - was this irony?) with no water provided and no allocated seats, I had a 3.5 hour journey in a bus to Klaipeda. This was quite a hairy moment - I had expected to be greeted by someone at the airport, which is what happened last year - but with no-one to greet me and no-one speaking English, I somehow managed to find a bus to Klaipeda which had my name on the passenger list.

The bus driver's choice of radio station was 'POWER FM.' Wow!

It was a shame that we were travelling at night because I would have liked to have spent the bus journey seeing countryside out of the window rather than pitch darkness and the occasional street lamp or road sign. However, when we approached Klaipeda I started to recognise things which was amazing! I didn't expect feeling such fondness for this town, nor delight in being back. I was escorted to my hotel (a different wing to last time that wasn't quite so elegant, but didn't have a strip club occupying the second floor). By this time it was about 10:30pm so I raced down to the jazz club where I was greeted by several Lithuanian girls I had met last year, a plate of dinner, and the news that my rehearsal was at 10am. Given that my body was saying it was half midnight, I hit the hay.

Saturday 2nd April

Now it's daylight I can see that the town is full of pictures of me!! Evidently, each year's competition winner is the face of the following year's competition, and because the Jazz Voices festival is a highlight of the town's calendar, posters are everywhere.

My gig that night was with a Polish band I had never met so we got to work at 10am. Not a minute too soon, because at this point I was told we were supposed to do a gig at lunchtime (7 hours earlier than I was expecting) to perform to the sponsors of the competition, as they were treated to a buffet lunch and drinks reception. During the afternoon, more revelations came - my gig that evening was actually two hours long at least ("You can play for as long as you like!") even though I had been told to prepare 50 minutes of music. So I started stressing about the lack of tunes I had brought, only to be told later that the first set would be performed by a Lithuanian singer. None of this was a problem, of course, but an indication of how chilled the organisers were in terms of giving out information! (At this point I wondered when I would find out about my transfer arrangements for my flight the next morning - which I knew from the journey here that it was at least a 3 hour bus ride to the airport. I was informed at 11pm that my pick-up time would be 6:30 the next morning. Just in time.)

So anyway, the band was great and I really enjoyed the performance at lunchtime. Here's the guitarist picking through a couple of my more tricky arrangements in front of a gigantic video screen which was the backdrop to our gig.

We were always well-looked-after and at this point I realised I hadn't spent a single lita (I hadn't actually taken any as I was only there for 2 days and you can't get litas at the post office for a value of less than £100 or something). They kept us so well fed and watered that I had no expenses by the end.

Here is a sample of the lunch we were provided with... I have no idea what it was, but Mattheus (guitarist) suggested that it was "good dog." I hope not!

A1 poster on window of jazz
club. They're everywhere!

My gig that night was in a gorgeous new concert hall which hadn't been available last year - a shame, as our concert hall had hole-in-the-floor-toilets with no paper. Not good for a desperate wee before you go on stage!

The gig was wonderful - excellent musicianship, great sound, and a really appreciative crowd. I sold all of the CDs I took (good for my return luggage weight; not good for the exchange rate on my few litas afterwards). I was more nervous about the performance than I expected - the expectation on me to deliver in front of a crowd of singers, with the title "Last Year's Winner," wasn't something I'd thought would affect me, but in fact once the gig got started it went great. The night ended with another hang at the jazz club, and looks of surprise when I announced my bedtime at 12:30. These Lithuanians like to party!

Sunday 3rd April

An early bus to the airport. Roads covered with snow on the way and thick fog... I started to worry about my flight but everything left fine. I can't wait to go back next year!

To find out the results of this year's competition, click here.

Top 10 Inappropriate Wedding Songs

2011-04-30T22:00:00.003+01:00

Having been taken over by wedding fever, this month had to have a wedding-related theme. Firstly I thought about the best songs I'd sung at weddings in the past... boring! Much better are the bizzare songs that I can't believe I've been asked to sing at weddings, and a few songs which you should never select if singing at a wedding!

1. Mad World (Donnie Darko version)
This was requested by my sister as the music to walk out of the wedding ceremony to (well, it was actually a request from my brother-in-law which my poor sister didn't have the heart to veto. How inappropriate!)

2. Stronger than me by Amy Winehouse
I was asked to sing this as a first dance once - totally bizarrely, as it's about a woman moaning that her man isn't the man that he ought to be and is a bit of a push over. Hmmm...?

