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Séan Maple - trombone
Séan is heard here playing Sarratoga Swing, recorded live at the Theatre Royal
Margate, Kent, UK, 11th February 2006 with the Bill Barnacle Jazz Band ,
fellow
musicians are: Bill Barnacle cornet, Chris Rumsey reeds, Dave Bashford
guitar,
Colin Hodges double bass and Mike Marsh drums.
My first venture into interactive music was at age ten with
Birchington Silver Band. My career as a third cornettist was cut short,
however, when I resigned with toothache. Some ten years later, in 1956, a
friend started the Apex Jazz Men and I was invited to be his trombonist.
"Ah, I thought, must be easier than the cornet. Eight notes in the scale,
eight slide positions - piece of cake." I began to realise what I'd let
myself in for when I arrived home, having purchased a trombone for £36 and a
tutor for 3/6d, only to discover that the trombone has seven slide positions
and all the exercises were in something called bass clef! Somehow, out of
all this bewilderment, tunes began to emerge and the band, heavily
influenced by Louis Armstrong and his All Starts but sounding significantly
different, soon had a repertoire in single figures - mostly twelve bars in
Bb major. Then Mo Hovery loaned me an LP called "Bixieland", Eddie Condon
and all those wonderful players - I'd heard nothing like it - inspirational.
That record was the switch on and now, whenever I hesitate when choosing
something to listen to, that's the one I play - mine not Mo's
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Barry Weston - Trombone
I first started playing in 1954/55 and my first teacher, a
Salvation Army man, gave up on me when he found that I was
not going to wear the red and black hat and join the Sally A. The first band
I joined was the Martinique Jazz Band which, I might add, was truly
dreadful, but the highlight in my career in Yorkshire was in the Bob
Barclay's Yorkshire Jazz Band from which I got the well earned sack, as they
say, and that is when I moved south and joined the Faversham based Creek
City Jazz Band. This eventually evolved to the John Defferary Jazz Band. I
then became very poorly and gave up playing for seven years. Then resumed my
playing with the Eagle Jazz Band, but a difference of ambitions in the band
led to the formation of the Seven Aces. I then had the offer of my life and
joined the French Band "Les Haricots Rouge" between 1973 / 1976 but the wife
did not care for living in Paris , which I could not understand as most
women would love to live in Paris, so leaving and coming back to dear old
blighty, I joined the Gambit Jazzmen and the Papa Joe's All Stars ---- and I
have enjoyed every second of it, including the bad bits and, I might add, I
even enjoyed those.
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Don York - trombone
and vocals Don is here playing and vocalising on New
Orleans ,this was
recorded on the 11th June 2005 at the St Peters Hall in Whitstable
Kent, the rest of the band are : Bill Barnacle crnt, Roy Mason clt,
Burtie Butler bnj, Colin Hodges bass and John Cottis drums.
Born in 1936, I started to play trombone at about 18. I was self-taught,
playing along to records with Dave Carpenter, Derek Guiver, Frank and
Charlie Webster in a basement underneath Bannisters workshops in Chatham.
Early influences were Jim Robinson and Kid Ory. After a while, I joined the
Crescent City Stompers. We played all over, including the Modern Music Club
in Soho, where we were billed as "a threat to the best". This band
progressed to the Crescent City Jazzmen and then to Fred Cogger's Jazzmen. I
then left this band and joined the George Wooding Band. Influences changed
to Jack Teagarden and Vic Dickinson. I then went to Singapore from 1967 to
1970. Returned to the UK and joined Tony Pink's Jazz Band. After about five
years, I joined the Thameside Stompers and stayed with them until 1983 when
I went to Scotland. Returned to Medway in 1987 and since then have been
free-lance trombone, working with Geoff Hatton, Jake Hill, the Tuxedo Jazz
Band, Dr Jazz and the Invicta Jazz Band, and I also presented a jazz record
programme for Medway FM. My memorable moments include: (1) whilst with the
Thameside Stompers, I was invited up to play a number with Ruby Braff; (2) a
trombone trio with Roy Williams and Kenny Pyrke; and (3) playing alongside
Acker Bilk with the Invicta Jazz Band. After my early influences, I came to
realise that the biggest influence on my life in jazz is the genius, Louis
Armstrong.
