Thursday 29th September 2022 - Hint Of Swing Big Band
A near-capacity crowd and an 18 piece ‘big band’ occupying almost a quarter of the venue room made for a tight squeeze, but only added to the ambience as one happy memory after another was revived for those in attendance. During their first set alone, they delivered classics such as ‘Satin Doll’, ‘Hallelujah I just love him so’, ‘How high the moon’, ‘One note samba’, ‘On the sunny side of the street’, and ‘Take the A train.’
It takes skill and dedication to ensure a note-perfect performance by so many talented and dedicated instrumentalists, augmented by two superb vocal stylists, and the best indication of how well this gifted ensemble went down with their audience was the fact that virtually nobody left after the raffles were drawn.
Thank you ‘Hint of Swing’, and thank you to those who made it possible. It gets better every month, and it’s only a pity that the next gig is still four weeks away.
It takes skill and dedication to ensure a note-perfect performance by so many talented and dedicated instrumentalists, augmented by two superb vocal stylists, and the best indication of how well this gifted ensemble went down with their audience was the fact that virtually nobody left after the raffles were drawn.
Thank you ‘Hint of Swing’, and thank you to those who made it possible. It gets better every month, and it’s only a pity that the next gig is still four weeks away.
Thursday 25th August 2022 - Todd Hardy Swingtet
On one of the coldest nights of the year we were eager for some hot jazz, and the Todd Hardy Swingtet certainly didn’t disappoint. This six piece ensemble of talented musos, led by an experienced trumpeter who knows the best when he hires them, gave us two hours of swing, hardbop and a few hard to define but easy to listen to arrangements of their own. Those who like to warm their hearts with favourite standards weren’t left out either, with classics such as ‘I can’t give you anything but love,’ ‘Mood Indigo’, ‘I’m beginning to see the light,’ ‘Ain’t Misbehaving,’ and ‘Take the A Train’ flooding the room with nostalgia.
To finish the show, they gave us a lengthy rendition of ‘Route 66’ that was three times longer than the original score, during which each instrumentalist gave us at least two solos, then we wandered back out into the icy air with the reminder that good jazz can be an electric blanket for the soul.
To finish the show, they gave us a lengthy rendition of ‘Route 66’ that was three times longer than the original score, during which each instrumentalist gave us at least two solos, then we wandered back out into the icy air with the reminder that good jazz can be an electric blanket for the soul.
Thursday 30th July 2022 - Bags Of Groove Band
Those of us who overcame the cold, COVID, potholes and natural inertia to make the effort to attend our July gig thought that all our Christmases had come at once as soon as ‘Bags of Groove’ opened up their first set. Led by vibraphonist Dave Kemp, it was an evening of jazz the way that it was meant to be, and if you closed your eyes you could have been in Sydney’s Basement, London’s Ronnie Scott’s or the Green Mill in Chicago. Not bad for downtown Murwillumbah!
Dave displayed his music credentials as he interspersed each number with fascinating facts about the construction and history of the vibraphone and some of its famous exponents such as Milt Jackson and Lionel Hampton. Equally spellbinding, playing several forms of reed instrument, was his wife Catherina, with his father in law Glen Shepherd on keyboard. A tight backline of Phil Jack on bass and Pete Neville on drums kept the ‘groove’ faultless all evening, and we ventured back out into the icy late chill with hearts thoroughly warmed by the best jazz to be heard north of the Big Smoke.
Dave displayed his music credentials as he interspersed each number with fascinating facts about the construction and history of the vibraphone and some of its famous exponents such as Milt Jackson and Lionel Hampton. Equally spellbinding, playing several forms of reed instrument, was his wife Catherina, with his father in law Glen Shepherd on keyboard. A tight backline of Phil Jack on bass and Pete Neville on drums kept the ‘groove’ faultless all evening, and we ventured back out into the icy late chill with hearts thoroughly warmed by the best jazz to be heard north of the Big Smoke.
