The Sydney Banjo Band had a rehearsal on Wed.20th July...a pictorial stroll through the night....

The weather was wet and cold...this year in Sydney has seen a return to wintry weather of the past after some years of almost Indian Summer conditions...
But we had a good turn out of players and audience..... thank you all!
As well we had several new faces...Bev Long came from Tilba Tilba on the south coast some 5 hours away...

Bev learned banjo from the virtuoso Jeannie Harris some 20 years back and ironically bought her banjo from Gary McFetridge, a regular attendee to the SBB...pictured below.

A singer who attends Kate Dunbar's singers Workshop in Sydney ...more of that later...is Jeannie Arts. She has started playing Ukelele and came along, armed with a book to show chord positions on the neck and enjoyed herself, contributing to the night.
She is pictured L to R with Kate Dunbar, Jeannie, her husband Cas and Jean MacKenzie, jazz and Sydney Jazz Club stalwart who is the grandmother of the three young guys attending...
Makrum, Tayzin and Shardyn .

The rehearsal, organised by myself, DQ, was led by Paul Baker and Cliff Parsons on plectrum banjos.

As mentioned we have youth in the band....
Sharyn and Makrum... and on trombone for the night brother Tayzin.

On tuba for rhythm and obscured is John Bates, just to the right and also obscured  on snare drum is Jim Morrell. Immediately above him is Adam Florence who also came with a banjo for the first time on the evening, although he had come to earlier rehearsals as part of the audience.
At the back is L to R... David English, Jeannie Arts and Alita Fahey, the boys mother- herself a music teacher and brought along a 6 string banjo...

The next rehearsal is again at Club Ashfield, 5 Charlotte St. Ashfield on Wednesday 24th August...starts 6.45pm to 9pm...although many of us meet at 6pm for a light meal....
Why not join us, either to play along- we supply the chord chards for the night...or as part of our audience. And it's free!

Where is club Ashfield....?

Banjos in Sydney-Sydney Banjo Band....next rehearsal....Wed.20th July 2011

The next rehearsal for the Sydney Banjo Band is on Wed. 20th July 2011 at Club Ashfield in the first floor bistro area.

Many of us meet for a meal there at 6pm with the rehearsal starting at 6.45pm and running through to 9pm.
We'll have chord charts for all to accompany and this rehearsal will be led by Paul Baker and Cliff Parsons on Vega plectrum banjos playing chord melody.....
John Bates will provide tuba accompaniment and sing the occasional song.
Jim Morrell will be on snare drum and high hat cymbal.
Plenty of opportunity for those just interested to come along for an evening of toe-tapping music from the 1920's onwards....you can sing with us if you know the tunes or...there's no excuse, sing anyhow as I'll have song sheets...
Left click on images to enlarge....

Paul Baker, playing a Vegavox Ultra, one of the last made, on the Sydney Jazz Club's Australia Day Harbour cruise, 26th January 2010....Paul leads on the 20th..
Care to hear "PB" play....?
The following is during a Sydney Jazz Club monthly picnic at Berry Island...
Trev Rippingale's "Jazz Rippers" had the gig...Dennis Quinlan "sitting-in" on a Vegavox 4 plectrum banjo....
The tune.... "I'm nobody's sweetheart now"...
Click on the URL...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Z9DL1elMw

Cliff Parsons accompanies Paul Baker as melody lead on the 20th....pictured during one of his weekly gigs at the Fortune of War Hotel, lower George Street, Sydney...Sundays 3pm-6pm...the band is The RobbersDogs Jazz Band.

Where to find Club Ashfield....as you can see it's on the immediate northern side of Ashfield Railway station...trains run frequently....

John Bates, more well known for his trombone playing, plays tuba on the night and is pictured at a SJC Berry Island Jazz picnic.

Jim Morrell plays snare drum and high-hat cymbal for us on the night...he is pictured on the last night he regularly played with the Bridge City Jazz Band...he retired into casual drumming after that.

When he's available, Bill Dudley plays some muted trumpet melody for us and hopefully will be along on the night....

Three plectrum banjos in action, two Vegavoxs and a Doole....Peter Allen, Dennis Quinlan and Paul Baker..Kevin Goodey to the far left on clarinet...Kevin's gig at the SJC Berry Island picnic.

During a rehearsal on 12th January 2011...


Club Ashfield has become a well known traditional Jazz venue..with the resident band every Friday evening the Bridge City Jazz Band and the Sydney Jazz Club featuring special concerts on the last Wednesday of various months...