3. Leave right now by Will Young

This was the first song on a bride's ipod selection

And now a few which should never make it to your play list... (just read it as a titles list - forget what the song's actually about)

4. Let's call the whole thing off

5. Miss Otis Regrets

6. You've Changed

7. It Don't Mean a Thing

8. Good Morning Heartache

9. The Lady is a Tramp

10. Until the Real Thing Comes Along

New album recording

2011-04-01T08:32:00.002+01:00

This month, I've started recording my new album which will be ready for release in the autumn.

My band and I spent 3 days at Derek Nash's studio in Kent, laying down new tunes and some old ones too! It was great fun and very productive.

Derek's studio is fantastic, and Derek himself is a great engineer. He's also a very accomplished and very busy musician - gigging regularly with Jools Holland's band, and writing arrangements for them too. At the moment, he has a display on the studio wall of signed copies of arrangements he's done for people like Eddie Floyd and Kylie Minogue. And there was me drinking tea on his sofa! What an amazing world the music industry is.

We recorded my first album at Derek's studio too, in July 2009... It's nearly sold out, so buy your copy while you still have the chance! - www.sarahellenhughes.co.uk/darningthedream

Screen shot of our monitors - Top left: Darren Altman, Bottom left: Rick Simpson,
Top right: Derek behind his desk, and sofa in background, Bottom right: me peering at some music

Bassist Tom Farmer, with the ghost of Rick Simpson on the left,
and Darren Altman on the right.

Top Ten Spring Songs

2011-04-01T08:18:00.001+01:00

Spring is here! To celebrate, I have selected my favourite recordings of spring-related songs. Where available I have linked to YouTube samples, so you can enjoy them as much as me.

1. It Might as Well be Spring - by Rodgers and Hammerstein - performed by Jacqui Dankworth and James Pearson from the album "For All We Know"

2. Joy Spring - by Clifford Brown - performed by the Buddy Rich Big Band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vg9CNCPxKY

3. It Might as Well be Spring - by Rodgers and Hammerstein - performed by Jane Monheit Live at The Rainbow Room

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjgkAHt38NA

4. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most - by Fran Landesman and Tomy Wolf - performed by Gill Manly on the album "With a Song in my Heart"

5. Spring is here - by Rodgers and Hart - performed by Gretchen Parlato

Gretchen Parlato performed at Ronnie's during last year's London Jazz Festival. I reviewed the gig for LondonJazz, which you can read here

6. April in Paris - by Vernon Duke - Kurt Elling from the album The Messenger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQqyaJxnD60

7. You Must Believe in Spring - by Alan Bergman - Tony Bennett / Bill Evans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bDFDYhXqPM

8. Younger Than Springtime - by Rodgers and Hammerstein - performed by Amel Larrieux

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWpBGx1x1z8

9. I'll remember April - by Gene de Paul - performed by Carmen McCrae

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjRGxv-ULY0

10. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most - by Fran Landesman and Tomy Wolf - performed by Betty Carter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldLetTFrtrc

Top Ten UK Jazz Venues

2011-02-28T23:22:00.000Z

Having just returned from a tour around the North of England, I thought it high time that I took a look at the various venues I've played around the UK and document my favourites.

Scarborough Jazz Club May 2010

1. Scarborough Festivals (Scarborough Jazz Festival and Coastival) and jazz club. I haven't played at Scarborough Jazz Festival, but if Coastival is anything to go by, I expect it'll be well-programmed, well-organised and well-attended. And hopefully in scheduling it in September means it won't rain so much! The jazz club too is exceptional - a well-attended weekly gig, showcasing the finest of this country's jazz talents.

Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival Sept 2010

2. Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival, London. I performed here last September and it was a wonderful gig - excellent location, well looked-after by the organisers, and an excellent free jazz event for the public.

3. Marlborough Jazz Festival. My quartet and I played here in July. Excellent stage, good sound, and again, a lovely (mostly) free festival for the public.

Carswell Country Club June 2010

4. Carswell Country Club, Oxfordshire. I performed here as one of the last gigs of my 2010 album tour. I remember it being a lovely day, and sitting on the patio with a glass of Pimms and listening to the gentle tap of golf balls was a great way to prepare for a gig.

Pizza on the park August 2008

5. Pizza on the Park, London. Sadly now closed, but this venue will remain one of my favourites - excellent sound, excellent sight-lines for audience members, good location and a couple of years' worth of good gigs there with my quartet.

6. Swansea Jazzland. I performed here with the Dave Cottle trio in January this year and found it to be one of the most friendly clubs I had ever been to - much of the audience knowing each other, and going to socialise as much as listen to the jazz.

Seven Jazz May 2010

7. Seven Jazz, Leeds. A jazz haven where the jazz program seems to grow and grow. Also, a club where the audience spans a wide age-range. On Sunday I believe the youngest audience member was about 9.

