JS's Jazz Library: John Coltrane

 While idly scrolling BlueSky and the cesspit that was once Twitter I was reminded that yesterday was the centenary of the birth of John Coltrane.

So, to mark this occasion I pondered what 5 albums would I pick to represent the work of the great man, and what would be the criteria?

A simple "best of" would be the obvious approach, but I thought no. Why don't I make even more work for myself and pick five albums to represent Trane's work as a whole. Then I thought, why stop at Trane? So here is the first in an irregular series of Jazz Libraries for various artists... pre-album artists are a bridge I will cross when I get there.

So without further ado, here I go. Please bare in mind, these choices may not represent my preferences. Also I am not going to go into details as to why something isn't included, but feel free to ask me elsewhere providing you do so respectfully 

5. Kulu Se Mama

Coltrane's last album released in his lifetime. This to me is a distillation of the the Free Jazz/ avant-garde direction he was leaning into, and yet still somewhat accessible. The titular track and Vigil are challenging but engaging, while Welcome reflects where he has come from. An album which has one foot in Trane's past and one in his posthumously released future.

4. My Favourite Things 

the x 

Ok, this is an obvious choice, and it was a toss up between this and Giant Steps for inclusion. But as this is Trane's first real showcase for his Soprano Saxophone, and the titular tracks ubiquitous presence in his live recordings from here on it, this was is the clear winner. But, while the titular track gets the most traction, fir me it is the deconstruction of the over played Gershwin standard "Summertime" that is my emphasised track.

3. A Love Superme

An obvious inclusion,  but come on, it is a defining album.

2. Bags & Trane

I wanted to represent the mellow side of Trane, and the Johnny Hartman album was too obvious. This puts Trane in an interesting line up which perhaps reflects a fading period in Jazz, but Trane is on top form effortlessly leaning into the material.

1. Blue Train

Ok, this *is* very much a personal choice.  When I heard the title track for the first time, I think I was 18 possibly 17, it was the greatest euphoria I have experienced with my clothes on. The almost noir-ish sound reeled in your sentimental sandman who, when not reading Doctor Who books, was reading Raymond Chandler, Hammett, and watching far too many black and white movies than a sixth form student in the early 2000s should be watching.  This album cemented my love of Jazz, from dixie to free. So to the sole Blue Note album from Trane, I give you thanks.

UPTON UPON SEVERN JAZZ FESTIVAL 2026 PART FIVE

 

   I entered  Upton Parish and found myself a good pew (a literal pew) to sit on which would provide me a good view of the bandstand and take in some of the interesting architecture on display, and try not to have flashbacks to forcibly made to attend Mass at St. Patrick's Church back in my school days and the various "subversive and disrespectful" antics the teaching staff accused me of... shockingly anarchic behaviour like sitting down and quietly reading a book, sneezing due to a reaction to the incense being carried up and down the aisle etc... Quite why they just couldn't give students the option go to the library and do the work for the class which was cancelled I don't know... would have benefited the students who wanted to attend Mass as well. I figured I should be facing any sudden evictions from the church as I didn't have a copy of Gary Russell's Invasion of the Cat-People with me.