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Chris Hunt - Trombone
My Favourite trombonists:- Miff Mole, Tommy Dorsey, Jack
Teagarden. Earliest musical memory:- Listening to father playing his old
dance band records.At the age of five borrowed elder brother's mouthorgan
and learned to play "Jingle Bells." Was given piano lessons at eight but
gave up after two terms - couldn't stand the practising. Pity really ! With
sufficiant perseverance and a personality transplant I could have been a
second Liberace! Played little apart from the gramophone for the next twenty
years untill a chap at work persuaded me to buy his old trombone for five
pounds with the promise that he would form a jazzband. This actually
happened and the pianist, who was a brass instrument teacher, gave me
lessons. I subsequently joined Roy Martin's parade band, the Expedient Brass
Band, soon graduating to his Jazz Caverners and later, the Blue Rhythm
Kings. Currently, I play with the Expedient Brass Band, Jazz Caverners, Blue
Rhythm Kings, Spencer's Nighthawks and just about anyone else who rings me
up! Incidentally, my 'phone number is..................
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Jan Bryce - Trombone and vocals
Jan is playing and vocalising on I Thank You Mr Moon, this
was recorded at The Jolly Knight pub
with The Vocalion Jazz Band, 12th September 2007 - other members of the band
are: Dennis Jenkins tpt,
Ivan Gandon clt, Burtie Butler bnj, Paul Ferdinand bass and Mark Alexander
drums. I have been playing trombone
from a very young age. Being the son of Owen Bryce of George Webb
Dixielanders, jazz was the only music allowed in the house, so I gained an
extensive knowledge of all the old standards. At the age of 8 I would catch
the bus on my own after school and travel 25 miles to Lewisham night school
for Jazz classes, fortunately there was a lift home. During secondary school
I joined the brass band and gained some experience reading music, something
I have never regretted. From 1975 to 1982 I played with Elise and Her
Jazzmen with 2 residences at Longfield and Charlton, taking the band to
Holland on 3 occasions. This was hard work playing 3 nights on the trot each
for 5 hours. From the mid 80’s I have been playing with the Southfields
Stompers. For a few years we had a residency at Meopham then Chatham and
later Borough Green.
Jan's Parents - Owen and Iris Bryce
wedding mentioned in the Radio Times 2-8th May 2020
VE DAY remembered
.jpg)
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Tony Richards - Trombone, Flugal Bone, Trumpet, Tuba and
vocals - sadly passed away 23rd Feb 2018
I started my musical career having piano lessons when I was at boarding
school. I then started my catering career in Zurich, Switzerland, my first
job in the local brewery and from here I switched to guitar and played at
venues in and around the Zurich area with friends. Getting the yearn to move
back home, I moved back to Faversham with my parents who ran the Chimney Boy
in Preston Street. I then decided to take up the trumpet, taking lessons
with Geoff Miller and the late Dave Link. Then moving on I went to the
Kent Music School to learn the trombone. Getting back to the catering side
of life, I took on the tenancy of the White Lion at Selling, which gave me
the opportunity to widen my first love of life, jazz, so we started having
music on a Sunday night at the White Lion. From the White Lion I then moved
to the George at Newnham, the jazz night switched to Monday night, and
finally I bought the Freehold of the Chapter Arms at Chartham Hatch, and
live music every Monday night at the Chapter with the 'The Chapter Rhythmn
Boys' is still in full swing.....
Tony's Order of Service Monday 26th March
2018
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Al Webber - Trombone Al is an old
friend of mine, whom I met in Cork, Ireland when I was playing with the
Invicta Jazz Band,
at the Stripes Rhythm Bar in the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival way back in the
mid 80's. The photo is of
Al with his ' current mob' as he puts it, on his 80th birthday in
Purcellville, Washington DC. A small story
of Al: after I purchased a LP of Bob Havens and his New Orleans All - Stars
on Southland LP243 the write-
up on the back was by Al - as Joe Mares Southlands No One said of Al -" Mr
Alan C Webber is a well - known
Philadelphia record collector and jazz authority "
Here is Al with his band ' The Federal Jazz Commission' back in 1978
at the Bratwursthouse in Arlington,
Virginia, U.S.A.