8. Davenham Arts. A lovely little theatre in Northwich, Cheshire which is sadly suffering from threat of closure owing to lack of funding.

9. Cinnamon Club. "The Ronnie Scott's of the North."

Spice of Life September 2009

10. Spice of Life, London. Always a great night on a Wednesday (jazz is promoted on Wednesdays and Thursdays - Wednesday being singers' night and Thursday typically featuring instrumentalists), some of London's best singers perform or attend, or get up in the jam session and do both!

Another Northern Tour

2011-02-28T22:47:00.000Z

To start this account, here are some tips for touring musicians...:

TIP 1.
If you are leaving for an 8-day tour, don't leave packing until the last minute (ie. 2 in the morning)

TIP 2.
If you are leaving for an 8-day tour, don't have a dinner party the night before which requires clearing up (at 2 in the morning)

TIP 3.
If you have to get up at 6am don't own a phone whose alarm doesn't always work.

My tour started by my snoozing on the 08:00 Kings Cross to Scarborough, trying to catch up on the less than 3 hours' sleep I had had the previous night. (Thankfully I had set two alarms but nothing keeps you restless during the night than the worry that your alarm might not go off!)

I arrived in Scarborough with a romantically child-like view of what this seaside town should be like, without considering the fact that it was February nor the fact that this seaside town was in the North of England. The reality was grey and drizzly skies and a wind that blew my umbrella inside out. That was the end of that!

Despite the weather it was great to be at a gig where I was able to see the sea from on stage.

“Coastival” (how great is that name?! - and I particularly love the similarly named after-party “Postival”) is a music festival running over a weekend featuring over 100 events spanning many different art forms. I was the first act on the jazz afternoon, supporting Dennis Rollins’ Badbone. It was a great gig, and special thanks goes to Mike Gordon for booking us without having heard me first!

We left Scarborough at high tide, exiting the Spa building to the magnificent sounds of crashing waves, and dashing quickly to the car only to be drenched in a wave breaking over the sea wall (luckily we had closed the doors by then but it was still pretty dramatic.)

On Sunday I had a lovely lunchtime gig at Sedgley Park Rugby Club. I had had illusions of cycling the 8 miles from my temporary Manchester base but owing to the cold and slightly wet weather this turned into a tram journey and a tramp through a muddy field. The lunchtime jazz was provided by the Gerry Tomlinson trio who perform there every week with different guests - today being my turn.

My Monday gig (guest vocalist with the Brian Ward big band) was unfortunately cancelled due to a fire at the venue, so I had a good rest before 4 gigs on-the-trot to round off the week. Firstly: Smith’s restaurant in Eccles with pianist Jeremy Sassoon. Smith’s does live jazz every Tuesday provided by Jeremy plus guests. I was greeted by a staff member asking if I wanted a glass on wine - a reception I could get used to! Wednesday was a jazz jam organised by Ed Kainyek at Indigo in Withington - great fun but a very late night, finishing vocalising at 1:15am, packing up at 1:45 am, eating a burger at 2am and finally home at 2:45.

On Thursday, we were booked to play at “Club 43” which is a new supper club set up in one of the restuarants of the Radisson Hotel, Manchester. In its heyday Club 43 was the venue that bands and artists appeared at after their performances at the Free Trade Hall. Such luminaries as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Miles Davis and Humphrey Lyttleton made regular appearances jamming with local musicians to the surprise and delight of fans. The gig was great - a really good, listening audience and a great vibe on stage. We spent about an hour relaxing on velvet sofas prior to the start of the gig, with wine to hand and excellent food from chef Neil Armstrong (probably not the astronaut). A very enjoyable evening.

On Friday I joined Jeremy Sassoon again, this time at the Cinnamon Club in Altrincham. The Cinnamon Club is billed as “The Ronnie Scott’s of the North” and this is probably a similarity partly because the walls are adorned with excellent photos taken by jazz photographer William Ellis. The band on this particular night was Ben Gray (drums), Richard Hammond (bass), Russell Bennett (trumpet) and Jeremy Sassoon (piano and vocals). I massively enjoyed the gig and am looking forward to a return visit to this great club.

The last leg of the tour was a return to Seven Jazz in Leeds. Seven Jazz is a massive success story - in a world where jazz clubs are either reducing their program, or closing down altogether, Seven Jazz is putting on more nights and striving to grow bigger and better all the time. The house was full and it was a great way to finish off the week. I was asked to draw the raffle and it reminded me of a strange raffle I had been asked to draw at a gig a couple of months ago - the tickets were all thrown up into the air and I had to catch one! This was all well and good until the winning ticket failed to be claimed and we had to collect all the tickets up and start again. Thankfully Seven Jazz was more forward thinking, plus the fact that there were seven prizes so I wouldn’t have fancied picking up the tickets seven times.

