Isomatic UK Weblog

This evening, as usual for a Thursday, we went to the Berrylands Hotel in Surbiton, to see Brian White's Magna jazz band. Chez Chesterman (pictured) replaced Pete Towndrow on Cornet, the remainder of the band being standard. Our favourite numbers were as follows:
1. The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise, lyrics by Gene Lockhart and music (Toronto 1918) by the concert pianist Ernest Seitz, who had conceived the refrain when he was 12. Embarrassed about writing popular music, Seitz used the pseudonym "Raymond Roberts" when the song was first published by Chappell in 1919. The link is to the version by Les Paul and Mary Ford.
2. Chez's great Creole vocal 'E Las Bas', about which I know nothing except that it sounded just fine.
3. Alan Dandy's fine keyboard solo medley, based on the word 'Crazy'. It included 'Crazy in Love With You', 'You, You're Driving Me Crazy' and 'Crazy Rhythm'.
4. Chez's other vocal 'I Can't Sleep', another number about which I know nothing.

One of the Berrylands rituals is for Peter Winn to shine a torch on the raffle prizes as they are announced and he holds them aloft. As he was absent this evening, I dashed to the car to collect a huge torch before the gig started. When the time came, Frances held the prizes and I illuminated them. This was described as our 'double act'.

Labels: Jazz