The band, Dixie Mix, assembled on the stage and their attire was in semi-formal suits which instantly made me think of the very straight laced attire worn by the Dance and Swing bands of 1930s and 1940s, so I did wonder if we were in for a little bit more of an orchestrated affair music wise with a risk of some very stilted vocal refrains. I have never seen- or even heard of this band, so regardless I was interested to find out how this would turn out.  A little bit about the band; Dixie Mix is a six piece ensemble who play a mix of new and old jazz classics with a Dixieland mix, evidently they put a lot more effort into their repertoire and arrangements then they did when coming up with the band name, but I guess it is punchy and does exactly what it says on the tin (for those of you who are reading this and are no of a certain age from the UK, there was used to be an advert for Ronseal's Quick Drying Wood Varnish and the slogan was "does exactly what it says on the tin). Aside from numerous TV and theatre appearances, the band has also gone on tour with Rod Stewart, upon learning this I was very intrigued about what would unfold, particularly as my immediate though was of the album The Jazz Age which was an album of 1920s Jazz style covers of 1980s hits... it was then I remember that The Jazz Age wasn't by Rod Stewart but by Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music fame, though I am fairly certain Rod did do a album of songs from the Great American Songbook, so I probably briefly mixed the two up in my head. The line up of the band consisted of band leader Simon Nelson on trumpet, Chris Wigley on trombone, Karl Wirrman on clarinet and saxes (though only clarinet was listed in the programme), with a rhythm section Tony Wilkins in the engine room, Kev West (no relation to Fred, I hope) doubling up on banjo and guitar, and in a change to what was listed in the programme, we had the ubiquitous Jim Swinnerton standing in on the double bass. Swinnerton must be the busiest bass player on the UK trad scene as he turns up practically everywhere in many a different ensemble, in fact he would be returning to play another gig in the Church with a different band later in the day (and I assume also would be returning to Dixiemix for their booking ending gig of the day).  The gig opened with a rousing rendition of "Sweet Georgia Brown" more reminiscent of the arrangement played by Acker Bilk & his Paramount Jazz meaning no whistling and thankfully nobody in the audience attempting to 'enhance' the entertainment by indulging in Globetrotter style clowning around down isles, an event which would totally justify turning missals into missiles (no, I haven't been waiting for ages to try and use that pun somewhere, honest). This was followed by a number not written, but certainly performed by Fats Waller, and not one of the more well known of his covers. This is a lovely little song called "You Meet the Nicest People in Dreams" which on surface level could be interpreted as a bit twee and overly saccharine, but the Waller touch gives it certain lilt which takes away some of the OTT sentiment of the lyrics (see also "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie"). I recall talking to friends about this song many, many years ago and would appeared that the people in the circles I used to move in clearly had very different dreams about people to those that the composer of the song had. The following number was a fairly familiar standard which has been recorded by many artists including the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Fats Waller, Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and perhaps surprisingly, Branford Marsalis. This number has always been a favourite of mine, to the extent that it was one of the first pieces of Jazz I tried to learn by ear when I resurrected my childhood keyboard back when I was about 19, how successful was I? I can't remember, probably not very. So after a run of rip-roaring, upbeat and swinging numbers, it was time for a more introspective piece and the band headed over to the Duke Ellington Songbook and that evergreen standard Mood Indigo. Mood Indigo is a good example of a timeless piece, it has been reinvented so many times, including by Ellington himself, and while every reinvention may not always add something new, they never diminish the source material. It is a good example of a piece where lyrics were added much latter and they work perfectly with the music, something that often isn't always the case, for example Opus One, where I get the feeling that they just wrote some lyrics to fit the tune rather than try and work them with the music as a whole. Of course, DixieMix didn't prove themselves to be the exception to the rule, and delivered a suitably subdued rendition for performance in a church. It was at this point that the band took a short moment to talk to the audience and they address one of the features of the church, which was a rather interesting metal structure held together with wire, which kind of resembled some kind of cage, and the band remarked "is how they get rid of players they don't like?" The more I looked at it, the more it stirred some childhood memories: those of playing Treasure Island Dizzy on my Commodore 64 and getting very frustrated at encounters with the various cages set about in various in parts of the game. Readers who have played the game will know exactly what I mean.

   After this brief interlude the band went back into Fats Waller territory, though again not one of his compositions, and gave a fun rendition of "I'm Going to Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" and we were spared the 'hilarious' comedy pretend mooning of the audience upon reaching the lyric "a lot of kisses on the bottom" which often populates performances of this number. This was followed by "Jazz Me Blues", a number which aside from Art Pepper has been largely ignored outside of Trad/Dixie bands which is a shame as it a good toe-tapping number and it's faster tempo would make it a fun piece for bebop soloing. There was another change of pace for the next number and a slight chance of direction as part of the frontline stepped down to allow Karl Wirrman to feature on the clarinet and I pondered what piece he might decided to go for, would it be something fairly obvious for the British Trad scene like Acker Bilk's "Stranger on the Shore" or "Aria", or maybe he'd pay homage to Monty Sunshine's rendition of "Petite Fleur." Maybe something from Artie Shaw or Benny Goodman, would we bet getting a rendition of "Nightmare" or "Goodbye"? The number which was played hadn't occurred to be, but probably should have, was Django Reinhardt's "Nuages" which is a good showcase for clarinet and a perfectly chilled out number for a hot sunny afternoon and always gives me the mental image of just chilling out by a riverbank listening to the world go by.

  The band reassembled for the closing numbers of the first set, the first of which was  the Ellington/Mills composition "Stevedore Stomp" which was a popular piece for bands who played at Jazz Club 90 when it was hosted by The Harp in Albrighton- I can't really say how frequent it was when the club moved to the Albrighton Sports and Social Club as I didn't really attend due to them only hosting one gig a week, and that being a Sunday lunchtime, a time slot not simpatico with someone who works in the Pub trade. The second number was "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" a song I first (consciously) heard as part of a George Melly compilation and then later on a Bing Crosby box set and it has infrequently popped up in my listening a few times, usually multiple versions at a time then nothing-  a bit like waiting for a bus. It was a good medium swing number to close the first set and appeared that everyone was leaving in good stead. Good as the band was, I had already decided not to stay for the second set as there were other bands I  wanted to see, and since they were book ending the day, I could also come back for the second gig.  I consulted the programme to see where to go next, something a little bit more complicated than anticipated due to the staggered nature of start and finish times, and the set had finished slightly earlier than expected. I noted that there was still time to pop across to the Upton Rugby Club and see the tail end of the gig there.