So home I go, 8 days later and 49 CDs lighter (I actually brought 50 with me so am very chuffed at my prediction skills!) and very jazzed up.

And to leave you with something comical, here's a picture of me like a true professional: making my breakfast in pyjamas and heels.

Joshua Kyle at the Pizza Express

2011-02-21T09:19:00.000Z

There's been a lot of hype surrounding Josh Kyle, and this gig tells me that it's quite justified.

Opening the gig with Stardust, Joshua grabbed the attention of this expectant Pizza Express audience with his very first breath, before taking us through the first half of the song totally unaccompanied and daringly slow in pace - his gloriously silky voice setting the scene for what would be a great evening of high-class jazz.

Kyle used every inch of his dynamic capability in just two bars. His command of timing, and grasp of the harmony were impeccable; his ability to weave a spell through his melody beguiling. His manor was charming and he showed utmost respect for the musicians sharind the stage with him: Tom Cawley on piano and nord, Ralph Salmins on drums and his "partner in musical crime" Geoff Gascoigne on acoustic and electric bass.

Words don't do his vocal ability justice: seductive one moment, unbelievably hip the next. The song seeps through his whole body - he is in total control of his instrument.

One of my favourites of the set was Herbie Hancock's Proof. Kyle's vocal dexterity was evident here, his voice working as the fourth instrument in the band. He oozed an authoritative yet highly respected presence in front of his musicians.

Grins all around the band stand showed how much the band were enjoying themselves and their vocalist, and the appreciation didn't end there: it's been a long time since I've been to a gig where I didn't want it to end. And neither, seemingly did the rest of the audience. I've never heard a crowd so loudly and persistently cry for more. Deservedly so!

Parliamentary Jazz Awards

2011-02-02T08:44:00.000Z

Voting is open for nominations for the Parliamentary Jazz Awards.

In 2010 I had a terrific year: the release and successful tour of my first album; winning an International jazz singing competition; launching my own big band.

I have also been mentioned on two separate occasions in the JazzUK Best of 2010 News Roundup.

If you consider me a worthy candidate for a nomination, you can access the form by clicking here. Voting closes March 1^st.

February Half Term Tour

2011-02-02T07:43:00.002Z

Saturday 19th February

Coastival

The Spa, Scarborough

North Yorks YO11 2HD

2pm

Featuring:

Dave Walsh (drums), Gavin Barras (bass), Dan Whieldon (piano)

Supporting Dennis Rollins

Sunday 20th February

Sedgley Park

Sedgley Park Rugby Club, Great Manchester M45 7DZ

1pm

Guest with Gerry Tomlinson trio

Monday 21st February

Brian Ward Big Band

**This event has been postponed owing to a fire at the venue**

Jeremy Sassoon

Tuesday 22nd February

Smith's Jazz

Smith's Restaurant, Eccles, Manchester M30 0DL

7:30pm

Jazz duo with Jeremy Sassoon (piano/vocals)

Wednesday 23rd February

Indigo

Manchester M40

9pm

Jam Session hosted by saxophonist Ed Kainyek

Thursday 24th February

Club 43

Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Manchester M2 5GP

8pm

Featuring:

Dave Walsh (drums), Gavin Barras (bass), Dan Whieldon (piano)

To book a table, please call +44(0)161 835 8904

Friday 25th February

The Cinnamon Club

Bowdon Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 2TQ

7:30pm

Guest singer with the Jeremy Sassoon trio

Sunday 27th February

Seven Jazz

Seven Arts Centre, Leeds LS7 3PD

2pm

Featuring:

Dave Walsh (drums), Gavin Barras (bass), Jamil Sherrif (piano)

Swansea Jazzland

2011-02-01T23:13:00.000Z

Being on tour is great, although it does mean that you end up spending only a small amount of time in a town or city seeing the inside of a jazz club followed by the bright lights of the motorway/inside of a hotel room if you're lucky. If your gig is scheduled between November-February, it's unlikely that any of the time you spend in the aforementioned town or city will be during daylight hours.

This is how I arrived in Swansea on 19th January. I had a short walk to my hotel and passed a brilliant sign on my way - a slogan written on the outside of a building site saying "Swansea: 2nd best city after Paris."

