Local Traditional Jazz 50s. 60s.


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Just a couple of photos. I found going back to the local traditional jazz gigs of the 50s and early 60s.

Among the venues the bands played were the "Dancing Slipper" "TBI" and "YMCA".

These two local bands are "The Leen Valley Jazzmen" and "The Mercia Jazz Band".......

leenjz_zps7a2488f4.jpgmercjz_zpsc31300c3.jpg

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Thanks for those Creaky

Leen Vally may be on the small stage at the Slipper.

Ken Colyer looks like the bigger stage.

I was DJ @ Slipper Mon Weds Fri around 1971.

Saturday night was Jazz night.

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This tune Canal St Blues recorded by Ken Colyer at the Dancing Slipper in 1972. Unfortunately the video is of elsewhere :(

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Gerry, I have had info from my Sis in Law that the best place for to get Jazz CD's is Music Inn on Parliament St at the top of West End arcade.

Further snippets from her are that the trombonist with Leen Valley Jazzmen is Alan Parkin, and Canal Street on the video is in New Orleans.

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Gerry, I have had info from my Sis in Law that the best place for to get Jazz CD's is Music Inn on Parliament St at the top of West End arcade.

Further snippets from her are that the trombonist with Leen Valley Jazzmen is Alan Parkin, and Canal Street on the video is in New Orleans.

I fang you!

I'll investigate tomorrow on me way though town - cheers!

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  • 1 month later...

I have some recordings of the Mercia Jazz band, which show that they were "mainstream" influenced.

Can anyone suggest a line-up for this band? Even better, has anyone have any further cassettes of their music?

Cheers

"Young Michael"

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New member here

Hope you can accept a request for help. The Leen Valley Jazzmen 1961. Anybody help with names of their line up please.

The picture at the head of this post is great. I've been tracing every Dance Band, Jazz outfits,Package shows etc that visited the Festival Hall Kirkby 1950 up to 1963. I'm up to 1961 and The Valley Jazzmen made just one visit 28th Jan. Would like permission to copy picture to record them at that time. No commercial interest - charity donations only, limited numbers (around 50) of a publication, 22 page booklet called 'Band Call' full of all the details, lots of references to the Trad Jazz visitors famous and not so famous. This issue will be number eight and will be the last. All available if interested.

Not Trad, forgive me but the support band was -The 'Beatmen' - possibly a rock n roll outfit but could be local from Notts, any bells ringing I would appreciate anything known about them..

Thanks.

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New member here

Hope you can accept a request for help. The Leen Valley Jazzmen 1961. Anybody help with names of their line up please.

The picture at the head of this post is great. I've been tracing every Dance Band, Jazz outfits,Package shows etc that visited the Festival Hall Kirkby 1950 up to 1963. I'm up to 1961 and The Valley Jazzmen made just one visit 28th Jan. Would like permission to copy picture to record them at that time. No commercial interest - charity donations only, limited numbers (around 50) of a publication, 22 page booklet called 'Band Call' full of all the details, lots of references to the Trad Jazz visitors famous and not so famous. This issue will be number eight and will be the last. All available if interested.

Not Trad, forgive me but the support band was -The 'Beatmen' - possibly a rock n roll outfit but could be local from Notts, any bells ringing I would appreciate anything known about them..

Thanks.

Hello tleaf, welcome.

The photo of Leen Valley Jazzmen was posted by me, please feel free to use.

I only know that the banjo player was Eric Smith, will try to contact him for details of other members.

The Beatmen played at Nottingham YMCA quite often, they were indeed a pop group and if my memory is correct the lead singer was a girl!

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Creeky Thank you very much for your welcome and permission to use the photo.

An earlier post refers to Alan Parkin trombone and I see I managed to miss your earlier post as well. If they were both 1960 members I'm on the way. It would be special if Eric could assist with the line up in 1960 and perhaps what might have been in their playlist at that time.

Am I expecting too much?

The memory of the Beatmen is also received with thanks. The dance dates at the Festival Hall are less frequent by 1961 after 10 very full years virtually every week a top Band. The dance night prior to The Leen Valley Jazzmen featured Ivan Jaye and The Jaycats - much more info on them thanks to the web of course.

Grateful again

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  • 2 months later...

I was into the local jazz scene during the first half of the 1960s. The TBI was the regular venue, with the Mercia on Tuesdays nights (I think) and the guest band on Fridays. The Mercia moved to the 360 Club (ex-Liberal Club) on Highbury Vale, Bulwell for a while. Met the wife there.

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For some reason #24 posted itself before I had finished!

The other major venue was the Dancing Slipper, Bill Kinnell ran the jazz nights there, but I never warmed to the place. He also ran the jazz nights at the Boat and Horses at Beeston Rylands. Had some really good nights there. That is where I first saw Britain's greatest jazz band (though many might not agree with me, mainly because they never heard them). They were the Original Downtown Syncopators, who played the style of music of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. If you never heard them then kick yourself! My pal Johnny Bennett and me drove down to see them play at their home base, a pub across the road from Hampton Court, such was our enthusiasm.

A highlight was always the appearance of Ken Collyer. Every now and then he would play a number where the music tempo became mesmerising, a fast, flowing rhythm that no other band ever captured. He used to play requests and one night I thought I would be clever and ask for a piece that I had never heard him play - Short Dress Gall. I have a recording of this by Sam Morgan's Band, recorded in the mid-1920s. He played it like he never played anything else. This, to me, confirmed that the Sam Morgan Band was to some great extent Collyer's inspiration.

Some of the Leen Valley Stompers line-up were Rolls-Royce Hucknall men. I used to see them play upstairs at the Half Moon in Hucknall. Let's not forget the great Johnnie Hobbs and his Stompers, the doyen of Nottingham jazzmen. Another local band, from the Beeston area, were Le Devotees, who played in the New Orleans style - they had a great singer, Di Seagrave?; she had a strong powerful voice.

The other popular band was Mick Gill's Jazzmen. I think they used to be a traditional-style band, but in my time they were mainstream - I could not abide this style of jazz. Saw him upstairs at the Imperial (was it?)

Happy days

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