Upton Upon Severn Jazz Festival 2026 Part Four

 

I woke at a reasonably early time (for me), made myself a cup of tea and proceed to indulge in the S's ritual a gentleman participates in to start to his day. Once completed, I dressed and opened the curtains and was greeted by a gloriously sunny day which would no doubt bring increased jollity about the festival crowd, so no doubt it was going to be a good day. I consulted my programme to make a rough list of bands I was going to see today, I had already committed myself to Ms Maggie & the Cat's Pyjamas in the late afternoon, so there was going to be a little bit more planning going ahead than perhaps I usually would. Having made my decision I headed down to the Jazz office to pickup my wristband and have some general chit chat with other festival goers and just get a bit of a general vibe. I was greeted by one of the festival organiser's, John, with whom I have had a light correspondence with over the last few years or so. Amusingly he thought I had changed musical allegiances as upon observing the T-shirt I was wearing he at first believed the illustration to be depicting music legend Bob Dylan, but on closer inspection realised it was in fact Tom Baker, the fourth Doctor Who. We had a quick talk about which bands I was looking forward to seeing and generally how I thought the festival was shaping up,  I said thought the atmosphere was already better then it was last year and I think people are being to adapt to the new set up now. He had duties to attend to, so went on his way and I found myself drawn to the stall that had been setup in the lobby area of the Swan Hotel. It was a stall selling off a vast number of Jazz CDs from across the entire spectrum with a good selection of RVG Blue Note albums, and a number from the Telrac label, including a good number of 90s Dave Brubeck albums, the couple hosting were offering a special deal of 5 CDs for £20. Being a small stall it was obviously cash only, and I had limited funds on me at the time (I had yet to visit the cash point) so opted for three albums. I toyed with purchasing The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 2 as I have had vol. 1 for years and had yet to come across a copy of vol. 2 (and 3!), but then remembered that I had purchased the Bud Powell: Tempus Fugue-It box set released by Proper Records about 15 years ago and I was fairly certain that it contain all the master takes of his Blue Note sessions. So rather than risk duplication, I purchased Dave Brubeck: So What's New, Jackie McLean: Capuchin Swing and Joe Lovano: Streams of Express. I did toy with getting Dave Brubeck: the Crossing as it was an album that was always lurking on the shelf at my local HMV when I was first getting into Jazz, but it never quite managed to reel me in. I figured I would draw out some extra cash and if the stall was still there on Sunday morning I would add some more albums to my collection. I had a reasonable conversation with the stall holder where we debated the merits of Tom Baker and Patrick Troughton's respective turns as Doctor Who, and then the conversation turned to Jazz festivals I have attended, and once again the subject of Bude Jazz Festival was raised and it appears I may have sparked some interest there.... perhaps the Bude Jazz Committee should start paying me commission if I end up continuing on that path... or at the very least buy me a pint when I'm there. There was a little time before the official opening of the festival by local councillor Martin Allen and the decorated brollies competition, so I headed over to the Warner's supermarket to withdraw some cash, pick up a few items from the car, and also get some nail clippers as I was concerned that my fingernails were beginning to look more like talons rather than nails. To my disappointment I found that the cash point was out of cash so would have to make a withdrawal from either the Upton Co-Op or see if any of the local hostelries did cash back, but at least I was able to get my nail clippers and gain my items from my motor, namely my hat and sunglasses. I did toy with getting my tweed jacket out, but it was far too warm to wearing tweed at this part of the day. I made a casual stroll back to the Swan Hotel for the opening and quickly calling in at the local mini mart to get myself a  takeaway latte, and also to a quick recon to see what 'on the go' food options they were selling, as eating on the go would likely be the MO for food as the day went on. 

I arrived in good time at the Swan, just as John, the host with the most, was setting up and having a casual chat with a guy who turned out to be councillor officially opening the festival. There were a few people in the audience with decorated brollies but very few, with the heat being a reason the local primary school had declined involvement late in the day. The brolly competition is the last vestige of the Jazz parade that would open the Saturday's festivities back in the day, when a crowd of people with highly decorated brolly's would follow the marching bands and the dancers as they would descend towards what was Jazz city, and out of this context I feel it looks a little out of place, but I guess it gives your everyday Joe a chance to be creative.  John called for attention, and had his guest make his grand opening speech, once this was completed John went through the bits and pieces about this year's festival and also paid tribute to "Sir" Alan Buckley, the man who organised and ran the festival for many year's up to 2012, whom had passed away couple of months prior to this year's festival. The judging of the brollies came up next, can't recall that results were. I spotted that not-David Bradley had approached the councillor and appeared to be making inquiries about allowing camping up on the Rugby Club ground for future festivals, evidently our conversation at the Rugby Club the previous night had struck a chord with him, as he had enquired at the bar that night and it seems to have boiled down to local politics, so I supposed approached a member of the council seemed a good starting point to make inquiries. I have no idea of the outcome, I supposed I will find out the answer in June 2027. I managed to have a quick conversation with John about bits and pieces, and I am guessing he had had a number of moaning Myrtles rabbiting on to him about how they should bring back the marquees etc, as he dropped a little hint of something he quickly backtracked on and changed the subject. I'm not going to cast assertions, but the hint certainly reinforced a suspicion I have been entertaining for a few years now, just based on observations here and there. With the conversation completed, I politely moved on and started my way to the Parish Church, where the first wristband only gig of the day was due to take place. The church is a good venue as it has a very large seating capacity and very good acoustic, so no matter where you sit in the church you always will get good sound, and on the whole the audience behaves a bit more and aren't busy chit-chatting about, well anything...

