Blandford Forum

Blandford Jazz Circle (Audio recording)

• Report rights infringement
• published: 27 Feb 2014
• views: 755

Memories of the Blandford Jazz Circle This is a recording - made by Russ Barnes many years ago - of an evening with The Blandford Jazz Circle, featuring Peanuts Hucko, Ralph Sutton, Jack Lesberg, Jake Hanna, Peter Appleyard etc. Way back in 1976 Russell (Russ) Barnes attempted something he had been contemplating for a while: to organise a group of local jazz enthusiasts so they could raise enough money to enable them to invite internationally-renowned jazz musicians to play in the beautiful, Georgian town of Blandford Forum, which is located in Dorset, South of England. Today, Blandford is at the heart of a rural community, largely dependent on farming and agriculture to survive and this, of course, was even more the case over thirty years ago. Support for the project came from many local contributors: a police sergeant from Blandford, a Post Office worker, an antique dealer revered for his knowledge of 17th century English oak furniture - and a highly-skilled French polisher who travelled extensively in Europe renovating the furniture of wealthy and well-healed clients! Russ decided to try and enlist assistance from the editor of Jazz Journal in London - a long-established jazz magazine in the UK. To his delight and surprise the editor, Sinclair Traill, 'phoned him to say he was actually born in Blandford and therefore would be delighted to help in any way he could. And so The Blandford Jazz Circle was born. The first Evening of Jazz was held in 1976 - with stride pianist Ralph Sutton, backed by some of the finest local musicians. It was a sell-out, with every seat taken! Over the years Russ organised and presented thirty-two Evenings of Jazz but sadly the last was in 1994. Visiting musicians included such stalwarts as : Ralph Sutton, Art Hodes, Dick Wellstood, Axel Zwingenberger,Oliver Jones, Wild Bill Davison, Yank Lawson, Humph Lyttleton, Clyde Bernhardt, Al Grey, Bud Freeman, Peanuts Hucko, Buddy Tate, Bob Wilber, Kenny Davern, Benny Waters, George Van Epps, Barney Kessel, Pete Appleyard, Jack Lesberg, Butch Miles, Jake Hanna, Jimmy Witherspoon, Adelaide Hall and many, many others This recording is posted here as a tribute to the now-dissolved Blandford Jazz Circle and, of course, to Russ and all those who made it possible. I do hope you enjoy it! [In my posting entitled Jazz Forum, Russ talks to John Piper on 2CR (which used to be the ILR contractor for Bournemouth) about the birth of The Blandford Jazz Circle - and plays some nice jazz recordings as well!]