The gig was at Swansea Jazzland and I had been invited by Dave Cottle to join him and the rest of the house trio for their second gig of the year. It was such a brilliant gig - my most enjoyable for a long time. I had a lot of queries before the gig as to whether my "Hughes" was native Welsh and I was proud to say that my Grandfather was from down the road in Llanelli. I had even prepared a song in Welsh to appeal to the locals. Unfortunately, I didn't quite realise that I was on Osprey turf, and my choice of Sosban Fach (the team song for Ospreys arch rivals the Llanelli Scarletts) was booed before it even started!! I had done a jazz waltz arrangement with a latin feel, so during the solos I think the punters forgot what song it was and just enjoyed the jazz!

We finished a little after 11, and I had to head back to my hotel for a few hours' sleep before heading back to London on the ridiculous commuter train of 03:57 to get back in order to teach recorders at my morning school. 3:30am in Swansea on a Wednesday night is an interesting time: rather than being abandoned, I found the town centre full of young drinkers (there was even a bouncer at the door of MacDonalds).
Amazingly, I made it home in time for breakfast on my sofa... then after all that I ended up being late to school because of the ridiculous amount of traffic in Peckham. I tried!

I'd like to visit Swansea again - not least for the wonderful atmosphere at that Jazz club, but also it would be nice to see the city in daylight and actually stay long enough for breakfast!

Farewell 2010

2011-01-07T23:49:00.031Z

January 2010 at Pizza on the Park
Tom Farmer and Me

2010 started with two gigs at my beloved Pizza on the Park. The first was greatly disrupted by snow (well, not the actual gig, but the audience turn-out) and the second was sold-out. Most of the songs from the February gig are on my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/sarahellenhughes. - just look for the video stills with me in this white dress (below right)

Feb 2010 at Pizza on the Park
Matt Ridley, Darren Altman and me

In March 2010, my first album Darning the Dream was released. Sales are going well, and I expect to have sold out by mid-2011. I won't be doing another run, so buy your copy before they disappear from the shops!

Get it from my website: www.sarahellenhughes.co.uk, or from Amazon, HMV, iTunes, or any local record store.

Darning the Dream album conver

Clutching my certificate

Singing "I can't get started"

April 2010 was a really special month, as it's when I won the International Jazz Singing Competition "Jazz Voices," held in Lithuania. Left is a picture of me in the semi-finals, and right is a picture of me on results night. I cried a lot!

Jersey from the departing plane

Jumping (!) outside Bishop
Auckland Town Hall

Seven Jazz Club in Leeds
Rick Simpson on piano, Gavin Barras
on bass, Darren Altman on drums
Photo by Tom Swire

In May and June, my band and I embarked on a national tour to promote the album Darning the Dream. The beginning of May involved two separate trips up and down the country - one to Leeds; one to Hull. We flew to Jersey; we drove to Berwick-upon-Tweed. It was a great experience and I'd like to thank my band for being fun, reliable, and above all brilliant musicians! Bring on the next tour!

Marlborough Jazz
Festival review

In July, we performed at the Marlborough Jazz Festival. Right is a snippet of a review in the local paper. Read the whole review here: www.sarahellenhughes.co.uk/reviews

Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival

To carry on our summer trend of jazz festivals, we also performed at the Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival in London, one of my favourite jazz festivals. The stage, sound, sun and audience were excellent.

More travelling in October and November. On the left I'm singing with the Jersey Big Band (with a lost voice), and on the right I'm posing in front of a tea and coffee house in Northern Ireland after a lovely Sunday lunchtime gig.

And finally, back home! In December there was no travelling involved, although snow cancelled or postponed 3 of my 9 gigs. It nearly played havoc with the Sarah Ellen Hughes big band debut at Ruislip Manor, but the gig went ahead very successfully regardless.

Here's to a successful 2011!

Top Ten Jan 8th Birthdays

2011-01-07T23:33:00.001Z

What a famous day Jan 8th is! The following people were all born on this day.
(also, this is another top ten list that I can put myself on!)

1. Stephen Hawking, English scientist (1942)
2. Dame Shirley Bassey, Welsh singer (1937)
3. Elvis Presley, American singer (1935)
4. David Bowie, English singer (1947)
5. Paul Hester, drummer with Crowded House (1959)
6. Robby Krieger, guitarist with The Doors (1946)
7. Soupie Sales, Amercian Comedian (1926)
8. R Kelly, American singer (1967)
9. Anna Hughes, twin sister and co-leader of the Sarah Ellen Hughes big band (1983)
10. Sarah Ellen Hughes, British jazz singer and author of the blog you're reading (1983)

A Snowy Christmas.

2011-01-06T22:18:00.000Z

I had a great Christmas day with my camera! Available for parties and weddings...!

A fox dragging its toe nails?

Our snow wasn't good enough for a snowman so we had to make do with a snowface!