On my way up, I called in at the Upton Co-Op and took advantage of their meal deal options for a light snack before the gig, I purchased a Jalapeno Cheese Wrap, a small chocolate brownie, and a bottle of Coconut water, and as I don't think it is proper to eat in a church, had a mini-picnic sitting on the stone wall in the churchyard. This bought back a quick memory of my schooldays when if you dared sit on a wall for more than .0001 of second one of the dinner ladies would appear in front of Mrs Danvers style and growl at you to move or you'd get piles, I made a quick check of my surroundings and was rest assured that dinner ladies weren't coming to badger me from beyond the grave. With it almost start up time, I made my way into the church to see the band, who were called Dixie Mix and this would be their first gig of the day.

UPTON UPON SEVERN JAZZ FESTIVAL 2026: PART THREE

 I left the Rugby club and headed down past the Crown and noted it was still very busy with some of the patrons spilling out on to the adjacent pavement, and not because they had popped out for a cough and a drag. I briefly considered popping to Mojitos cocktail bar to order a pizza but I rightfully suspected that there would be quite a backlog on food orders due to a combination of festival goers and regular Friday night revelers. A curious thing I have found over the years I have been going to the festival, is that the Fish & Chip shop closes remarkably early of an evening, even at weekends and despite it being festival, or at least this has been the case post-Covid, so my option was limited to either a takeaway from the Chinese or one of the multiple Curry Houses on the high street, or pop down the Upton Kebab & Pizza takeaway. My lack of eating irons pretty much ruled out the a Chinese or a Curry, so it was off to the Kebab & Pizza takeout for some food. I purchase a Veggie Burger and some cheesy chips and sat on one of the many public benches to consume my modest meal as I think it would be a bit cheeky to head to the Swan and stuff my face with food purchased from another venue. The burger was ok, but the chips were possibly the greasiest and soggiest chips I have ever had the misfortune of consuming. This little shop is not a patch on the takeout I favour on Portland street in Manchester when visiting my beloved Wheelie One or the Kebab Shop in Bude which I discovered at last year's Bude Jazz festival. After forcing my way through the greasy mess pretending to be Cheesy Chips, I made my way to the third gig of the evening, the second set of the Malvern Jazz Jam at the Swan Hotel. As I arrived the events weren't quite kicking off so I headed to the bar to purchase a pint of the football theme ale they were serving. I headed to the stage which was situated in the courtyard/beer garden and over the next two days this would serve as the venue for the Upton Jazz Fringe over the next two days, more on this when the Fringe begins. There was a generous audience turn out for the set with practically every seat occupied and a fair few people watching from over the wall and on the street, I imagine a number were just Friday revealers indulging in a bit of curiosity, but since many seemed to stay- or at least had the good grace to move on between numbers and personnel change overs. While some may lament the 60/40 ratio of free entry gigs to paid wristband only gigs but it is important to have a shop window as it were to attract and engage new audiences and give people a taster of what the Upton Jazz Festival is all about, and how it is changing and evolving as time moves on. 

The second set of the Jazz Jam was just about to start and host Ray Snook introduced a couple of players who were joining the rhythm section on stage, who were key members of the Touch of Jazz band who would performing on the Fringe stage on Saturday afternoon. The rhythm section consisted of Kate Hill on the keys, Steve Galligan on bass, and Andy Clarke on the Drums, and they are the regular house band for the monthly Malvern Jazz Jam that takes place at the Malvern Social Club on the first Friday of every month. I wasn't sure what to expect from this session because my idea of what a Jazz Jam Session is like is probably clouded by the stories put forth my various musicians over the years through anecdotes in magazines, books, and documentaries, and of course the Norman Granz Jam Session album featuring Charlie Parker and a whole host of stars of the day; and then contrasted by the few Jam sessions I have attended over the years which have been somewhat contrary in their approach. I have attended a couple of the weekly Jam Sessions at the Manchester based jazz club Matt and Phred's, which leans a little bit into the projected image of a Jazz session, even down to the club being a little bit of a dingy venue down a seedy looking back alley. It seems a bit more free for all there with a lot of people, including a lot of students, just turning up to play and/or watch. They do have a rough idea of a theme for the Jam each week, first time I went there was e-jazz/ jazz funk aesthetic with a lot of the music having a early 70s Miles vibe, in particular the Cellar Door sessions and the album Live-Evil, and the other times I went there was a Bluenote theme, and later a New Orleans theme, so a movable feast there. Hopefully when I next pop up to  Manchester and see the Wheelie One I will able to call by at Matt and Phred's again. The other Jam session I have attended is the daily Jam at the Falcon Hotel in Bude which is the precursor to the main music on each day of the Bude Jazz Festival and this seems, to me at least, a little more orchestrated and more focused on ensemble playing rather then exploring the music. In fact it does kind of have a vibe of the music class at school playing to the town... and come to think of it, the first one I attended did have of the musicians sing a rendition of "The Sheik of Araby" in costume, which no doubt he thought made him look like Valentino but looked more like he'd raided the costume department for the local school's nativity play!   