Thursday 30th June 2022 - Harry Lynn And The Warblers
A lovely laid back, nostalgic trip down memory lane for our June gig, as Harry Lynn and the Warblers took us, cabaret style, through the song books of some of the great composers. Led by Harry himself on keyboard, with Les Kafoa on drums and John Edwards on bass, accomplished vocalists George Harvey and Beth Hamilton played musical mikes for two and a half hours of reworked standards that included ‘Dancing Cheek to Cheek’, ‘Don’t get around much any more’, ‘It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing’, ‘Georgia on my mind’ and ‘Summertime’.
The temporary venue of Murwillumbah Golf Club provided a perfect setting with its comfortable lounge, adjacent bar and delicious dinner menu, and the appreciative audience lapped it all up as they sang along.
The temporary venue of Murwillumbah Golf Club provided a perfect setting with its comfortable lounge, adjacent bar and delicious dinner menu, and the appreciative audience lapped it all up as they sang along.
Thursday 26th May 2022 - Mojo Webb Band
Another great night, despite a few changes. A different venue, a different night of the week, and it wasn’t raining for once. A capacity crowd turned out for one of the Club favourites, Mojo Webb, whose authentic blues sound filled the room with energy and much-needed uplift. The back of the stage resembled a guitar shop, and after Mojo demonstrated how good each of them sounded he switched to harmonica, leaving Club Committee member Peter ‘Scrubby’ Hurcombe to demonstrate his own guitar mastery of the blues format, to the delight of the already ecstatic crowd. We certainly got our ‘Mojo’ working!
Many thanks to Murwillumbah Golf Club for playing temporary host while our usual venue gets dried out. Your club premises are a delight, and the food service is excellent.
Many thanks to Murwillumbah Golf Club for playing temporary host while our usual venue gets dried out. Your club premises are a delight, and the food service is excellent.
Friday 28th January 2022 - BlueSkillet Rovers
A foot-stomping start to 2022, with the welcome return of The BlueSkillet Rovers, a lively six piece, augmented on this occasion by Club Committee member Peter ‘Scrubby’ Hurcombe, sitting in on guitar due to the temporary absence of their regular six string sidesman.
Their music is best described as ‘eclectic’, which is a convenient word to describe what might be more accurately identified as ‘Bluegrass jazz-infused blues with a rockabilly flavour’, and their visual presentation was just as authentic. Even the lead vocalist’s 1920s look microphone resembled a leftover from ‘Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?’ and the ‘down-home’ wisecracking between band members between numbers added to the overall experience.
A great night, and a taste of the year to come. COVID? What COVID?
Their music is best described as ‘eclectic’, which is a convenient word to describe what might be more accurately identified as ‘Bluegrass jazz-infused blues with a rockabilly flavour’, and their visual presentation was just as authentic. Even the lead vocalist’s 1920s look microphone resembled a leftover from ‘Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?’ and the ‘down-home’ wisecracking between band members between numbers added to the overall experience.
A great night, and a taste of the year to come. COVID? What COVID?
Friday 26th November 2021 - Peter's Pick
A fitting end to a difficult year, as a group of local musos came together to reconfirm how much talent lies in the Northern Rivers. Former Club President, current Committee member, bass player and music teacher to generations of Murwillumbah students, Peter McLaughlin assembled an impressive line-up that partly reprised his days in Sydney’s famous Bourbon and Beefsteak as he called up drummer Kevin Collins and vocalist Lesley Rose to play the memories.
The addition of Glen Shepherd on keys, Joes Travers on guitar and Jake Bryant on sax guaranteed a wallow through nostalgia as the ensemble worked their way through the standards songbook, while throwing in the occasional surprise such as Edith Piaf’s signature ‘La vie en rose’.
That was the last Club gig for 2021, but COVID willing we’ll be back in January 2022. In the meantime, have a great Xmas and a safe New Year, and see you on the dance floor.
The addition of Glen Shepherd on keys, Joes Travers on guitar and Jake Bryant on sax guaranteed a wallow through nostalgia as the ensemble worked their way through the standards songbook, while throwing in the occasional surprise such as Edith Piaf’s signature ‘La vie en rose’.
