A return visit by this 36-strong well-established & spectacular Glastonbury choir and a New Orleans style Jazz Band.
Thursday 19th May
The Avalonian Free State Choir
A return visit by this 36-strong well-established & spectacular Glastonbury choir, singing “Music from Near and Far”. Their programme includes traditional and medieval English gospels, folksongs & madrigals and tunes from Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Poland, Russia and South America. Their performance here last year produced numerous standing ovations. Their latest CD will be on sale in the interval.
Tickets �6 on the door or �5 in advance.
Thursday 21st July
Dave Martin’s Jabbo Five
This New Orleans style Jazz Band was formed in June 2010 to play the music of Jabbo Smith and Louis Armstrong from the 1920s and was immediately booked for this concert as three of the musicians, Dave Martin (cornet), Des Bacon (reeds) and Mike Denham (piano) have, between them, already played on ten occasions in Martock Church, to great acclaim.
The Jabbo Five also includes Pete Miller, banjo, who came to Martock with The City Steam Jazz Band. Pete has also played with Al Hogan’s Goodtime Jazz Band and Gwynne’s Hot Six.
The fifth member is John Beacham, on tuba when playing Jabbo Smith tunes, but on trombone when playing the Louis Armstrong Hot Five repertoire. John played for many years with the Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine Jazz Bands. He has recorded with Chris Barber and Humphrey Lytteltonand has played in Five a slide, a trombone quintet, and The London Ragtime Orchestra.
The Jabbo Five has proved extremely popular and, although all the musicians have busy careers in several other bands, already has two dozen emgagements listed on their website, including the forthcoming Lyme Regis and Bude Jazz Festivals. The splendid website http://www.jabbofive.com/ allows you to hear six of their recordings and to listen to Jabbo Smith’s 1929 discs when he was a rival for Louis Armstrong’s crown. Jabbo failed to capitalize on his early success, preferring Wine & Women to Song, but made a comeback at international festivals after the Second World War.
Tickets �6 on the door or �5 in advance.