The Malvern Jazz Jam was not as free and loose as those at Matt and Phred's but was most certainly more creative and ambitious than the players on the Terrence at the Falcon, there was a certain degree of orchestration with players to give a balanced programme and show a variety of styles, ensembles and players. Being a more public facing gig, I do wonder of it they were being more restrained in comparison as to how it would run on the regular Jam night back in Malvern. Due to the limited space available in the audience I wasn't able to make notes for this occasion so I could not tell you who went up to play and what music was played, but I can tell you it was a good entertaining evening. As the session drew to a close I went out down by the riverside to take some snaps of the rive at dusk. Once my snaps were taken I headed back to the Swan had myself a little nightcap at the bar before heading up to my room, somewhat reassured that the overall vibe and atmosphere of the festival was a dramatic step up from last year.  

UPTON UPON SEVERN JAZZ FESTIVAL 2026 PART TWO

   I left Bar 7 and made my way to the Rugby Club which is barely a five minute walk away, as I briefly switched my attention across the road to the newly opened Crown pub, formerly the Upton Muggery, I noticed that there was quite a big crowd there and it was a little rowdy so I figured I would check it out in a quieter moment over the weekend. Besides, the rugby club was hosting what I was there for, the Crown was not. 

The Rugby Club has been used a number of times by the Festival in the past, mainly when the marquees relocated to the playing fields after the Fish Meadow quagmire nightmare of the 2012 festival, but in recent years the option was not taken. I am fairly certain I saw a gig by guitar/banjo player, vocalist and raconteur Bev Pegg here circa 2013, and possibly the Water Gypsies, I will have to did out old programmes and any old notes I still have to find out. I arrived in good time before the band had started, so made my way to the bar to see what delights the club had to offer on the ale front. My initial observation was there no hand pulls, but a number of bottled ales in the fridge and was about to order a bottle of Ludlow Gold when by the light of a passing glue factory I spotted a firkin of Wye Valley's Hereford Pale (HPA for short) on the back bar clad in a cooling jacket set up for the now rare event of having beer direct from the barrel. I say rare as it is unusual to see beer served this way unless you have gone to a beer festival, where it is the most common form of dispense. This made me a little bit nostalgic for festivals of pre-Covid festivals when there were beer tents with a vast selection of ales set up for festival goers, as the majority of the festival gigs were held in marquees. So I ordered my beer and ended up chatting to Not-David Bradley again, this time the topic of conversation wasn't over missed festivals but our respective accommodation for the festival. He was staying in a motor home parked on the campsite at Fish Meadow and I casually mentioned that a few years ago there used to be camping on the fields by the rugby club which raised his interest as it would appear it is no longer an option, this must have planted a seed in his head, but more on that later. 

