Hi everyone
Another month on and I hope you have been able enjoy some of the fantastic Jazz that we have been hosting weekly at the new Vic Mac’s Brewbar and it has certainly been great meeting a lot of our members out and about again. With inclusion of new and emerging jazz musicians along with the club bands on Tuesday evenings there have been some great evenings to enjoy, and you can read more about that in Neville’s report further on in this Ezine Club News.

If you have any ideas for the Ezine Newsletter you can contact Neville or me by the 26th of each month and we will endeavour to include your ideas in the next issue. A club is only as good as its members so it is important to mention how much we appreciate your opinions and support.

SPECIAL OFFER – Jazz Membership
The 2008 subscriptions expire December 31st 2008. As it is a busy time of the year, we will be mailing out an invoice shortly with a special offer for all current members. Pay your membership by 31st October and go in the draw to win two concert tickets of your choice for the “Woollaston Nelson Jazzfest”.

So now is a good time to remind you what the annual sub fees are and what this provides you with:

►Performing Members $30.00

►Non Performing Members $10

►Students (18yrs and under) – FREE

Performing Members $30.00 annually. This gives you the ability to use the Club Rooms for rehearsal free. (Only for fully paid members non members in a group must join the club before that group can use the venue) This is to ensure we know who is using the Club and its equipment. It is the responsibility of the band leaders to ensure their members are current. We don’t want to be the police so we ask that we all consider each other. The Club rooms are provided very kindly by our major sponsor the Radio Network or as we all know it Radio Nelson. Mike and his team are very supportive of our club and it’s fantastic to have the facility they provide. Also a fully paid active member has the opportunity to rehearse for their group to be included on our Club Performance Roster at the New Vic Mac’s Brewbar. Remember too, that we direct all band enquiries to the Jazz Club website, so of course bands will want to have their band profile on the club website – another perk for our members.

Non Performing Members $10.00 annually. If you don’t play an instrument or sing and like us just love Jazz then you can become a support member for only $10.00 per annum. This will enable you to be kept right up to date with what is happening Jazz wise in Nelson including the Woollaston Nelson Jazzfest. It gets better if you are under 18 years old and a student then membership to the Nelson Jazz Club is FREE!

So it’s easy to be a member and support Jazz in Nelson. Apologies I did go on a bit, but communication is key and there are some things that need to be said. So with that lot out of the way now and with daylight savings kicking in we can look forward to a long and jazz filled summer. Don’t miss your opportunity to see some of the best Jazz played in New Zealand.
I will see you there. Tony Bowater (Chairman)

REVIEWS
Monthly Social Sundays – The Vic Mac’s Brewbar
by Neville Claughton
September 7th saw the club’s first Social Sunday at the new Vic Mac’s Brewbar. Denny Behrens and friends entertained a good sized audience including a number of our members eager to participate. Ably assisted by Alex Behrens (drums), Ken Richards (guitar) and Nev Claughton (bass and vocals), the format was nice and easy with Denny filling in the gaps with composer info etc. The guys did an hour between them, then after a short break David Jack (clarinet) and Dave Atkinson (trombone) did a turn, later assisted by Andrew Leachman on Tenor Sax. Andrew happened to have his trusty horn in the car and Nev was quoted as saying “No good leaving it outside in the cold Andrew, let’s be having you”). All in all a very jolly night had by all. Lovely to see George and Maureen Jury, Johnny and Pat Morris, Patricia Behrens and friends and a few familiar faces. Particularly a big welcome to James Ensor who came on his own bat to be part of the experience. At 17 James is likely to be part of our next Social Sunday so lets be there in support of the club – “Your Club”!

Contact Ken at Good Vibrations on 545 8381 or kenr@godvibrations.co.nz
Pop down for dinner and a singalong. First Sunday of each month.

Steve Flemming Band – Vic Mac’s Brewbar Tuesday September 9th
A better than decent sized audience turned out for the SFB first outing in a while. Steve’s guys are probably the only ones that don’t ever actually play elsewhere, and rather is a band who prefer to just get together exclusively for Jazz Tuesdays. Formed in the late nineties and later Nev came along and somehow conned Steve into taking him on. The band became Steve, Martin Hucklesby (guitar) and the effervescent Gabor caressing those plastic black and white thingies and the afore-said Nev warbling a few ditties (rude words exempt). Chris Pierson was on percussion back then with Paul Morris coming on-board in late 2006. Paul’s work commitments saw him take a break and Tony Bowater stuck his hand up for the drum seat, and doing a jolly fine job too. Along with the guys (and Gal) from Breez’n, the SFB have been together almost undisturbed for more years than most groups on the roster. As always, never a dull moment and a few surprises from a band that never actually ever rehearses, well not since 2003 anyway, it has its fans and always pulls a good audience.

