NICE
To the Quay on Sunday afternoon for a quaff and some quartal and quintal harmony. Far *too* clever, Jase - yer trying too hard.
Tell It Like It Is:
OK, Comrades - Jazz on the Quay and BOOZE.
Blimey.
With New Orleans weather gracing Wivenhoe, what we needed was some respectable Regency style regalia - a parasol perhaps, an ankle length dress and a double G & T if you don’t mind.
All present and correct, Bandmaster.
The mighty fine Backwater Band returned to Wivenhoe for one afternoon of trad jazz and tales. There is a lot of twaddle written about jazz in general - it’s all about feelin’ it, folks. Which the fine chaps from the Backwater Band most certainly did after three hours out in the estuary heat.
It was standing room only around the Rose and Crown. The quayside boozer pretty much dines out on the location alone during these summer months, but it seemed that a lot of folk had come out especially to see the Backwater Band.
I was included in this category, along with the splendid company of Mayor Needham. You know you’re doing something right when the Mr Mayor makes a remark on the loudness of your shirt. I uttered something in reply about all that jazz, baby. I blame it on the freestyle foot tappin’ meets Johnny Cash, as was the case mid-set.
Come late afternoon and a selection of the Regency ladies came close to some jive. Feet were tapped, hips were wiggled and eyes were averted.
“It’s like Wivenhoe’s very own Glasto,” as a drinking friend observed.
Oh Lordy.
There was a tinge of regret late in the afternoon when the old timers from the Backwater Band wished Wivenhoe a fond farewell for yet another year. Is there the appetite for a revival of the Wivenhoe Jazz Club?
The Folk Club seems to thrive on the Open Mic policy, always offering up local artists that live on the periphery of the wider folk umbrella. Jazz covers many sub-genres in itself - any booming jazz club would need to diversify.
But whereas a floor spot at the Folk Club can be filled by a bloke and a battered guitar - and rather wonderfully it must be said - it’s not quite as simple turn on, tune in and feel the jazz for the more sophisticated genre.
I’d be up for monthly jazz sessions locally, but could we source the talent?
Jazz isn’t dead - it just smells funny, as the great quote goes. Wivenhoe would do well to inhale once again.
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