Not-David Bradley enjoying the show

We found ourselves places to view the band as it was just about show time. The band at the rugby club was the Panama Jazz Quartet, a band I was unfamiliar with but appear to be busy on the trad jazz scene evening making trips to Brittany and Northern Spain. It appears that they were playing at the Muggery last year, and I certainly know I went in there while they were playing, but I have absolutely no memory of the band, likely because the pub was so full I didn't stick around. The band consisted of Ron King on trumpet and vocals, Andy Leggett (a name I am familiar with) on reeds and vocals, Alan "Oggy" Hogg on Banjo, Guitar and Vocals, and Keith Tolley on bass and vocals, and from the outset this was obviously going to be a more New Orleans/Trad orientated ensemble, I wonder if their name is a nod to the ever popular "Panama Rag." The set opened with a very lively and attention drawing rendition of the Beiderbecke classic "At the Jazz Band Ball" which was performed with a vocal chorus which surprised me as I wasn't aware that it had any lyrics. Unsurprisingly there was no bass sax in the band so there was no attempted to recreate Adrian Rollini's famous solo from the record, but there was a nifty solo from Leggett on a rare metal clarinet with a slightly enhanced sound as he had chosen to replace it's mouthpiece with that of soprano sax. The opening number was a big hit with the crowd as it was greeted with very a enthusiastic round of applause from the audience, a number of whom I suspect were not people here for the festival but the usual clientele of the rugby club, so it is nice to trad jazz reaching out to different audiences, and also think that they might have been taken a little bit by surprise as to the energy delivered by the band considering they are older players... if they played with much more energy I reckon they would have blown their syrups off. This roaring opening number was matched in tempo by the following number which was that well-known standard "Dinah" without the lyrics. This was a bit of a surprise to me because with them all being listed in the programme as doing vocals I was expecting a little bit Mills Brothers inspired group background singing akin to that on the Bing Crosby recording. The band then made their introductions and I was politely asked by some young lads in the bar for some recommendations for the free gigs in the festival, whether this was genuine interest or just polite conversation I could not tell you, and which bands did I recommend? I can't remember. The band started up again with a suitably mournful take on  "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" followed by a wistful rendition of "Pennies from Heaven" both were strictly instrumental. As the band went into discussions for their next number I figured it was a good moment to visit the facilities, which were incredibly hot and stuff but mercifully clean, then returned to the bar for another beer. I was going to return to the HPA but then  I spotted that they were selling bottles of Ludlow Gold for £2 so I switched to that beer. In all these proceedings I missed the band introducing the next number, if they even did, so spent a short time trying to assess what the tune was. It was one of those moments where you find it familiar but can't quite place it due to it being a different tempo and not quite being the tune in you mind. After a short vocal version detailing something about Alaska and Eskimos the familiar chorus was belted out... "I scream, you scream...", it was that perennial Dixieland favourite "Ice Cream" which is always a good bit of fun and a good hit with the audience. Andy Leggett took an unusual turn for his solo here, instead of going for the clarinet or the tenor sax, he went for a different in his arsenal and delighted the audiences with a small solo on a penny whistle, though I was slightly concerned we might have all the neighbourhood dogs soon ascend upon us. After this jolly little excursion the band made its way into back into the more wistful areas of Trad Jazz with "That's My Home", a song very much associated with the great Louis Armstrong but my go to version is by British Trumpet  player Nat Gonella, and the band were clearly more honing in on Satchmo's version and possibly a nod to the version by Acker Bilk on that curious British Jazz Legends Together album that was released in the early 2000's. This was followed by one of my favourite numbers, one doesn't seem to get played at gigs I attend as often I would like (knowing my luck, it's played at every jazz gig I don't attend- even Ornette Coleman tribute concerts) which is the "Tin Roof Blues"  and in introducing the number (I think it was trumpeter Ron King who did the intro) it filled in the background for the title, which corrected an assumption I had formed over the years. For whatever reason, I had assumed the title was either an allusion- or dig- at the 'tin pan alley' school of song writing, or reference to living in poor quality accommodation such as a shanty town, but no, the title is in reference to the Tin Roof Cafe dance hall on Washington Avenue in New Orleans. I also found out the "Tin Roof Blues" also has lyrics, something of a surprise as every recording or performance of the number I have heard prior to this gig, it has always been instrumental. This is a perfect illustration of why these festivals are important and why it is good to have musicians who engage with the audience beyond announcing numbers,  mind you, if I spent more time going through the posts in the JAZZ AGE SHEET MUSIC GROUP I probably would have discovered that "Tin Roof Blues" had lyrics a long time ago.   

   The set closed with a number called "Hard Hearted Hannah" which I first discovered on a George Melly compilation why back why I was taking my first tentative steps into the Jazz world and rapidly became a favourite number of mine. Two of the lyrics appealed to me: "a night spent with Hannah is liking travelling through Alaska in your underwear" and "there was Hannah, out pouring water on a drowning man", I appreciate that they have been modified from the original lyrics to be more inline with Melly's personal style. The song also took a bit of personal meaning to me a few years later when I started my first "grown-up" up relationship with a young lady named, as you may have guessed, Hannah, and after a few false starts across the way I jokingly nicknamed her Hard Hearted Hannah... she was not amused, but the relationship did settled down from then on for a year or two, before we amicably went our separate ways. The rendition by the band was another strictly instrumental affair and was more in the style of the Paul Whiteman recording then the Melly one, but was a good closing number for the set. 

    I finished off my beer and looked at the programme as to what my next move would be, the Debbie Arthurs gig at Bar 7 was almost over so it was a choice of stay for the second set of the Panama Jazz Band or head down to the Swan Hotel for the second half of the Malvern Jazz Jam. My immediate thought though was, grab something to eat from the takeaway before I do anything and then come to a decision.

