Jazz in the Afternoon, and Bratislava Hot Serenaders

Jazz in the afternoon is North of the Tyne Jazz band who play every Monday at lunch time at Cullercoats. They are middle aged plus musicians who play in a solid and professional way many jazz standards, Sweet Sue, On the Sunnyside of the Street, Oh Lady be Good, I can't give you anything but love, baby, Summertime, Stranger on the Shore, Muskrat Ramble, Water Melon Man. Somebody wants me and C C Rider. It was pleasant stuff suitable for a family audience many who would not have heard live jazz of any description played before although it was evident there were some like me who had made the effort to come for the event, ignoring all the others, at least for a time.

The main event was the appearance of the Bratislava Hot Serenders, a major ensemble from the Slovakian Republic who arrived in the poshist coach I have ever seen. There are not many bands to day, let alone in the thirties who would be able to travel in such style and who boast five stand alone singers, three young and attractive women dressed in style and two young men. The men of the orchestra were in general of more mature years and highly professional musicians producing an authentic well oiled sound which unfortunately the sound system could not reproduce. The stage was also cramped for such a large orchestra: three trumpets, one trombone, three who played saxes, clarinets, and flute, two tubas, pianist, drummer, one banjo guitarist, three violinists one of whom also played the vibes twenty one artists in total. They also have a MySpace site with four numbers and videos. Their music is not my everyday music but reproduces that which was being played during the decade of my childhood and over the past two decades since coming together to perform at special concerts they have acquired a following outside their country. They would do well in the USA. The weather turned cold and was most unkind given that back home it would be in the mid thirties.

Meanwhile on the main stage a representative of Latin American and Spanish sounds part of the Vamos ten days in Gateshead and Newcastle festival was being performed throughout the afternoon and early evening. More on Vamos later especially I get to some of the events over the next week.