To start this account, here are some tips for touring musicians...:
TIP 1.
If you are leaving for an 8-day tour, don't leave packing until the last minute (ie. 2 in the morning)
TIP 2.
If you are leaving for an 8-day tour, don't have a dinner party the night before which requires clearing up (at 2 in the morning)
TIP 3.
If you have to get up at 6am don't own a phone whose alarm doesn't always work.
My tour started by my snoozing on the 08:00 Kings Cross to Scarborough, trying to catch up on the less than 3 hours' sleep I had had the previous night. (Thankfully I had set two alarms but nothing keeps you restless during the night than the worry that your alarm might not go off!)
I arrived in Scarborough with a romantically child-like view of what this seaside town should be like, without considering the fact that it was February nor the fact that this seaside town was in the North of England. The reality was grey and drizzly skies and a wind that blew my umbrella inside out. That was the end of that!
Despite the weather it was great to be at a gig where I was able to see the sea from on stage.
“Coastival” (how great is that name?! - and I particularly love the similarly named after-party “Postival”) is a music festival running over a weekend featuring over 100 events spanning many different art forms. I was the first act on the jazz afternoon, supporting Dennis Rollins’ Badbone. It was a great gig, and special thanks goes to Mike Gordon for booking us without having heard me first!
We left Scarborough at high tide, exiting the Spa building to the magnificent sounds of crashing waves, and dashing quickly to the car only to be drenched in a wave breaking over the sea wall (luckily we had closed the doors by then but it was still pretty dramatic.)
On Sunday I had a lovely lunchtime gig at Sedgley Park Rugby Club. I had had illusions of cycling the 8 miles from my temporary Manchester base but owing to the cold and slightly wet weather this turned into a tram journey and a tramp through a muddy field. The lunchtime jazz was provided by the Gerry Tomlinson trio who perform there every week with different guests - today being my turn.
My Monday gig (guest vocalist with the Brian Ward big band) was unfortunately cancelled due to a fire at the venue, so I had a good rest before 4 gigs on-the-trot to round off the week. Firstly: Smith’s restaurant in Eccles with pianist Jeremy Sassoon. Smith’s does live jazz every Tuesday provided by Jeremy plus guests. I was greeted by a staff member asking if I wanted a glass on wine - a reception I could get used to! Wednesday was a jazz jam organised by Ed Kainyek at Indigo in Withington - great fun but a very late night, finishing vocalising at 1:15am, packing up at 1:45 am, eating a burger at 2am and finally home at 2:45.
On Thursday, we were booked to play at “Club 43” which is a new supper club set up in one of the restuarants of the Radisson Hotel, Manchester.
In its heyday Club 43 was the venue that bands and artists appeared at after their performances at the Free Trade Hall. Such luminaries as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Miles Davis and Humphrey Lyttleton made regular appearances jamming with local musicians to the surprise and delight of fans. The gig was great - a really good, listening audience and a great vibe on stage. We spent about an hour relaxing on velvet sofas prior to the start of the gig, with wine to hand and excellent food from chef Neil Armstrong (probably not the astronaut). A very enjoyable evening.
On Friday I joined Jeremy Sassoon again, this time at the Cinnamon Club in Altrincham. The Cinnamon Club is billed as “The Ronnie Scott’s of the North” and this is probably a similarity partly because the walls are adorned with excellent photos taken by jazz photographer William Ellis. The band on this particular night was Ben Gray (drums), Richard Hammond (bass), Russell Bennett (trumpet) and Jeremy Sassoon (piano and vocals). I massively enjoyed the gig and am looking forward to a return visit to this great club.
The last leg of the tour was a return to Seven Jazz in Leeds. Seven Jazz is a massive success story - in a world where jazz clubs are either reducing their program, or closing down altogether, Seven Jazz is putting on more nights and striving to grow bigger and better all the time. The house was full and it was a great way to finish off the week. I was asked to draw the raffle and it reminded me of a strange raffle I had been asked to draw at a gig a couple of months ago - the tickets were all thrown up into the air and I had to catch one! This was all well and good until the winning ticket failed to be claimed and we had to collect all the tickets up and start again. Thankfully Seven Jazz was more forward thinking, plus the fact that there were seven prizes so I wouldn’t have fancied picking up the tickets seven times.
So home I go, 8 days later and 49 CDs lighter (I actually brought 50 with me so am very chuffed at my prediction skills!) and very jazzed up.
And to leave you with something comical, here's a picture of me like a true professional: making my breakfast in pyjamas and heels.