That was the last Club gig for 2021, but COVID willing we’ll be back in January 2022. In the meantime, have a great Xmas and a safe New Year, and see you on the dance floor.
Friday 29th October 2021 - Scrubby And Friends
A wonderful celebration of our release from the latest lockdown, surrounded by old friends and being serenaded by some of the finest musos on the North Coast.
In the back line, Toby Baron on drums and Robert Renfrew on bass. Both men brought impressive track records over with them from the UK, with Toby even being able to boast a link with the 60s icons The Kinks. Then the consummate Martha Baartz on sax, with a list of guest appearances for famous artists whose names would fill your autograph book.
On trombone, the seemingly inexhaustible ‘Trombone’ Kellie Barnett, who can go in one breath from a rasping trombone glissando to the most powerful female vocal offering to be heard anywhere on the planet. Then, gluing it all together with guitar skills that must have been acquired one dark night at a crossroads, our own Peter ‘Scrubby’ Hurcombe, whose slide guitar blues riffs should be recorded and employed as the Northern Rivers anthem.
Due to COVID restrictions, entry numbers were limited, but we could have filled the venue twice over. It will be no different next month, when we welcome ‘Peter’s Pick’, and we can’t wait.
In the back line, Toby Baron on drums and Robert Renfrew on bass. Both men brought impressive track records over with them from the UK, with Toby even being able to boast a link with the 60s icons The Kinks. Then the consummate Martha Baartz on sax, with a list of guest appearances for famous artists whose names would fill your autograph book.
On trombone, the seemingly inexhaustible ‘Trombone’ Kellie Barnett, who can go in one breath from a rasping trombone glissando to the most powerful female vocal offering to be heard anywhere on the planet. Then, gluing it all together with guitar skills that must have been acquired one dark night at a crossroads, our own Peter ‘Scrubby’ Hurcombe, whose slide guitar blues riffs should be recorded and employed as the Northern Rivers anthem.
Due to COVID restrictions, entry numbers were limited, but we could have filled the venue twice over. It will be no different next month, when we welcome ‘Peter’s Pick’, and we can’t wait.
Friday 30th July 2021 - Fiona Boyes
Wow, wow and wow again! A perfect antidote to the gloom and depression of COVID, as Fiona Boyes leaped out of the traps and played her heart out, risking dislocated fingers as she demonstrated her mastery of one eclectic guitar after another, one of which had only three strings but in her hands sounded like an orchestra.
From Chicago, down through Mississippi and into Louisiana, the music was as authentic as ’gaitors and moonshine, and never once let up. Fiona interspersed her musical miracles with reminiscences of the places she’d visited on her US tours, from the haunting post-Katrina New Orleans to the dodgy juke joints where the singers risked being electrocuted by their microphones.
Two and a half hours later, the audience members were still glued to their seats, ‘chair dancing’ as Fiona called it. Definitely an act to be re-booked once COVID regulations permit the Club to admit larger numbers.
From Chicago, down through Mississippi and into Louisiana, the music was as authentic as ’gaitors and moonshine, and never once let up. Fiona interspersed her musical miracles with reminiscences of the places she’d visited on her US tours, from the haunting post-Katrina New Orleans to the dodgy juke joints where the singers risked being electrocuted by their microphones.
Two and a half hours later, the audience members were still glued to their seats, ‘chair dancing’ as Fiona called it. Definitely an act to be re-booked once COVID regulations permit the Club to admit larger numbers.
Friday 25th June 2021 - Horn Among Roses
Wow, what a night to remember! Not only the Club’s 25th Birthday Bash, complete with a yummy cake, but also one of the finest bands currently playing in the Northern Rivers.
‘Horn Among the Roses’, fronted by chanteurs Sharny Russell and Elizabeth Lord, and ably supported by saxophonist Adam Thomas and drummer Dave Sanders, kept us all enthralled with their unique blend of old and new. Among the standards given refreshing new life were ‘The Way You Look Tonight’, ‘Dancing Cheek to Cheek’ and ‘Teach Me Tonight’, but the highlights were undoubtedly Sharny and Elizabeth’s duets on numbers such as ‘Don’t Get Around Much Any More’ and ‘The Girl From Ipenema’.
