HarmonicaUK Annual Festival

[Laina]

A fabulous line up. Tickets are going fast.

https://www.harmonica.uk/events/harmonicauk-october-festival-2022

[Scotty]

Wow - seems like just yesterday you were posting about 2021's!  I do hope all of those people within driving or easy
travel distance in the UK decide to go. From everything you've written about it, it's a wonderful experience, very akin
to our SPAH here in the US.

It always reminds me of Oleta Adams' 'Get Here If you Can'.

"....you can reach me by railways, you can reach me by trailways,
I don't care how you get here, get here if you can"
 
scotty

[Laina]

Wow - seems like just yesterday you were posting about 2021's!  I do hope all of those people within driving or easy
travel distance in the UK decide to go. From everything you've written about it, it's a wonderful experience, very akin
to our SPAH here in the US.

It always reminds me of Oleta Adams' 'Get Here If you Can'.

"....you can reach me by railways, you can reach me by trailways,
I don't care how you get here, get here if you can"
 
scotty

We had a brilliant chromatic weekend at the same venue in June with Jens Bunge headlining the evening concert as well as running excellent workshops.   The stage area was improved and bar space rearranged to include keyboard and guitar accompaniment for jamming which worked well with more joining in this time, good vibes.
It will be the first live Festival since 2019 and also at the Birmingham venue. A few of us stay over in the Sunday night too which is fun. So lovely to be able to meet up again.

[Scotty]

Wow - I somehow knew he was going to open with 'Bluesette'. An entire HOUR of Jens' playing - and that setting was
really, really nice.

I skimmed through others of the vids which came up - and saw this one with Enrico Granafei. Others might not know that
Enrico is American (from Italia originally), and who owned his own Jazz Club (might still do?) Trumpets in New Jersey. He
and Val Redler Caltabellotta worked together (with Phil) to get so many of the brilliant jazz musicians who played at or came
through his club, to show up for that one last Hurrah of the Garden State Harmonica Festival in 2011.
Enrico was also a regular at the GSHC meetings (I'll see if I can find a photo of him and his wife...I know I have at least one)
and with Val, the Club put on a BIG birthday party (might have been his 80th?) for Stan Harper at Trumpets. I had no idea
about his connection to Toots or the UK festival! He plays a hands-free chromatic, and told us that when he first began with
it - he had to throw out all of his previous knowledge and begin all over again to learn it as a 'new' instrument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrY5kCuWbe4

He still plays regular chromatics very easily - and is a wonderful guitarist as well (and sings too).

So glad you got to experience him, Laina.  He is a super nice guy.

scotty

[brorat]

Scotty,

Being new to this world (and being in SC), I wasn't familiar with Enrico or Trumpets. 
I worked for a company that had its HQ in Wayne, NJ, so I became VERY familiar with the environs!
In any case, I just found this article online, and I thought you'd find it of interest.
Here's the link:
https://jazzfin.com/trumpets-jazz-club-in-montclair-nj-to-become-restaurant/

[Scotty]

Scotty,

Being new to this world (and being in SC), I wasn't familiar with Enrico or Trumpets. 
I worked for a company that had its HQ in Wayne, NJ, so I became VERY familiar with the environs!
In any case, I just found this article online, and I thought you'd find it of interest.
Here's the link:
https://jazzfin.com/trumpets-jazz-club-in-montclair-nj-to-become-restaurant/

Thanks for the link, it's SO SAD to hear about the sale. Trumpets was a really great club. Most of the lesser-known names
mentioned - I had no knowledge about. BUT Bucky Pizzirelli (sp?) and his son John played there (and Bucky was one of those
brilliant jazz guitarists Enrico brought onstage that last wonderful GSHC festival night). There were others. I spent quite a few
Evenings there....but it was a really long distance from where I live (well out on Long Island) to get to the Club in New Jersey.
I did know that Enrico and Kristine lived in an Apartment over the Club and were finding it difficult to keep it afloat
financially. Still, he put everything possible into it, even hosting other types of musical events and always, always, always
the most genial and kind host. We've lost so much Jazz from New York over the last decade or so. Very frustrating as well.
Sure, other kinds of music (such as Country) have their place, but New York is the City KNOWN for jazz - and it depressed
me when the SINGLE Jazz station left - CD101 went to a 'different' format instead of the one so many thousands of us knew
and loved.

scotty

[Laina]

Antonio Serrano, Cy Leo, Shima Kobayashi, Mick Kinsella, Rachelle Plas, Sam Spranger and the great Jim Hughes entertained us at a brilliant weekend - wow, this really was the best so far in my short 5 years of playing. Everyone was so pleased to get together after a tough couple of years. I'm still recovering from the excitement of such stellar live performances, great workshops, impromptu jams in the bar and on stage, chatting to lovely players, meeting new faces and not much sleep!

Antonio Serrano in bar with Mike Hatchard
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/harmonicaUK/permalink/5966889676662508/

Stars jam
https://www.facebook.com/groups/harmonicaUK/permalink/5966806030004206/

Ambassadors
https://youtu.be/q-2UT5MbRbA

Full videos of the Concert will be on YouTube soon.

Heads up for the next Chromatic weekend - earlier this time - 28th-30th April 2023 at Rednal, Birmingham.

Laina

[Laina]

Some of the artists' impromptus at the Festival - Antonio Serrano, CY Leo & Rachelle Plas

https://youtu.be/gsIjCkXaex8

https://youtu.be/r1Y0JJ8G6Xg

https://youtu.be/76-nlY8N-eg

[Age]

Those guys are flat-out scary!

[brorat]

Thanks Laina!  So much fun to hear!