It’s been a good trip this time despite a couple of changes from the normal routine. Andy Rumble, our musical director, was away on another gig this time so we had the show’s Musical Supervisor; Matthew Freeman with us in his place. He likes to run things a little differently from Andy so it was trying at times but we were lucky to have some very fine musicians joining us in Grand Rapids, MI and Hershey, PA. A particular joy for me was the presence of two former Harry James bandsmen in Hershey. I was privileged to have trumpeters Skip Stine and Bill Hicks on the section with me. They both played Lead Trumpet on the Harry James band at various times during the 70s and were able to offer a little personal insight into one of the greatest trumpet players of all time! I should also give a shout to Mark Lusk, who played Bass Trombone in Hershey; a thoroughly nice guy and a wonderful player. He previously played on the Woody Herman Band in it’s last incarnation under Woody’s  baton along with my most recent teacher; the formidable Roger Ingram.

We’re back to UK dates for the next week and a half although I’m taking a break from “The Pack” to go on a short tour in Austria with the wonderful trumpeter Thomas Gansch and his band. I’m sure much fun will be had, much beer consumed and many photos taken. The photos, at least, I’ll be able to share on here and I’ll try to keep up with that upon my return. It’ll be a busy few days which see me heading to Southampton on Wednesday for the show, on to Vienna on Friday (early) morning, back to Leeds on the following Wednesday and then up to Edinburgh in time for a Thursday matinee. I then finish out the week in Edinburgh before returning to Cleveland to play the last fortnight on the US Tour.

Life, as you can see, is crazy right now  so apologies for the recent lack of posting and I’ll try to get back on top of it when I get back to just touring in one country for a while in the summer!

Ice Skating?

Southport – home of the grimmest Ice Skating rink in the world.

Uploaded by tptboy on 1st June, 2006.

I was working in Southport the other day. Though I was prepared for it to be a fairly grim place, I was surprised by the high quality of the recreational facilities!!!

The other day I was pleased to receive a call from AlmeidaGirl herself. Kirsty called to ask when I was around to go into the studio with Descarga and record the new CD. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while and it seems like it’ll happen in a couple of months time. Watch this space for more details!

I heard from my good friend Tony Faulkner yesterday. He’s planning to reform and record his Jazz Orchestra in the summer. I used to play in his LCM band when I was at college and the writing is terrific. I understand that he’s written some new charts and wants to put them down with “a decent band”. I’m honoured to be included in that! I’ve had the good fortune to have Tony play in my Quintet for the last few gigs we’ve had and he’s been great to have around. It’s sometimes a little strange to work with your former teachers but Tony has always treated me as a peer, something for which I’m most grateful!

Finally, I ran across an announcement on the Jazz In Leeds Forum from my friend Colin Byrne. He started his own Jazz Orchestra last year which I unfortunately wasn’t around to participate in. Nevertheless, he’s just released the bands debut CD and launched a new website. I wish him the best of luck and I hope to have a chance to play with the band sometime. Check it out at BigBandByrne.com!

A word of congratulation must also go to Mike Neilson! We were very fortunate to have Mike on our show playing Dean Martin. He’s understudied this role in the West End production for a few years and now, following the departure of Mark Adams, he’s taking over as “Top Turn”. Good for you Mike and thanks for keeping us laughing over the festive season!!

Bright and early on Monday morning I got on a plane back to Germany and have now rejoined the tour group. Yesterday and today we’re at the Stadthalle in Bielefeld; a nice enough town in North-Western Germany. It’s been great to see the guys again after a few weeks apart over Christmas. That said, a little boredom crept in last night as I spent my first night “back in the corner” on 2nd Trumpet. It was much more fun playing Lead in Birmingham.

This week sees a lot of travelling. By next Monday, when we get to Basel in Switzerland to sit down for the week, we’ll have visited Antwerp, Mannheim and Kassel. Consequently, Internet access may be sparse so I may not have much chance to post here. (Still that’s no different to normal!) I hope, however, that the amount of “dead time” on the bus may give me a chance to catch up on some work. I have a couple of projects in mind that I’d like to get on the go soon. More about those in due course…

Right, lunchtime! Let’s hope this publishes properly this time…

Well done Matt!!!

1. Hugh – 6.55pm
2. Kirsty – 7.20pm
3. Danny – 7.30pm
4. Andrzej – 7.40pm
5. Matt – 7.50pm
6. Rick – 8pm
7. Bryan (Me) – 8.10pm

It’s a pound each. Let’s see who wins the pot?

I’m really pleased with how the band is shaping up. We only get to play together very occasionally since I’m almost constantly touring with The Rat Pack, but when we do it’s not only pleasing on the ear but very enjoyable too. They’re a great bunch of guys and I look forward to getting into the studio at our earliest convenience.

Talking of recording, I remembered to bootleg the gig tonight. Only the 2nd set unfortunately – apparently I failed to hit Record properly to begin with – but if the sound quality is reasonable, I’ll be sure to post a couple of tunes over at BryanDavis.info for your delectation and delight. We’ll see…

Greetings also to Dave Bell, an old friend who I was pleased to see for the first time in a few years. Dave is a great Jazz enthusiast with a formidable collection of recorded music. I welcome him back to these shores following a brief emigration to Iceland. Great to see you Dave!!!

