Burt Butlers

     Jazz Pilgrims         Bands to book and clubs/pubs to visit

      Home Page    Band Members      The Gig List     CD list for sale  Burties Chord Book             Links
          Musicians :   tpt   clt   tmb  bnj 
           
bass  drms
 piano    singers
            Archive pages:   1   2   3   4  5 

            News Letters      1  2    3  

                         Index Page

                                 Here is a list of bands to book and clubs to visit so scroll down  and get the info etc.

                                                                                         BANDS :                                                                                                      

                    GAMBIT JAZZMEN                                 RISING RIVER JAZZMEN                                  THE DUMAINE STREET JAZZBAND                GODOONER JAZZ BAND         

                   VILLAGE GREEN STOMPERS                BLUE RHYTHM KINGS                                                                                         
                                                            
                                                                  
         

 

       

                                                                 


                                                                            

                                                                                   The Blue Rhythm Kings

                 

                         taken in the Croydon area 1990  picture from the Eric Webster collection

                            Band members: Malcolm Walton tpt/ldr, Brian Hills clt/alto, Edwin 'Boots' Baker tbn, Eric Webster bnj,

                                                     Colin Martin piano, Ron Goulding tuba and Geoff Collins drms.

                                

                                    A rather posed picture of th BRK's

                                L/R : Robin Beames drms, Malcolm Walton crnt/ldr, John Morphew sousa, Kenny Pyrke tmb

                                               Eric Webster bnj and Alan Robinson clt. taken around the 80's/90's.

 

        

                                                              THE DUMAINE STREET                                       

                                             NEW ORLEANS JAZZBAND     
  

                     About 15 years ago Ted Smith and I were working through some chords in my front room in Sydenham
                     to try to get a band together with a New Orleans sound. Walking by Dave Clennell heard us and knocked
                     on the door. From then on his help and encouragement were vital in putting the band on the scene. This
                     This cassette, in a round about way, brings us back to those beginnings. At the Rutland Arms, a fine jazz
                     venue in Catford we recorded the band with Dave on trumpet. (Special thanks to Trevor Baker the pub's
                     musician-friendly landlord ). The band aims to keep true to the New Orleans revival, with an extensive
                     reportoire of tunes, many of them little-known, and we've tried to achieve a relaxed and swinging sound
                     with echoes of the old masters. The band has two recent recruits; Roy Brown's exciting clarinet playing,
                     and Mick Burn's trombone and fine vocals have both been a big bonus for the band. On this recording Mick
                     also got his wish to play tuba on the lyrical spiritual Lily of the Valley. Chris Marchant will be familiar to
                     many jazzers as one of the finest exponents of New Orleans-style drumming in the country, and 'Captain'
                    Ted Smith is fast acquiring a reputation for his rock-steady banjo playing. Any bass player would relish
                    playing with these two as I have for the last 15 years. Hope you enjoy the tape and hopefully this will be
                    made into a CD - if you do remember the band can be contacted by calling me on 0208 858 2344

                                                                                                                                                   
George Bridges

                                                  
The band members:

                                                        Dave Clennell tpt/voc, Roy Brown clt, Mick Burns tmb/voc,

                                                Ted Smith bnj,  Chris Marchant drms and George Bridges bass/leader


  
                  recorded at: The Rutland Arms, Catford, London, October 5th 1997 by P.E.K. Sound.
                  so click on the titles below to hear what the lads sound like:

               Absolutely Positively Dave/voc         Why Should I Cry Over You Mick/voc        My Life Will Be Sweeter Ted/voc

                                                      Baby Have You Got A Little Love To Spare Dave/voc

                                            
                                           Here are the lads at the "North Pole" Greenwich, London in the '80's

                        band members:
                           Roy Maskell tmb, George Bridges bass, Ted Smith bnj, Ken Coulbeck tpt, Bob Thurgood clt and John Cottis drums

              back to top      Index         back to music/video index     
 

            

 

                                                                                                              The Godooner Jazz Band

                                             Band memners:  Geoff Rosewell tpt, Bob Kitson clt, Doug Waring tmb, Roy Neville bnj, Mike Godfrey bass and Derek Hawkes drms
                                                                                                                  and later Rod Burkin tmb and Bob (Sos) Sears drms

                    

                                    The Godooners. A recallection by Geoff Rowswell.