Upton Jazz Festival 2026 Part One

 

  As a purely personal thing, I am not a big fan of the folding plastic chairs that appear in most of the venues as they bring back to many awkward memories of school assemblies where one of the year's form tutors would drone on endlessly about  dull topics such as school league tables or how (male) pupils were causing lasting disruption at lunchtime because they failed to sit down, eat their lunch and leave in less than 10 seconds flat, and frankly they are just a bit too uncomfortable on my old posterior, so I found myself a nice little corner to stand in which had a good view of the band and wouldn't be too intrusive taking any photos for little notes  for this series of articles, it also had a convenient shelf corner which I could place my beverage down upon, something the aisle seats do lack. The opening band was the Debbie Arthurs Quintet which was exactly what it said on the tin, a five piece band led by Arthurs on Saxophone & Vocals, with trombone accompaniment by Dave Deakin, and a rhythm section consisting of Keith Little on keys, Malcolm Sked on Bass, and Rachel Hayward on the Guitar. I am fairly familiar with the majority of the  musicians in the line-up, maybe not as this ensemble but definitely in bands across many gigs and festivals over the years. Band leader Debbie made a number of appearances back in the day at Jazz Club 90 while it was being held  twice a week at the Harp in Albrighton, and if it she was performing on a Tuesday evening it would highly likely that I would have been there. At one point she also ran a cafe in Teweksbury, called the Jelly Roll Cafe and it did have regular jazz nights there, I am not sure if she still runs the cafe but a quick Google search indicates that the establishment has changed its name to the Corner Cafe, which suggests to me she has moved on from there. I won't go through details of all the personnel, mostly because I know very little about them (sorry guys), but I feel I should mention Rachel Hayward as not only is she musician, but she is also one of the main organisers of the festival, and email updates about it are usually sent from her.

  

 Debbie Arthurs took to the microphone to introduce both the band and the launch of the festival, however she made a minor fluff, welcoming us to the Bude Jazz Festival before correcting herself... well, at least I can name one performer who will be down in Cornwall in September. The set opened with a mostly ensemble piece which was the W. C. Handy St. Louis Blues, a number that needs no real introduction and was played with gusto. This was followed by the song "Goody Goody", which before anyone tries to say anything funny, the title is not suffixed by the words "yum yum" and has absolutely no association with Tim, Bill, and Graeme, giant Kittens or three seater bicycles. "Goody Goody" is a 1936 song composed by Matty Malneck with lyrics by the ubiquitous lyricist Johnny Mercer, and has been covered by artists including Benny Goodman & his Orchestra, Bob Crosby's Bob Cat's, a pop cover by Frankie Lymon released as a recording with his group the teenagers- but was in fact a solo recording, and a version by George Melly with John Chilton's Fleetwarmers. It is the Melly recording which I am familiar with, and as far as I can recall I have no other recordings of the number- but I haven't done a full catalogue on all albums and song recordings in my collection, so I could well be mistaken on that front. It has however proved to be a fairly popular number on the Trad Jazz club scene as I have heard it played by many bands in many clubs and festivals. Arthurs and her band again treated this  more as an ensemble piece, likely still breaking the band in as an ensemble, Arthurs also added a sweet vocal refrain to the number. This was followed by a slower more relaxed number called "When the World is at Rest" which is not a number I can say I am at all familiar with, and it was certainly a pleasant number, though my enjoyment of it was slightly disrupted by a sudden in rush of patrons going to and from the bar- both from the gig and the general bar area, but that is all part of the course when being hosting in a public bar. Had I decided to perch myself elsewehre, it wouldn't have been quite so noticeable. Arthurs returned to the vocal refrain for the next number which was Gershwin's "Lady, Be Good" starting  with the not often featured intro verse, before leaning into a  earnest exchange between Arthurs on Tenor Sax and Dave Deakin on Trombone . This was clearly a bit of a warm up for the next number which was a trombone feature for Deakin, the number was announce and due to more background noise I didn't quite catch the name, but was able to hear a little bit of history of the piece on how it got its title. The piece was named after a meteorite shower which probably should have been a clue as to what the number was, but it wasn't until Deakin got into the chorus that I recognised the familiar tune. It was a well known standard which has been covered by traditional artists such as Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden (not doubt an inspiration for Deakin), singers such as Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra, plus modernist such as Cannonball Adderley. It was, of course, Stars Fell on Alabama and it proved to be a fine feature for Dave Deakin, and a fine closer for my first set of the festival. I decided I wouldn't stay for the second set which wasn't a slight on the band, but a desire to see the band which was due to start at 8pm over at the Upton Rugby Club. This was clearly a reasonably shared idea, as a number of the audience- including Not-David Bradley, were vacating and making there way across to the club.  

Upton Jazz Festival 2026: Introduction

It was with perhaps a small sense of trepidation that I approached the 39th Upton Jazz Festival. Due to a number of reasons, ranging from the diminished set-up, the much hotter than normal summer temperatures, the lack of familiar names on the bill (though that isn't necessarily a bad thing), and perhaps a feeling of the changing of the times. Not only is the only mural of jazz musicians on the underpass long gone, but now the Little Upton Muggery, a pub I have patronized every year since I started coming to the festival, has ceased to be.*

