JAZZ...Banjo!!! The Sydney Banjo Band has a rehearsal coming up on Wed. 21st March 2012 and we've just played aboard the former Sydney harbour ferry South Steyne ........

Motorcycling friend and engineer aboard the permanently moored former Sydney Harbour ferry ...the South Steyne, Graeme Curran kindly arranged for the Sydney Banjo Band to spend several hours aboard the vessel last Tuesday evening, and included a tour, "below decks" into the engine room of this famous Sydney vessel, affectionately known as The Manly Ferry as this was it's main run across Sydney Harbour and return for decades.

The trip generally took about 30 minutes and the slogan for the voyage to Manly was " seven miles from Sydney and a thousand miles from care"....
So we assembled in the upper saloon deck, itself another restaurant...9 banjos a tuba, double bass and snare drum set and played several sets organised by DQ and brought in and led , melody wise, by Paul Baker and Ted Gerome....

Want to see what we played and you possibly missed out on?

Lets have a look at the upper restaurant area where we played....
Thanks to Viki Osborne, Paul Baker's partner. for using my camera and taking the photos of the evening....
I've stitched some together to get the panorama views...

Looking back towards the stern of the vessel...

 

Ted Gerome from the Pittsburgh Banjo Club ponders the coming night...Jim Morrell ready's himself with snare drum...

The band in action....

 

 

 Hugo Pfandler payed "Georgia on my mind" on harmonica accompanied on melody by Ted Gerome and the band played along...

During an intermission we were treated to a nice meal by the staff lead by Amber Burnett ...our thanks..

 

So the next two rehearsals are coming up Wed. 21st March and Wed. 18th April 2012....

Ted Gerome will only make the 21st March before leaving for the USA and home early April where he'll be welcomed back into the weekly Pittsburgh Banjo Club rehearsals at the Elk's Club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

Look after him when he returns guys....

Lets get the Sydney Banjo Band in full swing numbers wise to farewell him on the 21st...

Safe trip back Ted...

Care to come along to our rehearsal?

Club Ashfield, 5 Charlotte Street, Ashfield, 20 metres from Ashfield Railway Station..and the Club Car park only 100 metres nearby.

We play in the first floor bistro/function area...most get there around 6pm to socialise and perhaps have a meal, with the practice starting 6.45pm and running through until around 9pm..

If you'd like to play, bring your banjo and we provide the chord sheets...

They are set out in this format for easy reading in 4 bar lines...

Telephone me, Dennis Quinlan form more information on 02.9798.4189/ mobile 0407.250.692....

JAZZ...Banjo!!! The Sydney Banjo Band just had a rehearsal, we're playing on the former harbour ferry South Steyne shortly and have another rehearsal coming up........

Last Wednesday 22nd Feb. the band met at Club Ashfield for another rehearsal with the next two scheduled for Wed. 21st March and Wed. 18th April.....in between we've a rehearsal, rather a small show on the former Sydney Harbour Ferry the "South Steyne", now permanently moored at Darling Harbour.

 

We meet just before 6pm on Tuesday 6th March on the wharf beside the ferry...see following map for directions as to how to get there...

 

Map of Darling Harbour....

I mentioned we had a rehearsal the other Wed. 22nd February....

For the SBB this was the biggest we've had.

Despite John Wilson and Cliff Parsons not being able to attend, we had 15 banjos, two guitars, Tayzyn on double bass, John Bates on Tuba and Jim Morrell on snare drums....

The lead was taken by Ted Gerome, Paul Baker and Bill MacLean....

Lets stroll through some of the photos I took on the night between playing....

 

Hugo Pfandler on a White Swallow tenor and Jim Morrell on snare...

 

Cameron Jones, acoustic guitar and Gary McFetridge, B&D tenor...

 A small but appreciative audience...

 

Jim Morrell, Bev Long and David English...

 

John Bates, tuba...Tayzyn, double bass..Stefan Simmonds son, Stefan and David English in the fore-ground. 

Stefan...D'Oole plectrum, Ed Condran, Colin McCormac and John Packham 

( B&D tenor).

Makirum, foreground and mother Alita, sitting.....

Ed and John Packham discuss Colin's guitar....

 

JAZZ.!!.Banjo...!!!- The Sydney Banjo band got together for a rehearsal Wed.18th January 2012 with a good line-up of players and audience ... a great evening of toe tappin' music....

