Club Django

  Taking a "Workshop" at Club Django in Marlow in 2010/11. The club was founded and run by Malcolm "Monty" Greenhalge, himself a dedicated Django enthusiast, guitarist, concert promoter, and good friend. The club is still running and welcomes new members.

Fat Chance

Fat Chance 'variation' Geoff Hawkins - reeds and Flute, young Phil Berry on Contrabass, Tom Anderson - vocals & Rhythm Guitar.  Ade Holland Seated with Maccaferri

Review by Chris Harris 

After all these years one doesn’t expect originality of small jazz combos. Yet Ade Holland’s wonderful band " Fat Chance" certainly achieve it. Bass, two guitars, and more often than not the soaring of a soprano saxophone on top. The result was an extraordinary combination standard ‘mainstream’ infrastructure with a vibrant, highly modern solo voice. I found this irresistible. The band certainly sent plenty of excitement across footlights. Maybe ‘Ornithology’ didn’t quite suit the line up, failing to soar and tending to chug, though it sounded fine when it became ‘How High the Moon’ and the traded fours at the end were great.

 A simply inspiring set - great variety of tunes featuring the superb solo voices of Ade, Geoff and Tom, including a Brazillian thing towards the end, for which Mr Hawkins got his flute out), Saphon Young’s unfailingly swinging bass playing, contrasted the equally brilliant inventive guitar playing by Ade and Tom. Which leaves Geoff Hawkins.  Versatile or what? Vibrato-drenched tenor playing on balIads like ‘September in the Rain’ one minute, then dazzling hard-toned wall-of-sound soprano the next. Wonderful stuff.

Martin Taylor

Martin Taylor, Ade Holland, & Tom Anderson

Wallingford’s Corn Exchange was packed with an enthusiastic audience for a jazz and blues night starring internationally acclaimed guitarist Martin Taylor. The first half of the show featured the brilliant local group " Fat Chance" whose style and infectious enthusiasm had the audience shouting for more. Their 45 minutes just flew.  Fat Chance comprises of, superb guitarist Ade Holland, with Saffron Young (double bass), Geoff Hawkins (saxes) and Tom Anderson (guitar).   In the second half, Taylor displayed his incredible skills, including the “three guitarists in one” technique which became a favourite with audiences worldwide.
Martin’s has been to  many exotic places where he has amazed jazz lovers — and that now includes Wallingford. The Corn Exchange, with its excellent sound qualities and intimate atmosphere was the perfect venue for this musical evening,   (Jim Cane - Feb 1995)

Having toured America with Grappelli, starred in Nashville and so on, Martin Taylor doesn’t need some Wallingford hack to rave about him. He’s the ultimate virtuoso of course, and yes, it was understandable (and really rather thrilling!) when he showed off the ‘bass, rhythm, tune, improvisation. all at once’ trick on ‘I got Rhythm'.  He told us that his early influences were pianists including  Fats WaIler, though the one I thought of instantly he began his first selection was Bill Evans. The same quiet bits, the same intense exploration of the tunes possibilities. (This may be partly because I thought he opened with ‘Here’s That Rainy Day’). 

Technique is fine. But Martin Taylor gave us much more. One never lost the sense of a man in love with his instrument, feeling privileged and happy to playing it - whether re-inventing Leonard Bernstein’s ‘Somewhere’, enhancing ‘Taking a Chance on Love’ with a subtle new arrangement, or swinging like Brian Lara’s bat on ‘Cherokee’. Perhaps this rhythmic gift what struck me most. Although playing solo he almost seemed to have the drive and shifting accents of a great jazz drummer behind him. Maybe playing jazz, with its technical demands allied to limitless chances for self-expression delivers the ultimate creative buzz? We could ask Martin Taylor ………. (Chris Harris 1995)

George Cecil Parry

George (Cec) Parry from Llanberis, Snowdonia North Wales.....is an artist, guitarist and luthier, specialising mainly in gypsy guitars.   He first started in the 60's after taking copies, measurements and photos of both Ade's original Selmer Maccaferri and converted Selmer Tenor guitar.

The photo below was taken in the 1960's with George and his brother Eric.  George (Or Cec as many of us know him.) is showing 2 of his guitars note the one he's playing is left handed.....Ade is playing his converted Selmer.

The now Mature Craftsmen pose as both players and luthiers displaying George's superb Selmer copies, the oval sound hole model being left handed.

Diz Disley

When I lived in Corby, I remember Diz Disley was booked to play at the Nag's Head in the old village, having played there myself on a few occasions, I asked him if I could sit in.  Diz , at the time was doing his solo folk club thing but called me on during the second set.  It must have gone ok as he invited me to his next gig in Market Harboro', I turned up feeling quite nervous, however I felt a lot worse after the interval when he announced me as "boy wonder" !  After the first number I got up to go and he told me in no uncertain terms to "sit down" so I ended up doing all the second set with him,  he then invited me to do a concert with him on the following Saturday in Leicester.  At the time I was a member of quite a successful local band called "The Midnighters" run by two brothers, Pat and John Casey, and I had a gig with them on the same night so I had to decline his offer, Diz was not the type to accept such a futile excuse so I remember him saying to me "this is not a pub gig dear boy, it's a Concert in a Theatre, it's your big chance" !  Sadly it was a chance I missed, as much as I wanted to do it I felt I had to honour the first gig with the boys.  When he was in the area Diz called on me a few times after that, he had a big influence on my playing and certainly kept you on your toes,   - playing with Diz was a great experience.