Wednesday

We set off for Greece on the Wednesday. A slight delay at Heathrow marred proceedings a little but spirits were generally high as you can see.

We arrived late on Wednesday evening. The cast and band went our various ways to find food and drink. The crew members we’d brought with us headed off to the venue to check out how the setup was going. They returned later proclaiming that everything was going well and that the setting for the gig was beautiful. The show was taking place in the grounds of the palace of the Interior Minister of Macedonia. All the equipment,as ordered, had found its way there and we were all set. We retired looking forward to the day ahead.

Thursday

It was on Thursday that everything went wrong or, to be fair, strange. We assembled at lunchtime to head to the gig for rehearsals and sound check but were met with the news that the main show was cancelled!! Originally, we were to do an hours set with the whole Rat Pack show and then follow it up with a “Dance Set” by the band.
It turned out that when the Tour Manager and crew returned to the venue on Thursday morning, they found that the PA speakers they’d left set up the previous evening had been moved. Upon enquiring why, they were told that they were obscuring the view of the palace. They had started to move them back when the Interior Minister arrived with his armed guards. He explained that he wished the Palace to be the focal point of the event and that all the sound and light equipment set up in front was preventing this. Arguments ensued amongst the various organisers and at this point he threw his toys out of the tram and refused to allow the production side of the event to take place! Thus, the crew had to take down all of the PA and lighting rig and send it away!

When we assembled at lunch we were, therefore, told that the actors had the day off and that the band were simply required to do an acoustic “function” set during dinner. The actors went off to do the “tourist thing” (i.e. get drunk) and we sorted out the pad for the gig and went for lunch – soundcheck now delayed until closer to the gig.

We headed to the venue later in the afternoon and it really was a tremendous place. These photos don’t really do it justice but here they are anyway..

The Technical crew were still packing up the rigs so we had a fair wait before we could do anything. It then turned out that the Music stands had been taken away with the first batch of equipment and we had to wait even longer before we could get set up. Tempers frayed…

We eventually got set, returned to the hotel for dinner and then returned for the gig at night. It was, frankly, bizarre – a Big Band set of mediocre library music while 2000 Doctors and Pharmacists had dinner.We got through and then went and did what we do best – go to the pub.

Friday

We left the hotel bright and early on Friday morning to head home. We had flights from Thessaloniki-Athens-London (and then to Manchester for a few of us) to contend with. The first flight from Thessaloniki was largely uneventful except that one of the Berelli Sisters was somewhat the worse for wear and threw up all over the Departure Gate area.

We got to Athens, grabbed some food and then were just heading to board the next plane when we were hit with the icing on the cake. Our flight, due to leave at 1330, was delayed until 1910 – almost six hours later. We discovered this at about 1240 and got settled for the six and a half hour wait.

Some of the group headed into Athens to explore. A few of us, not wishing to get held up in traffic on the way back, remained in the airport. We managed to remain entertained while sitting at the food court with a game of “Bangers and Crumpet” – if you’re not familiar with this game, get Mike Neilson to explain next time you see him. That dragged on for about 3 hours. We then managed to find more comfortable seating at one of the restaurants. I think these pictures capture the mood by this point:-

These were taken just as we learned that there was no flight that evening for those of us going back to Manchester – we would be staying an extra night in London and then flying first thing Saturday morning to get back for 2 shows in Stoke-on-Trent!

We eventually got the flight back to London and got in at about 2230. Then the Tour Manager, Phil Watts, announced to us that rather than staying in London, he was renting a minibus and driving us back up North. We left Heathrow Airport at around 2330.

We dropped off Henry, Allie and Miranda at their hotel in Stoke at about 2am. We then proceeded to Manchester Airport so I could pick up my car. Phil then took Gethin; the Bass player, to his home in Manchester and went home himself. I left Manchester Airport at about 3.30 and got home a little before 5am – around 10 hours later than the original schedule.

So there it is; the story of the Greek debacle. Remind me never to go back there….

Technorati Tags: ratpackontour, thessaloniki

• Jim Corry – Alto and Soprano Saxes
• Jami Sheriff – Piano
• Adrian Knowles – Double Bass
• Tony Faulkner- Drums

I am, of course, playing Trumpet and Flügelhorn.

We’re playing at the North Leeds Jazz Night on Tuesday 6th September. The venue, these days, is the Highwood Hotel on Brackenwood Drive in Moortown. Doors open 8.15pm and we play at around 8.45pm. There is a door charge of £3 (£2 unwaged). If you’re in the Leeds area, please come and have a look.

Then, on Friday 9th September, I have the pleasure of playing the opening set at the Cleethorpes Jazz Festival 2005. It’s always nice to play at festivals and I’m particularly pleased since Cleethorpes is my home town! The Festival starts with my band and we play from 7-8pm. The rest of the evening sees performances by Ian Shaw and Snake Davis. It should be a good night. There are concerts going on all weekend and you can find details of location and ticket prices etc at their website.

If you decide to attend one of the gigs as a result of reading about it here, please come and say hello. I’ll hope to see you there…

Lunchtime Jazz Cartoon

Thanks to Greivsy for passing this one on. It certainly raised a chuckle…

Uploaded by tptboy on 29th July, 2005.

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