Another great rehearsal for the Sydney Banjo Band the other Wednesday ( 18th January) with a solid group of 13 banjos, an acoustic guitar, supported for timing and rhythm by John Bates on Tuba ( with an occasional vocal) and Jim Morrell on snare drum.
The audience number swelled to around 30 which for a fledging group was a great fillip for the players.
If you happen on this site and can get to Club Ashfield...5 Charlotte Street, Ashfield, Sydney some 20 metres on the north side of the Ashfield Railway Station ( see a map at the end of this post) come along from around 6pm when we gather, some for a quick meal and start playing 6.45pm through to a little after 9pm. In the upstairs bistro/function area.
Talking of happening onto our site...an email late in the day from a Canadian couple, Patrick and Laura Longhurst who were in Sydney visiting relatives has made contact for a further visit to the Club when they are next in Sydney..
Look forward to meeting them. They are from the Toronto Banjo Club, in Toronto, Canada. 
The next rehearsal for the band is...
Wednesday 22nd February at Club Ashfield.
..... with a planned visit to the South Steyne former Manly Ferry, moored at Darling Harbour with some playing on the wharf beside for an hour or so on Tuesday 6th March...
So lets have a photographic stroll through the night......

A panorama of our group from several photos "stitched" together...the banjo on the seat is mine....
I was pleased that the three lads, Shardyn, Makarim and Tayzin made the night...they left the next day for the Tamworth Music festival, where they are making a name for themselves.
Tayzin who has a banjo has been learning trombone from our tuba player, John Bates and brought a double bass for the evening. Their mother Alita also played banjo with us..

One of the melody lead players on the night was Ted Gerome on an annual visitto Sydney from his home in Ligonier, Pennsylvania in the US. 
Ted is a member of the Pittsburgh banjo club where their leader and editor of the US banjo magazine, "The Resonator", Frank Rossi is a great supporter of our Club.
The photo below shows myself, DQ, Ted Gerome and Frank Rossi at a PBC concert at Bethyl Park in Pittsburgh, August 2008.

Ted with John Wilson during the rehearsal...

The other main leads were Paul Baker and Cliff Parsons...

Paul shown with a student of his, David English to his left, John Bates on Tuba and Stefan Simmonds and Ed Condran.

Cliff Parsons on lead with Ed Condran and John Packham....

A panorama of some of the audience....
One of the audience, regrettably I didn't catch his name, obviously a professional cartoonist, did a sketch of the night on a table napkin and gave it to me. I scanned it when I got home...

Hugo Pfandler brought along several harmonicas with his banjo and provided some additional lead and took a chorus with Ted on "Georgia on my Mind"

Well known Sydney guitarist who plays with "Gadjo Guitars" and the "Singers Workshop", Cameron Jones was on acoustic guitar...Gary McFetridge, beside him & to the right, played lead on several numbers, including "Washington Square", the Village Stompers version...

Where to find club Ashfield....??

JAZZ.!!.Banjo...!!!- The Sydney Banjo band played at the recent week long 66th Australian Jazz Convention in Bundaberg, mid-north Queensland between Christmas and New Year.......and the next rehearsal is at Club Ashfield in Sydney on Wed. 18th January.....

Well the 66th Australian Jazz Convention held in the mid north Queensland city of Bundaberg, 26th -31st December 2011 is now over and the sets we played went over well.
Regrettably neither Ted Gerome who was over from Pittsburgh, USA nor Lance Macguire from Brisbane who were to come and play lead could make it.
But John Wilson, myself on banjo and Hugo Pfandler on harmonica and banjo took up the challenge and the sets went smoothly.
We were aided by Reg Packer from Swan Hill in Victoria and Peter Ransome from Brisbane who sang and played for us and Australian Jazz icon, Kate Dunbar also sang "Rose of Washington Square" for us....
Judy took some photos for us, I've cleaned them up a bit and stitched three together to get a panorama of the SBB for several sets and there are photos of the usual street parade through Bundaberg.....
Those with access to get to Sydney, remember the next rehearsal is at Club Ashfield, Wed. 18th January, 6pm for a meal, 6.45pm start playing in the upstairs bistro/function area in Club Ashfield, 5 Charlotte Street, Ashfield, beside Ashfield Railway station.....
The following rehearsal is Wed. 22nd February.
Left click on the images to enlarge them....

The street parade assembles.....

We march off...

Reg Packer sings "When you're Smiling".....

DQ speaks to the audience as Hugo readies to bring in a song, perhaps "Honeysuckle Rose" on harmonica and then banjo.....

Another set and Kate Dunbar sings "Rose of Washington Square".... what a voice...trained at the Sydney. Con during WW2, now 88 years old and still the best blues singer in Australia...

John Wilson, Ray Towers and Lasz Mahrer.....
We were helped by Nev Ollis on sousaphone and drummers Ian Hill and Mike Williams......

Nev Ollis, sousaphone; Hugo Pfandler on Harmonica/banjo, Peter Ransome and DQ.....