Tags
Chris Hodgkins retirement, Horace Silver, Jazz Services, jazz vocalist, Louise Dodds, Stardust, The Jazz Bar, UK tour
Bit of a cheesy title, I know, but it’s sunny again at last! Also, it’s a brilliant tune so what’s not to love? Anyway….
Since I last wrote I’ve been continuing to work on my winter tour, A Song for Horace, and am really excited about how it’s all coming together. I’ll be announcing all the dates and venues shortly, but so far we will be hitting Edinburgh, Bradford, Suffolk, Bath, Gloucester, Brighton and London. There are a few others in the pipeline so I shall of course keep you posted, and hope to see you at one (if not more!) of them. I’m still reading Horace’s autobiography, Let’s Get to the Nitty Gritty, and it’s absolutely brilliant, I highly recommend it.
Last week I was very honoured to be invited to Chris Hodgkins’ leaving do as he retired as Chairman of Jazz Services after 29 years. It was a fantastic night and a great send off for a man who has been instrumental in supporting, advising, encouraging and championing so many UK jazz musicians. You can read about all that he has done in this Jazz Services article. Jazz Services themselves are an incredible organisation, and always looking for support. You can become a friend for only £3 a month and you get so many great things from it, like free tickets, Jazz UK magazine, newsletters, and of course you’re helping to support the UK jazz scene. So there.
I also recently had a gig at a lovely venue in Stevenage called Gladleys Courtyard Brasserie. They had just extended the premises and reopened, and we were delighted to be the first of their live jazz nights there. It was a great gig, with Rob Barron on piano and Tim Thornton on bass, and the crowd were just fantastic. It was completely sold out and was just so much fun. I definitely recommend popping by if you are in the area. Here’s a wee photo from it:
It’s strange to think it’s been just over a year since I released my album, ‘Fly”. I’ve just uploaded some video footage of our performance of Stardust from the launch gig at The Jazz Bar in Edinburgh. Hope you enjoy it! (There’s a short and long version depending on how much time you have…)
Ta ta for now
xx
Louise Dodds 