The Commissioners:
Al Webber trombone/leader, Marty Frankel cornet, Fred Starr
clarinet, Gary Wilkenson piano,
Jerry Addicot banjo, Jay Converse tuba and Dick Stimson drums.
so click on the titles to hear:
Snake Rag
Chimes Blues
Fidgety Feet
Al plays every Tuesday night at the Kings Court Tavern with the Arcadian's
in
Leesburg, Virginia, USA.
click here to go to their website
Sadly Al has passed away on Wed 13th April with trombone in his hand
Alan Crawford Webber, 85, Normandy Veteran and Band Leader
- a tribute to Al
14th June 1925 - 13th April 2011 85years
Al Webber had three great passions - four if one includes his brief
engagement to the daughter of a French count.
His first marriage blessed him with children, his second with a love for the
ages. But his enduring obsession,
Dixieland Jazz, had a hold on him from youth. In the end she broke his
heart.
On April 12th Webber was practising his trombone for his regular Tuesday
evening gig at Kings Court Tavern
in Leesburg VA, when he collapsed with a ruptured aorta. Even as he fell, he
clutched his trombone protectively
to his chest. By his bedside at Inova Fairfax Trauma Centre the next day
daughter Jeni played recordings of his
music, the last notes of the traditional gospel hymn 'Just a Closer Walk
With Thee' fading even as her father slipped
away. Its like some O'Henry story, wife Mariana said of his final hours.
Family and friends recalled his boyish nature
and zest for life, his playful laugh and bawdy sense of humour, and an old
England accent that channeled no one more
than actor Sean Connery. Webber lived fully, loved deeply and leaves an
unfillable void.
Born June 14th, 1925 in Waterbury, Conn., Al always considered himself a
dyed-in-the-wool Connecticut Yankee. He was
confirmed at Watertown's Christ Church and attended the prestigious Taft
School. Entering Army service at the age of 18,
he shipped to England with C Company, 358th Regiment, 90th Infantry Division
("Tough 'Ombres"). Webber landed
at Normandy on D-Day +5 and was wounded three days later on June 14th, 1944
- his 19th birthday. "The Nazis gave
me a rather nasty present," he often quipped of the German mortar shell that
ended his war and very nearly his life.
Webber spent a year recuperating at a field hospital on Lord Bath's Longleat
Estate in England. Left deaf in one ear,
the Purple Heart recipient was discharged in March 1946. He took advantage
of the G.I. Bill to earn a history degree
from Massachusetts' Amherst College, and he returned to England for studies
at Oxford University. Britain lured Al
overseas again in the late 1980s, when he and Marianna lived in Cork,
Ireland.
In a journalism career that spanned more than half a century, Webber rose
from reporter on a small-town Connecticut
newspaper to become managing editor of the NRA journal 'American Rifleman'
in Fairfax, Va. At the time of his death
he was the long time senior (pun intended) copy editor for the Wieder
History Group of magazines in Leesburg.
But most will remember Webber for his life long devotion to Dixieland jazz,
as both bandleader and trombonist. Starting
at Amherst, Al founded some half a dozen ensembles over the years, including
Philadelphia's Good Time Six, the popular
D.C.-area Federal Jazz Commission and for the past 15 years Leesburg's own
Arcadians. Webber was also co-founder of
the non profit Potomac River Jazz Club, dedicated to the preservation of
Dixieland jazz. Also on
the Southland LP 243
'Bob Havens and His New Orleans
All-Stars' , Al wrote the notes on the sleeve. As quoted by Southlands: "Mr
Alan C.
Webber is a well-known Philadelphia record collector and jazz authority".
And his music will live on: on the day Al died
Inova Fairfax requested his recordings for use in its music therapy program.
Dixieland devotee Al Webber is to be cremated, his ashes placed in his
beloved valve trombone for internment by his
parents' side in Woodbury, Conn. The family will hold a memorial service for
him at 11am on Saturday April 30th, at
St Peter's Episcopal Church in Purcellville VA.
Preceding Webber in death are first wife Joyce Raines Webber and brother
Hugh Simms Webber. Surviving him are wife
Marianna Wilcox Webber of Pucellville; sister Sydney Eddison of Newtown,
Conn. ; son Russell R. Webber of Scotsdale,
Ariz.; daughter Jennifer M. Webber of Berkeley, Calif.; and stepsons
Kenneth, Bruce and Kevin Taylor, all of Maryland.