What came across more than anything was the band’s delight in playing together again, as the ‘fun’ they were having permeated the entire room. Truly a great night, and let’s hope that there are at least 25 more years to come!
‘Horn Among the Roses’, fronted by chanteurs Sharny Russell and Elizabeth Lord, and ably supported by saxophonist Adam Thomas and drummer Dave Sanders, kept us all enthralled with their unique blend of old and new. Among the standards given refreshing new life were ‘The Way You Look Tonight’, ‘Dancing Cheek to Cheek’ and ‘Teach Me Tonight’, but the highlights were undoubtedly Sharny and Elizabeth’s duets on numbers such as ‘Don’t Get Around Much Any More’ and ‘The Girl From Ipenema’.
What came across more than anything was the band’s delight in playing together again, as the ‘fun’ they were having permeated the entire room. Truly a great night, and let’s hope that there are at least 25 more years to come!
Friday 28th May 2021 - Greg Lyon and the Hip Operation
What a night to remember, with five musos at the top of their game pumping it out for the benefit of a spellbound audience. The ‘Greg Lyons Hip Operation’, led by the man himself on bass and vocals, with Scott Hill on drums, Martha Baartz on sax, Brendan St Ledger on piano and Laura Nobel as featured vocalist, played their hearts out once they realised how appreciative their audience was.
Their first set consisted of the tracks from the CD that they had on sale, which showcased the unique and captivating vocals of Laura Nobel, with their uncanny reminder of Billie Holiday. Then a completely different second set, heavily blues influenced, that opened with the reminder that Greg once played bass behind Georgie Fame, reinforced by a blasting version of one of his greatest hits, ‘I say yeah, yeah’. Also featured later in the set was the Ray Charles classic ‘Hard Times’ – hardly an apt description of what they served up to their enraptured audience.
Their first set consisted of the tracks from the CD that they had on sale, which showcased the unique and captivating vocals of Laura Nobel, with their uncanny reminder of Billie Holiday. Then a completely different second set, heavily blues influenced, that opened with the reminder that Greg once played bass behind Georgie Fame, reinforced by a blasting version of one of his greatest hits, ‘I say yeah, yeah’. Also featured later in the set was the Ray Charles classic ‘Hard Times’ – hardly an apt description of what they served up to their enraptured audience.
Friday 30th April 2021 - The Mojo Webb Band
Despite a freaky rainstorm just ahead of the gig that kept the attendance numbers down, there was no shortage of wild appreciation when we welcomed back Mojo Webb and his crew for our April gig. One pounding twelve bar after another proved the man’s mastery of the genre, and threatened to take the roof off, both in volume and in enthusiasm. This was not a gig for the faint-hearted, or those with sensitive hearing.
Just two examples will suffice to illustrate what a special night this was. First of all, the almost brazen versatility of Mojo’s two sidesmen, J B Lewis on bass, and Coojee Timms on drums, both of whom demonstrated their talents on guitar, Coojee even throwing in a vocal while Mojo was playing keyboards with one hand and blasting out a ‘harp’ melody with the other. Secondly, the spontaneous standing ovation that ended the night after yet another encore.
Even if we have to endure another cloudburst in advance, we’ll be welcoming them back in the not too distant future.
Just two examples will suffice to illustrate what a special night this was. First of all, the almost brazen versatility of Mojo’s two sidesmen, J B Lewis on bass, and Coojee Timms on drums, both of whom demonstrated their talents on guitar, Coojee even throwing in a vocal while Mojo was playing keyboards with one hand and blasting out a ‘harp’ melody with the other. Secondly, the spontaneous standing ovation that ended the night after yet another encore.
Even if we have to endure another cloudburst in advance, we’ll be welcoming them back in the not too distant future.
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© 2017 Tweed Valley Jazz And Blues Club Inc
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