Big band Bonanza

2011-01-06T21:39:00.040Z

In December the Sarah Ellen Hughes big band was born! Our first gig was at Ruislip Manor. It was so much fun, and hopefully we'll be back in May.

Here's the review.

The Sarah Ellen Hughes Big Band (December 5th)

The Band: Sarah Ellen Hughes (vocals/flute, front right) and Anna Hughes (vocals/trumpet/flugel, front left) co-leading (from left) Rob Taggart (keyboard); Matt Ridley (bass); Paul Robinson (drums); Henry Armburg-Jennings, Richard Freeman, Gabriel Garrick, Mark Perry (trumpets); Chris Lowe, Martin Gladdish, Natalie Whitts (tenor trombones); Ollie King (bass trombone); saxophones: Brandon Allen (tenor), Jamie O'Donnell (alto), Phil Knights (alto), Tom Stone (tenor), Richard Shepherd (baritone).

The Music: Too Close For Comfort (v) (Jerry Bock/Lawrence Holofcener/George Weiss, arr. Patrick Williams) : Midnight Sun (v) (J Francis Burke/Johnny Mercer) : Wait And See (v) (Bill Ashton, arr. Paul Higgs) : Return Flight (Tom Stone) : All Of Me (Seymour Simmons, arr. Phil Knights) : A-Tisket, A-Tasket (v) (Van Alexander/Ella Fitzgerald) : You Go To My Head (v) (J Fred Coots/Haven Gillespie) : But Not For Me (George & Ira Gershwin) : That Old Black Magic (v) (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer, arr. Billy May) : Oh Lady Be Good (v) (George & Ira Gershwin) : When Sunny Gets Blue (v) (Marvin Fisher/Jack Segal) : Someone (v) (Bill Ashton, arr. Evan Jolly) : Big P (Jimmy Heath, arr. Henry Armburg-Jennings) : I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (v) (Irving Berlin) : Putney Vale (Tom Stone, arr. Callum Au) : Twos Hughes Blues (Sarah Ellen Hughes) : In The Bleak Mid-Winter (Gustav Holst/Christina Rosetti, arr. Sarah Ellen Hughes) : Jingle Bells (James Lord Pierpont, arr. John Clayton jnr./Natalie Cole)

The Gig: Winter’s gloom lifted temporarily, both literally and metaphorically, for this eagerly-anticipated session, an unseasonably rare sunny Sunday enticing in from the cold a goodly crowd to witness and enjoy the launch of the Sarah Ellen Hughes Big Band, live at The Manor…

From the very first number – Too Close For Comfort – a groovily swinging ensemble work-out, it was clear that this gig, and this band, was going to be something special – Sarah Ellen (left) demonstrating from the outset just why she’s deservedly been gathering plaudits for her vocal prowess. A switch in pace saw that beautiful ballad, Midnight Sun, given a rarely heard vocal outing. Sarah Ellen initially pitched the verse and chorus over the sax section and a mass of muted trumpets, while her twin sister, Anna Hughes, provided the front mic flugelhorn intro and counterpoint – Anna then played a plangent double time flugel solo before the concluding vocal. Marvellous stuff!

When Sarah Ellen left NYJO almost three years ago Bill Ashton presented her with a number of his vocal charts that she particularly liked. One of these was Wait And See, a gentle bossa nova which started as a vocal/piano duet (Rob Taggart doing the honours on keyboard), then added a flavouring of flute (courtesy of Phil Knights) before the full band joined in – Jamie O’Donnell took the fine alto solo.

There were just two fully instrumental numbers in this set: the first, Return Flight, written by second tenor Tom Stone, also has NYJO connections – it had been performed here just two weeks before. After Rob’s piano intro, Mark Perry and Sarah Ellen (on flute) together stated the theme of this medium-paced, Latin-tinged number. Mark and Tom each took a solo and Paul Robinson (right) added some powerful percussive interludes towards the end.

The second, Phil’s Basie-esque arrangement of All Of Me, had an extended intro by the rhythm section, some rumbustious ensemble work and featured a lovely solo by Rob over the full band – absolutely cracking!

Returning to the vocal mic, Sarah Ellen dusted off the old Ella Fitzgerald number, ATisket, A-Tasket based, she said, on a 19th Century nursery rhyme – so maybe Van Alexander was only responsible for the band’s vocal interjections! Whatever, it was great fun… By contrast, You Go To My Head was a gentle, Latin-flavoured quintet feature for Sarah Ellen, singing initially with the rhythm section and subsequently joined by Martin Gladdish, who also provided the trombone solo and an achingly beautiful descant line to the concluding vocal.