 

                       The date that it all started was around 1955. I had been studying at the Medway College of Art for a year and found myself in the same
                       student group as Bill Stotesbury and Mick Lauder. In that year Bill taught himself to play the banjo while Mick and I bought second hand
                       guitars and a book of chords. Chris Barber's jazzband had recently played at the college rag ball, and everyone was keen to jump on the
                       skiffle bandwagon, which was spearheaded by his banjo player, Lonnie Donnegan. We practiced hard every lunchtime and within a few
                       weeks had mastered many of the three chord standards.

                       At that time I was living with my parents on the Isle of Sheppey, and attended one of the local youth clubs at weekends. I took my guitar
                       along one evening and discovered a fellow enthusiast who played the banjo. His name was Roy Neville and he worked in the Sheerness
                      dockyard with Geoff Dootson, who was learning to play the guitar, and Mike Godfrey, who rigged up a teachest base. The name Godooners
                      derived from the first letters of our surnames. Mike knew a lad called Len Eels who played the washboard, and from that moment we were
                      up and running, playing in pubs and clubs up and down the
Island. We had a regular weekly spot, too, at The Royal Hotel in Sheerness.

                      During this period I visited Ken Colyer's club in London, and immediately decided that I was going to play the trumpet like Ken! Bill, too,
                      was keen to play trad jazz so we spent our lunchtimes listening to records and mimicking jazz standards. Within six months we were both
                      sitting in with bands around the Medway towns. Oh, the arrogance of youth!

                      So ,very quickly the Godooner Skiffle group developed into the Godooner Jazzband, with Roy on banjo, Mike on teachest, Len on
                      washboard and myself on trumpet. Asking around, we discovered young Doug Waring (trombone) and a few would be clarinetists. Somehow
                      we managed to build up a repetoire and week by week the jazz slowly nudged aside the skiffle. Full of confidence we left the Royal and
                      started the Godooner Jazz Club at the old Labour Club off Sheerness High Street, which was going strong until I was called up for National
                      Service in 1959. Incidentally, unfortunately I packed up the trumpet but joined a folk group playing guitar when I was demobbed.
                      Bill Stotesbury progressed through various bands until he was discovered by our hero, Ken Colyer, who he played with for eleven years
                      until Ken's death.

 

                                                       PHOTOS  TO  FOLLOW

 

 

          
                                                                             The Gambit Jazzmen       

                                
       
               To hear the band from their latest CD My Mama's in Town, and to purchase this CD or to book the band,
                      contact Pete or Jill Lay on 01737 822726 or e-mail:  play@gambitjazzmen.freeserve.co.uk

                                                        or watch the video of them on U-Tube - click here
                                    playing "There's a Rainbow Round my Shoulder"  at the Enkhuizen Festival

                                                           

                                     the lads: Dave Waskett crnt/voc, Johnny Rodgers reeds, Barry Weston tmb,
                                                     Chris Marney bnj/voc, Roger Link bass, Pete Lay drms/leader

                                    click on to the titles below to hear the lads:

                                                                   Kinklets                 My Mama's in Town   

                                             
                                 
Left to Right ;  Chris Marney bnj, Roger Link bass, Pete Lay drums/leader, Dave Waskett crnt,
                                                                                            Barry Weston tmb and Johnny Rodgers sax.

                               Here are the lads on a wonderful portrait by Lyn Horn of the 1066 club of Hastings

                                        when the Gambit Jazzmen were voted the band of the year in 2004

               

                                 

                                The lads at the Bude Jazz Festival band members:
                          Barry Weston tbn, Pete Lay drms/ldr, Ben Cohen tpt, Annie Hawkins bass and Ian Turner clt
                                                 and Eric Webster out of site behind Barry.

