27 September 2026 – Storyville Jass Band (Holland): With five players – Michael Muller (leader) on trumpet and vocals, Eugene Bruijn on clarinet and vocals, Dan Simon on double bass, Tom Stuip on banjo and Stef Geurts on drums this is by far and away the best band and best programme we have had in a long time. They opened with a couple of numbers which I missed (doing two things at once does not always pay!!) but went on with ‘High Society’, ‘Oh Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You’, ‘Seratoga Shout’, ‘Trying To Find The Carolines’, ‘Nile Love Songs’ (a solo on banjo), ‘Well Alright, Okay, You Win I’m In Love With You’, ‘Stranger on the Shore’ and ‘Hindustan’. The opening of the second half was jaw droppingly lovely with an a cappella rendition of ‘Will The Circle Be Broken Dear Lord Bye And Bye’ and not just me but the whole audience was spellbound by the beauty of it. They continued with ‘Just A Walk With You Dear Lord’, ‘My Gal Sal’, ‘There Are Blues My Sweetie Gives To Me’ and ‘When It’s Sleepy Time Down South’. The remainder of part two I missed since I had to dash off without even letting anyone know they should take notes (☺) but I have it on good authority that when the end came the whole room was on it’s feet with rapturous applause. Can’t wait to see them again – and I am sure we will.
20 September 2026 – Harlem Jazz Orchestra: Well it will take some time listing all the musicians in this 12-piece orchestra: Bob Hunt (leader) on trombone, “Magic” Mike Henry on cornet, Lewis Taylor on trumpet and vocals, Charlie Manning on trumpet, Graham Woodhouse on valve & slide trombone, Nick Payton on reeds, Richard Exall on reeds, Michael Kilpatrick on clarinet/alto sax and baritone sax, Art Toper on piano, John Irwin on banjo and guitar, Geoff Tooley on bass and Nick Ward on percussion. They opened with ‘King Kong Stomp’ and continued with ‘Harlem Romance’, ‘I Never Knew’, ‘Throwing Stones At The Sun’, ‘Manchester Court’, ‘Walkin’ My Baby Back Home’, ‘Festivities at Grendon’, ‘Why Don’t You Get Lost’, ‘You Yer Willen’, ‘Doin’ What I Please’, Brick Lane Pt I’ and ‘Great Dane’ took us to the interval. In the second half we had ‘Balti Nights’, ‘The Rent Party Blues’, ‘Synthetic Rug’, ‘After You’re Gone’, ‘I Guess It Had To Be That Way’, ‘Big Man’, ‘Midnight, The Stars And You’ finishing with ‘Swanee Shuffle’. Great sound – a satisfying mix of big band and jazz. It would be great to see them back.
13 September 2026 – Swing Summit: This 5-piece jazz band played a selection of double reed arrangements with echoes of Bob Wilber and Kenny Davern’s Soprano Summit. The group is made up of Nik Payton on reeds, Zoltan Sagi on reeds, Andrzej Baranek on piano, Mike Green on bass and Graham Smith on drums. They opened with ‘Promenade Aux Champs Elysee’ and went on, in no particular order, with ‘No Moon At All’, ‘Vampin Miss Georgia’, ‘My Funny Valentine’, ‘Mountain Music’, ‘Swing 39’, ‘The Sage’, ‘Django’s Castle’, ‘One For The Duke’, ‘Tango A La Bechet’, ‘Arkansas Lullaby’, ‘Grenadilla Stomp’, ‘Meet Me In St Louis’ and finally ‘Cambridge Blue’. Some of these musicians have played with the Chris Barber Big Band and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. There is no doubt that they are fine musicians. We look forward to seeing them again in the future.
6 September 2026 – Baby Jools All-Star Jazzaholics: This six-piece band consisted of ‘Baby’ Jools Alderidge on drums, ‘Magic’ Mike Henry on cornet, Simon Smith on double bass, Bob Pearce on trombone, Brian Meller on banjo and Graham Woodhouse on saxophone and trombone. We looked forward to this wonderful group of musicians open Stafford Jazz Society’s 46th season and we were not disappointed. They opened with ‘The Old Spinning Wheel In The Parlour’ and following hard on its heels were ‘Dinah (Show Us Your Legs)’, Tin Roof Blues’, ‘At The Jazz Band Ball’, ‘Give Me A Kiss To Build A Dream On’, ‘Sheik Of Araby’ and ‘Panama’. The second half was no less impressive with ‘One Of These Days’, ‘So Just Relax’ (just love this tune), ‘Bourbon Street Parade’, ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’, ‘Basin Street Blues’, ‘Savoy Blues’ and ending with ‘That’s A Plenty’. Good to see that they received a standing ovation – they certainly earned it. We look forward to seeing them again.