Windy City Weatherbirds

Monday 8 April 2024 There were many requests to invite this young band back, so it was a joy to welcome the Windy City Weatherbirds to Griffin Park Jazz Club again in April. The three brothers, Magnus, Daniel and Joe grew up in Orkney and were encouraged by their parents to play music, their mum played clarinet and piano and their granddad trombone and bagpipes, and they specialise in Swing and Dixieland music. Sol, their rhythm guitarist is currently on a sabbatical in Australia and so Cornelius, from Yorkshire, was standing in, just as magnificently, breaking out melodically from the rhythm when the tune allowed. Favourites included The Tin Roof Blues, 1923, The New Orleans Rhythm Kings; Some of These Days, 1957, Louis Armstrong; At the Jazz Band Ball, 1917, The Original Dixieland Jazz Band; and That Da Da Strain, 1939, Muggsy Spanie and His Ragtime Band.

The band recorded their first album last October, at Light Ship 95, a 550-tonne ship that was moored on the Goodwin Sands and is now docked near Canning Town. The album is called The Lightship Session and will be available to order soon.

Magnus Pickering – Cornet and vocals
Daniel Pickering – Trombone
Joe Pickering – Clarinet and Tenor Sax
Cornelius Corkery – Rhythm Guitar

You can listen again to some of the tunes here on Paul Robigo’s YouTube channel.

Join us every 2nd Monday of the month. Next time will be Monday 13 May with Max Emmons. Everyone is welcome. £10 on the door, 8pm – 10.30pm at Brentford Community Sports Trust. Bring your own drink, there is also free tea and soft drinks available.

East of Meon

Monday 11 March 2024 Another new band for the club… we welcomed East of Meom all the way from South London to Griffin Park Jazz Club, delighting the crowd with a night of upbeat Golden Oldies, Great American Songbook and a bit of Latin mixed in too.

Favourite tunes included Sweet Georgia Brown, with a nice drum and bass section, 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard; Do You Know what it Means to Miss New Orleans, written by Eddie DeLange and Louis Alter, performed by Louis Armstrong and sung by Billie Holiday in the movie New Orleans in 1947; Do Nothing til you Hear from Me, Duke Ellington, 1940; and St Louis Blues, WC Handy, 1914, with guest appearances from both Tomoko and our John Habes on mouth organ.

Saxophone – Kati Whitaker
Keyboards/Vocals – Marcus Hill
Double Bass – Paul Canton
Drums – Andy Coe
Clarinet – Tomoko Nakahata

Join us next month on Monday 8 April for a return visit from The Windy City Weatherbirds. 8pm, music starts 8.30pm. £10 cash on the door, bring your own food and alcohol drinks if you wish, we have zero alcohol beers and snacks for sale (still waiting for licence). Tea, Coffee, Lemonade, squash and water free, plates glasses and ice on request. Also if you have any prizes you’d like to donate to the half time raffle these would also be welcomed.

One More Time

Monday 13 November 23 It’s been a while since Max was with us at Griffin Park Jazz Club, and it was great to see him again in our new location at the Community Stadium, with some new members in his band. Favourite tunes included an hypnotic Georgia on my Mind, Ray Charles 1960, (in key of F) with Max on vocals; some beautiful clarinet sounds with Poor Butterfly, Raymond Hubbell with lyrics by John L Golden, 1916; and Rose Room, (in A flat), also known as Sunny Roseroom, by Art Hickman, 1917, and a hit for Duke Ellignton in 1932.

Max Emmons – Trumpet
Steve Smith – Double Bass
Pete Littleproud – Drums
Andrew Clancy – Keyboards
Martin Nickless – Clarinet

The set-up is still bring your own alcoholic drinks if you like, with soft drinks and snacks available to purchase and free tea. Next time it will be our Christmas do, so do bring along raffle prizes and any Christmassy food to share. We will be joined by Bob Dwyer’s Bix & Pieces. Monday 11 December, doors 8pm, music 8.30-10.30pm. Everyone is very welcome.

Windy City Weatherbirds

Monday 9 Oct 23 We were joined for the first time by a fabulous jazz band called Windy City Weatherbirds. Growing up in Orkney the three brothers were encouraged by their parents to play music, their mum played clarinet and piano and their grandad the trombone and bagpipes. Joe grew up on the Isle of Wight, on the other side of the British Isles. With so many lovely tunes to pick from, some favourites included Some Day Sweetheart, written by John and Seb Spikes in 1918, and recorded by many including Gene Austin in 1927; New Orleans by Hoagey Carmichael, 1932; Fools Rush In, Glenn Miller 1940, with Magnus on vocals; The Careless Love Blues, WC Handy, 1921, also recorded by Bessie Smith featuring Louis Armstrong, 1925; and I am Confessing, Doc Daugherty, Ellis Reynolds and lyricist Al J. Neiburg.

Looking around, everyone had smiles on their faces as they enjoyed the professionalism and pure talent of this relatively young band. Their love of traditional jazz shone through and we hope this was the first of many more trips to the club.

Magnus Pickering – Cornet and vocals
Daniel Pickering – Trombone
Joe Pickering – Clarinet and Tenor Sax
Sol Grimshaw – Rhythm Guitar

Join us every 2nd Monday of the month. Next time will be 13 November when Max Emmons will be back with One More Time. Everyone is welcome. £10 on the door, 8pm – 10.30pm at Brentford Community Sports Trust.

Griffin Park Jazz Club is back!

Monday 12 June 2023 After a wait of 3 years and 3 months, Griffin Park Jazz Club is finally back. The last live jazz session took place in March 2020, when The Hive at the football club closed at Braemar Road. Several Covid Lockdowns later and after much searching for a new venue, a space has been found at the GTech Communiity Stadium thanks to Brentford Community Sports Trust.

Bob Dwyer’s Bix and Pieces who played at the last session in 2020 came back last night for a lively evening of music. Bob entertained with stories of Brentford when he grew up across the road near Kew Bridge, and remembers well when Brentford Market was in the location of the new stadium, with horses in the nearby railway sidings. Tunes included I’m going away to wear you off my mind, King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band; Hush-a-bye, a clarinet solo from Paula Jackman: Putting on the Ritz, Irvine Berlin, with Hugh Crozier on vocals; and a solo trumpet piece by Mike Henry, A kiss to build a dream on, Louis Armstrong.

Trombone – Bob Dwyer
Trumpet – Mike Henry
Clarinet – Paula Jackman
Drums – Graham Collicott
Keyboards – Hugh Crozier
Tuba – Marc Easener

Much thanks to Bryan who ran the club at Griffin Park, and to John Habes who has taken over organising the new club, and of course Heather who’s the greatest dancer!

The next get-together will be on the second Monday of July, 8-10.30pm. £10 on the door. Everyone is welcome.