 Despite this, I was determined to enjoy myself and after sitting down and properly reading the programme did manage to lift my spirits somewhat. Once again I had opted for getting accommodation in town, so I didn’t have to concern myself for a long walk to and from the festival at either end of the day, plus it meant I had a crash space easily accessible if I needed a break from the activities. I was staying at the Swan Hotel (not to be mixed up with the Swan at Hanley Swan where I stayed back in 2018) which is directly on the riverside and was also the host venue for the Festival’s fringe stage, meaning I was right at the heart of things and would be right on site for the official opening of the festival on Saturday morning. I checked into my digs plenty of time before the first gig of the night, and the room was compact but perfectly serviceable. The lack of a wardrobe to hang my shirts up on was a minor concern but since most of them were casual, rather than formal, it was too much of an issue. The bathroom was compact and I would later discover there was a bit of a knack to getting the shower to the correct, but nothing I didn’t expect from the establishment as it was a fairly old building. My major complaint was that the sink was incredibly small, normally not an issue as I normally have a beard, but for reasons that aren’t particularly interesting I have decided to shave it off and I don’t get 5 o’clock shadows, I get half past eleven in the morning shadows. I settled myself in and made a quick study of the programme for the evening, and figure out my “battleplan” for the evening, plus make a few notes as to which bands I would definitely want to see over the course of the festival. There were a number of bands I wasn’t familiar with on the roster this time so it was to be a festival with lots of movement between venues for me. A name which did stand out for me was “Ms Maggie and the Cat’s Pyjamas,” mostly because it stood out as such a surreal moniker, so I was determined to check them out. The plan for the evening was perfect, the three acts which were on for the night had a good starting and easy to follow pattern, with the first act kicking off at 7pm at Bar 7, the second at the Rugby Club at 8pm, and the third back at the Swan also at 8pm. This meant I could easily see one set of each of the performances, plus enough time to grab a quick bite to eat en route, whether it be a sandwich from the Co-Op or a nipping in to either the Chippy or the Kebab shop.

 I packed up a few essentials for the evening and headed down to the Bar at the Swan for a quick pint before the off. It was a reasonably busy night in the bar and there were two ales on handpull, Wye Valley’s Butty Bach and a world-cup themed beer from Marston’s. I went for the Butty Bach as it is a long standing favourite of mine. I took my beer into the courtyard and amused myself watching the various technical boys for the festival setting up the stage for the evening with various soundchecks and other activities taking place. Once my beer was consumed I departed and made my way up Upton High Street to Bar 7 where the first gig was just about due to start. Bar 7 is a long-standing venue for the Jazz festival in one form or other, for a long time it was a Social Club and was used for the jam session element of the festival, before becoming a venue in its own right due to it having a for-hire function room. Due to the layout of the place it isn’t a private function room, it functions far more effectively as a free venue, as you can pretty much hear and see the band from the main bar area and I wonder if this was a noted criticism when it was a wristband only venue. I purchased a pint of Bewedley Brewery’s Worcestershire Way and was greeted by a familiar face from the behind the bar, it was the bar man who had previously worked the bar at the Little Upton Muggery across the road, so I took the opportunity to inquire into the circumstances of the closure. There were three distinct possibilities as to what happened in my mind: 1. the Landlady had died, 2. She had retired, or 3. EHO had finally turned up to inspect the place. I put this to the bar man, and he informed me she had retired, not necessarily by choice, and was living nearby. A conversation later in the weekend with someone else would shed a bit more light on the situation, but I will get to that later. As I made my way to get in a good spot to see and hear the band, I was delighted to be greeted by another familiar face: the “crazy blonde lady” who this time was not sporting her distinctive blue dress and had opted for a more demure black ensemble. We exchanged pleasantries, before she returned to her table and her little group… one day I will actually find out what her name is. I took up my position for the band and in the corner of my eye I saw another familiar face, it was Steven, the guy who bears a striking resemblance to the actor David Bradley. I was glad to see him, as he was absent from last year’s festival and I was slightly concerned that he hadn’t attended because nature had taken its course, so it was nice to see him in good health, it appears that his absence last year was down to having sustained a leg based injury. I checked the stage and saw the band was about to assemble, so we parted to our respective spots to watch the band.

A little bit of fun on display in one of the shop windows 

 

*When I received the digital copy of the 2026 Programme I did notice that there was a lack of listings of gigs at the Little Upton Muggery, I didn't think too much of it at the time as while the venue has always had a couple of bands during festival time, they were never an official part of the activities and it has only been in the last two years they got a listing in the official pages. A late finish at work prompted me to look up the Pub and I was dismayed to learn the Pub was permanently closed. I knew the landlady was looking to retire, so I wondered if that had happened or if she had died and the owners of the pub hadn't found someone to take it on. I always mused it wasn't exactly the cleanest of places, so I wondered if EHO had come around and closed them down. 

I spent a week before the festival in the Malvern area and popped in Upton several times and as the week went I noticed work going on, clearly the place was being worked on for reopening. As the week went on I saw that the old Muggery sign was down and it had been replaced. The pub has been renamed "the Crown" and opened on the first night of the Jazz festival.

With the demise of the old rule, I wonder if this means 2026 is the first year Upton upon Severn has not been visited by the Sauce City Jazz Band during festival time.