"Grumps" also claimed seven grandchildren and one great grandson.
click on picture to play
Here is
Al playing and singing "Down in Jungle Town" with The Arcadians
at his Tuesday evening gig in "Kings Court Tavern"
in Leesburg VA, 24th November 2009
band members:
Ryan Mayo bass, Al Webber tmb, Mike Ritter tpt, Rich Gerbich drms,
Bob Carrier gtr, Jimmy Hamilton clt and guest from UK Burtie Butler bnj.
A great interview of Al by his old mate Kelvin Holland
click on picture to watch
and
a tribute site to Al that has an hour of interview plus pictures
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Kenny
Pyrke - trombone and vocals Kenny sadly no longer
with us, is playing here Please don't talk about me it is one of my
favourites, that reminds me of him, this was recorded at the Whitstable
Playhouse Theatre,
Whitstable, Kent. on the 23rd July 1988. A concert with the Invicta Jazz
Band with Cy Laurie
as the guest artist, the band members on this track are Dave Link tpt, Randy
Colville clt,
Burtie Butler bnj, Mike Porter-Ward bass and John Cottis drms. So click on
to Kenny's name
and hear what a fine trombone player he was.
Here is Kenny playing
'Flight of the Foo Birds' by Neil Hefti
another video of Kenny at the same venue
with Dave Corsby's swing Band
,
band personnel:
Dave Corsby - alto sax
Lindsey Bennett - trumpet
Kenny Pyrke - trombone Geoff
Corner - tenor sax
Dave Jones - piano
Lawrence Tuck - bass
and Phil Laslett drums
at a Garden party in 1984, so click on picture to watch video
This is a personal recollection of Kenny
by Dave Corsby taken from the September issue (no77) 2004 of the
 u
s t
a z z
Over a period of
more than thirty years I played with Kenny in various big bands, traditional
bands and modern jazz
groups on gigs that took us to Scarborough,
Cheltenham, Rheda in Germany, St Omer and the Dunkerque Jazzopale
in France, as well as on radio and television
sessions. I often stayed with him when I had gigs in the Medway area,
and sometimes he stayed with me when he did a
season in Margate with Betty Smith. I first met Kenny in the early seventies
when he co-led a big band which had two drummers
and two baritone saxes. Before I knew him, he played with Bob
Miller, Joe Daniels and Roy Castle. He was often
annoyed that jazz fans did not support local musicians and when his local
jazz record club held a blindfold test, he took
along a big band recording of local musicians playing The
Subterraneans
(by yours truly). They thought it was a
Mingus big band with with Charles Mingus on bass, Elvin Jones on drums and
Pepper Adams on Baritone sax. They could not
identify the trombone soloist with a distinctive tone, which was Kenny.
In the eighties, Kenny played in my seven-piece band at the ship in Margate,
Kent on Sunday nights. We used
that band at the Dunkerque Jazzopale and for
Thames Television, where we recorded a comedy arrangement for the
Judith Chalmers " Wish you were here " programme.
As members of the Pete Rose Band we played together at an open
air concert in Rheda, in Germany, where the
baritone sax player risked a riot by quoting phrases from 'The Dambusters'
In the nineties we both joined the John Burch Octet, playing along side our
heroes Hank Shaw, Dick Morrissey
and Don Rendell. This band had several broadcasts on
BBC Jazz Notes and an Arts Council sponsored tour. We were often
featured in small group format playing Gerry Mulligan
tunes - Apple Core and Bernie's Tune. This developed into a
small
band which played the Gerry Mulligan repertoire, with
Kenny playing valve as well as slide trombone. Kenny featured
in many dixieland bands. Together with trumpeter Dave
Link we formed a regular front-line that played for prestige
corporate functions including ICI, P&O, Eurotunnel and
the Duke of Westminster Estate, Kenny never lost his enthusiasm
for big bands, recently playing with the Harry Barrett,
Don Barcott and Mission Impossible big bands.
Self-styled as a vinyl dinosaur, Kenny had a massive collection of LPs, much
of it in the laid-back West Coast,
cool school of jazz that he loved and played so well, I
shall miss playing the Gerry Mulligan arrangements together, Kenny
was a good mate and a superbly subtle trombonist.
Dave Corsby Click
on picture for Kenny's funeral - Dave Link tpt, Dave Corsby clt, Dave
Bashford bnj and Roger Link sousa
playing Just a Close Walk with Thee :
Click
on pic to watch
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