Friday 18 January 2013

The four string banjo in Sydney, NSW...Jazz banjo.....The Sydney banjo band rehearsing at Club Ashfield in Sydney...details of the last two rehearsals...12th December 2012, 9th January 2013, The 67th Australian Jazz convention...and future dates.

Again your Sydney banjo band organiser, DQ, has been a bit slack of late updating the Club site.........following are overdue photo reports on the Sydney banjo Bands rehearsals on Wed. 12th December 2012, Wed. 9th January 2013 and the several gigs at the 67th Australian Jazz Convention at Forbes, NSW 26th -31st December 2012....
Firstly the future rehearsal dates are....

30th January....
27th February
27th March
24th April
22nd May

 
 Again, all at Club Ashfield...see below for directions to the venue and we play in the function area on the first floor, beside the bistro, which is open for meals from 5.30pm to around 8.30pm...drinks of course from the bar at Club prices.
The rehearsal starts at 6.45pm through to 9pm with many arriving earlier for a meal or to socialise...
Lets look at the December Club Ashfield rehearsal....
 John Bates on tuba...
 John Packham, Bill McLean, Ted Gerome and Michael
 Barry Graham on his Les Paul guitar....
Then in the week betweek Christmas 2012 the 67th Australian Jazz Convention was on at Forbes, NSW...started in 1946 as a gathering for musicians to socialise and have a blow together it continues today in much the same format...
I've entered the Sydney Banjo Band at the previous two conventions with several of the Sydney regulars and welcoming banjo players from out of State who were playing in other jazz bands to play with us and the first gig saw some 15 banjos with some lead played by Ron Cook from Canberra on piano and John Bates on trombone... Reg Packer from Swan Hill sang in some songs and the band went down well.
The second gig saw around 8 banjos available again with help from Ron and John...
 Reg Packer sings a lead....Peter Allen from Geelong, Victoria was persuaded to play and played lead for some numbers....


Back from the Convention we held another rehearsal at Club Ashfield on Wed. 9th January 2013....it was a quiet night with only six banjos available with Ted Gerome playing lead with Bill Maclean....
 Gary McFetridge....
 Barry Graham....
 John Packham, Bill MacLean and Ted Gerome...

 Jim Morrell...
 Colin Davies, baritone uke  and David English....
 Colin Davies...
Club Ashfield.....where is it....see below.
We meet around 6pm to socialise before playing from 6.45pm to 9pm in the first floor function area beside the Club's bistro...
All welcome...admission Free....