The penultimate number of the first set marked another change – Sarah Ellen had arranged But Not For Me as a sprightly vocal duet feature for herself and sister Anna, accompanied by members of the sax section. After Paul’s spirited drum intro, the impressively matched voices of the talented twins swung into the verse and chorus before Phil, Jamie, Tom and Richard Shepherd each soloed in turn. Jon Hendricks’s alternate lyrics made an appearance in the middle section, Paul provided a drum break and then the girls alternated fours and duetted all the way to the drum-supported coda. Just wonderful!

Which only left That Old Black Magic to weave its spell and send everyone buzzing with delight at what they’d just heard and in anticipation of delights yet to come…

Set two bounded into action with a couple of quintet numbers: after an a capella vocal intro, Oh Lady Be Good saw Brandon Allen (right) joining Sarah Ellen and the rhythm section and providing a lovely tenor counterpoint to the second chorus. Brandon, Rob and Matt Ridley also contributed solos before Sarah Ellen (scatting), Paul and Brandon alternated fours into the coda. Slowing things down, Anna then joined her sister for a vocal duet on When Sunny Gets Blue which, after the piano intro, had a ‘twins and tenor’ interlude before Rob’s extended solo – more vocal duetting over Brandon’s tenor descant brought proceedings to a close.

The full band returned for Evan Jolly’s arrangement of Bill Ashton’s Someone, an archetypal big band swinger on which Anna took the lead vocal, being joined later by Sarah Ellen for some duetting – the sax section then had a soli before more vocal duetting over muted trumpets led to the big finish.

Jimmy Heath is a somewhat neglected jazz writer but Henry Armburg-Jennings’ (left) arrangement of Big P went some way to setting this to rights. Matt’s bass intro over piano and drums gave way to the band before Henry’s extended solo – Richard and Rob each then had solos before the ensemble finish, complete with tremolo saxes…

I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm started with some Latin flavouring before Sarah Ellen’s vocal settled into a swing groove – Phil took the alto solo. Tom then generously offered his own ballad composition, Putney Vale, to Brandon, who grasped the chance of a tenor feature with both hands – Gabriel Garrick and Rob also contributed solos.

Back to the duets, but this time with a difference – after Rob’s relaxed intro, Twos Hughes Blues featured the purely instrumental talents of Sarah Ellen and Anna on flute and muted trumpet respectively (right), kicking back on an original which did exactly what the title suggests. Chris Lowe, Gabriel, Richard and Jamie all contributed solos, whilst Matt interjected some appropriate bass fills over the leads’ duet coda.

The inevitable Christmas offerings were left until the end, on the basis, Sarah Ellen said: “…that it’s much nearer to Christmas now than it was at 12.30”. In her arrangement of Gustav Holst’s setting of Christina Rosetti’s In The Bleak Mid-Winter, after a rubato chorale introduction the rhythm section settled into a slow rock groove before the sisters singly and then together (left) made the gloomy lyrics glow. Jamie (soprano) and Mark took solos before Sarah Ellen’s scat vocal and another vocal duet chorus preceded the muted trumpet and soprano sax coda – seasonably smashing stuff!

Jingle Bells featured in a band’s programme for the second time in seven days – this version though was a sexily swinging arrangement, originally written by John Clayton Jnr for Natalie Cole, to which Sarah Ellen did full vocal justice. Richard Freeman contributed the obligatory ‘neighing’ trumpet interjections and Brandon added a tremendous tenor solo before Sarah Ellen's sleigh bells suitably rounded off the concert.

For two week’s running there have been unanimous audience accolades for a band appearing at The Manor, and the music it played – the requests again this week were all along the lines of: “You must have this band back!”. With the proviso that we’re able to count on a viable level of audience support for all the bands we host here, we’ll be in a position to continue our promotions and accede to such requests. And if so, the Sarah Ellen Hughes Big Band may well be returning in late spring…

Steve Harris / Ian Fielding

Photos Bill Ashton/Steve Harris

Theo Jackson at the 606

2011-01-06T20:40:00.001Z

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of spending the evening at the 606, writing for LondonJazz (www.londonjazz.blogspot.com). The Theo Jackson Quintet was the entertainment. Here's the review:

Vocalist Theo Jackson leads his band from the piano, with a confidence and assurance that comes from being a true musician, and the trust and knowledge that the other guys on the stand are too. He is the first to applaud (well, his hands are occupied on the keys so by 'applaud' I mean 'acknowledge by exclaiming') altoist Nathaniel Facey's solo. These guys gel together well. It may be a young band - this is in fact Theo's 25th birthday, and the rest of the band range from 24-29 - but there is maturity in their grooves and in their respect and understanding of each other.