 

               

                              Pete at the San Diego Jazz Festival 2007 with the 'Katie Cavera and Friends'  sessions
                                                                                                        
click on to above for Katie's site

                                                                    

                                                           John Cocuzzi (vibes), Katie Cavera (guitar),  Carl Sonny Leyland (piano)

                                                                           Johnny D’Artenay (string bass), and Pete Lay (drums)

                                                                          Playing  'Rose Room'  click here  to watch - great stuff

    back to top      Index         back to music/video index   



                                                                                 The Rising River Jazzmen 

                                                            Resident every Tuesday at the Rose and Crown, East Peckham, Kent.
                                                                  adm £5 ( couples £9 )       tel 01622 871202

                                                                     
                                                                   The Rose and Crown, East Peckham, Kent.

                        
                     Band Members:     Pete Curtis clt,  Malcolm Walton tpt,  Tony Cardwell tmb, John Finch sousa,
                                                                   Burtie Butler bnj and George Murray washboard.
                                                                            23rd January 2007 in the bar
      
                                                                          
                                                                              Malcolm and Tony in harmony

                                                   
                                        John , Pete and George                          the engine room - John, George and Burtie

                                                          so click on to the two video titles for the real flavour :

 
                                   Rising River Jazzmen In the Sweet Bye and Bye 2007                                      Rising River Jazzmen playing Algiers Strut 2007   
                                                video 1                                                                      video 2
                             singing In the Sweet Bye and Bye                                 The band in full swing with
                            with Joan our regular Sally Army                                            Algiers Strut

                                        all photos and videos taken at The Rose and Crown 23rd January 2007

        back to top      Index         back to music/video index     

                           

                                                    The Savoy Jazzmen  1967 - 68

                               memories from Dave Styles of the Savoy Jazz Band
                                                                   Tom Brady's first Jazz Band

                              This photo was taken by a Chatham Observer photographer in the upstairs room of "The Prince Albert" pub,
                              Canterbury Street, Gillingham, where we ran our one-band club for a few months with guests welcome.
                              We also played various other venues, those I remember are; The Britannia, Pier Rd., Gillingham, the canteen
                             at Novadel Ltd., Pier Rd., Gillingham, the Sergeant's Mess at Brompton Barracks and various weddings where
                               we tried to play waltzes, and other dance requests, another venue where we played and that was "The Crispin
                             and Crispianus" at Strood Hill, a lovely old grade II listed pub.

                            Various other musicians augmented the band at times, of whom a young Alan Robinson [clarinet] and
                            Rick Manktelow [guitar and bass guitar] spring to mind. Rick went on to make two LPs of progressive rock under
                           the name of Sindelfingen and became a record producer at a Medway Studio [PRS]. Rick and I often swapped
                           guitar and bass guitar roles. A drummer once sat-in with us who said that he had played with Humphrey Lyttelton,
                            cannot remember his name but he was good!

                                                                                 

                                                                                                 The members of the band are, from left to right;
      
                                                Malcolm Ing [guitar], Bob Boorman [trombone], Roger Draper [drums], Tom Brady [trumpet], Ivan  Wells [alto sax]
                                                                                                        and myself Dave Styles [guitar] [seated].
                                                                                                                    photo from Dave Styles 

                  back to top      Index         back to music/video index      

             

               The Village Green Stompers   

                 1977 -

       Chris Rowley and John Knock formed the TVGS on the Village Green in Leigh, Kent

                          for the Queens Silver Jubilee in 1977

                                                           

 

                                      

                L/Right - a wedding in Leigh, Kent.        

               John Knock tmb, Chris Rowley piano, Tom Brady tpt, Pete Drage sousa

                        Dudley Hurrell drms, Richard Brennan reeds and Burtie Butler bnj.

                        

                         outside St Marys Church Leigh 30th April 2006

                        

                       here are the lads playing - Indiana click here or pic to play

               

                       
                        from a paper cutting band members:
                      Terry Springate tmb, Bob Jones crnt, Ray Fletcher clt
                      and Eric Webster bnj.

                  

               The Stompers entertaining band members:

           Jerry Pond sousa , Joy Townson, Eric Webster bnj's, Dudley Hurrell drms, John Knock tmb,
                 Paul Bonner tpt, Ken Turner clt and Chris Rowley piano/ldr out of sight. 

                          

                           back to top      Index         back to music/video index