Unfortunately, Theo was clearly struggling with some of the high notes - perhaps the remnants of a winter cold playing havoc with his performance. Nevertheless, where he's let down in power and range, he more than makes up for in tone and vocal dexterity. He's got a beautiful voice. It's well-controlled with a casual jazz vibrato, and a pop-y flexibility. It's a satisfying sound.

Theo is clearly a talented writer and instrumentalist, as well as musician and performer. However, not one of the tunes is arranged to exploit the instruments at his disposal which I feel is a wasted opportunity.

The highlight of the first set for me was Charlie Parker's Confirmation. Not necessarily for the vocal - a charming delivery but not accurate enough in diction or intonation to be convincing (although saved once again by that gorgeous tone shining through). No, this is where the band went to town.

Guitarist Jamie McCredie was a most thrilling soloist. I wish he'd had a mic before him to capture what he was singing as it certainly looked like he was scatting along perfectly to his own solo. Nathaniel Facey proved exactly why he was the worthy recipient of the Worshipful Company of Musicians Young Jazz Musician's prize a few months prior. And let's not forget Theo Jackson at the piano. He modestly tells me that he's not a pianist. But his well-worked solos develop logically, being both thoughtfully-crafted and dexterously-impressive, and above all making sense, without resorting to flashy finger-wiggling.

During this tune they traded 8s between instruments which was great fun. The only thing lacking was the tremendous applause for a stunning drum solo which Jason Reeve had worked hard for and would have deserved.

I introduced myself to Theo during the interval and it was clear that he had actually lost his voice. He didn't complain to the crowd about it - the only reference while singing was during Devil May Care where a growling voice finished off this 1950s bop standard with all the gruffness of a 90s rocker. "I'm quite enjoying this raspy thing," he said before singing the last 2 bars. That’s a pro at work!

Drummer Jason Reeve really shone in this tune too, echoing licks and responding musically to the soloists as well as exploring the whole kit and a range of styles in his own too-short solo.

Other memorable moments were You Saved Me, a lilting 5/4 giving bassist Philipp Moll a chance to weave a lyrical solo. He's been impressive throughout. Tired drew its inspiration from a hopeless teenage crush on a music teacher and Pat Metheny's Minuano allowed this band to exploit the groove that is clearly their forte. A brave encore finished the night off well.

I can't wait for the full-throated show, to see what Theo Jackson is really capable of.

Top Ten Christmas Songs

2010-11-30T23:11:00.000Z

1. All I want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey.

2. Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day (including the best lip-syncing ever videod!)

3. Let It Snow - Frank Sinatra

4. Rockin Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee

5. Wham! - Last Christmas (the acting in this video is superb..!)

6. Cliff Richard - Saviours Day

7. Baby It's Cold Outside - sung by the incredible Dionne Warwick and Ray Charles (not Cerys Matthews who sings the words wrong in the studio and says "oops!")

8. Santa Claus is Coming To Town - Jackson 5

9. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - James Taylor

10. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole

A Belfast Treat

2010-11-30T22:35:00.000Z

On 6th/7th November I had the pleasure of spending a weekend in Northern Ireland for a couple of gigs. A friend who I used to play jazz with when we both lived in the North West of England - Dan Forshaw - moved to Belfast a couple of years ago and has been busy establishing some decent, regular jazz nights.

So the Saturday night was a jazz gig in Bert's Jazz Bar, at the Merchant Hotel. Bert's does live jazz every night, and it's even got a veranda outside to which music is pumped, day and night. Here I am the morning after, listening to some very sultry Sarah Vaughn. (Unfortunately the camera couldn't cope here with the bright sunlight... apparently we had experienced one of the only Autumn weekends with sunshine since Dan had moved there!)

We were lucky enough to be put up in this (very 5*) hotel. I'd never been in such a place. Our small bags were carried without question by the charming William - who then proceeded to give us a guided tour of our room. We couldn't have been looked after better.

The gig was enjoyable - great to play with new musicians - although in a hotel bar, it's unlikely that you'll get much of a listening audience. However, we had a few requests and a few appreciative comments amongst the irregular applause. I have to say, it was wonderful to do a gig and then crawl into bed less than 5 minutes later, in a room that is one of the most elegant I have ever been in!

Me and Dan

Sunday started with a 'full Irish' - deliiicious! The dining room had high ceilings, columns, cherubs adorning the walls and everything else you could imagine of such a place. We followed breakfast by a trip to the next gig - at SD Bell, a lovely little tea and coffee house in the Knock area of Belfast. Each Sunday top-quality jazz and atmosphere is served, for no entry fee.

Overall a very enjoyable weekend, and hopefully at some point I'll be back.