Free Wheelin’ – Vic Mac’s Brewbar Tuesday September 16th
What better way to wrap up a Tuesday. We ventured into “The Vic” (can’t stop myself calling it that) and had a listen to Johnny Morris and his crew. The lovely Katie Needham stopped me in my tracks with some very clever alto stuff, playing some great lines getting better and better all the time.
The “Two Pauls” of the bass and drums varieties, laying down the solid stuff and not loud neither, and of course the ever-clever and true-blue Johnnie Morris on the keys. A real trooper our Johnny, some lovely stuff going on with this group. I listened to Johnny back when I lived in Auckland without realising who he was, and then he shifted to Nelson around the same time as Joni and I. It was revealed to me some years later than both Johnny and Pat (his lovely lady), worked harder than most, establishing a very vibrant jazz scene in that big city. On a few recent trips back to the grid-locked “Big Smoke”, Johnny’s name seems to regularly crop up in conversation, (The Shakespeare Tavern and The Gables I believe owe a debt of gratitude to JM and for his efforts). So Free Wheelin’ – a very tidy act doing a mix of great standards and with Johnny’s smooth vocals together with Katie’s sax, and backed up by the very experienced Paul/Paul rhythm section, makes for a great night out.

The Last of the Summer Wine (oops should be “Sunday Wine”)!
The Vic Mac’s Brewbar Sunday September 21st
Sunday 21st featured Gabor and Nev doing their thing. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday arvo. Set-up under the knitted Deer Head just inside the front door, off they went with Gabor’s blazing wizardry and Nev doing his best to keep up. A nice turnout of diners and bless them, a compliment of club members and supporters. I spotted Mike Murphy who had just crawled off a flight from the UK, Tim Parker with an old neighbour from Birmingham, Graeme Sands and his lovely lady, and Yvonne who danced of course. Paul Johnston and his crew came by also, added to a number of casual diners and friends and families who all seemed to enjoy what was on offer and the compliments were flying around. I have to say the friendly team has the menu and customer service well and truly nailed. Sometimes taken for granted, the effort and professionalism shown by The Vic Mac’s Brewbar has set a new bench-mark in a venue that just stuns.

A really well supported afternoon, laid back music, good company, great food (mustn’t forget the wine) and fantastic support from the staff and audience. Good on yer’ Nelson.

The Jazz Club Band & Emerging Talent – The Vic Mac’s Brewbar – Tuesday September 23rd
WOW !! What a night with the venue and audience right up to speed and some cameo performances from some of our young and talented college musicians courtesy of Tim Parker, Katie Needham and other tutors. Let me tell you folks, you missed an absolute treat. The Jazz Club Band made up of the committee team members, Tim Parker (horns), Ken Richards (guitar), Tony Bowater (drums) and Nev Claughton (bass). The saxophone quintet featuring all ladies was simply stunning, with very clever arrangements, some really good solos and the intonation bang on. Absolutely nailed it these ladies and knocked us all for a six. Followed by two guys on electric guitars that did some very clever and inter-twined solo work, solid rhythm and some clever chordal things going on as well.

Next up was Hillary who proved that girls can handle a trumpet better than most guys I know. She picked a really difficult piece “Night in Tunisia” and anyone with jazz chops knows how tough that is. The backing band, had their work cut out with this act – such a lovely player indeed. Absolutely staggering to see all the mums, dads, friends and neighbours etc all in support of these young folk. I am going to list some names hastily gathered, so apologies for spelling etc.. To you who never made it there, shame, though write these names down and watch the sparks fly next time we get to do this “Emerging Talent” gig again. So to William, Paul, Lucy, Maddy, Eilish, Olivia, Ella, Hillary and anyone I missed, take a bow and thanks a million you guys, you did yourselves proud, and we must do it again real soon! Special thanks to the supporters and members who made it along.

WOOLLASTON NELSON JAZZFEST
By now you would have received the invitation to the VIP launch of the 2009 Woollaston Nelson Jazzfest, scheduled for Thursday 6th November. Please RSVP to ro@nelsonjazzfest.co.nz before Nov 1st please for catering purposes. You will be the first to see who’s who in another exciting line-up.

As club members you also get the opportunity to become a friend! When you become a Friend you will be helping the Festival present a dynamic and exciting programme, support the arts and have an incredible time in the process. See the website for details http://www.nelsonjazzfest.co.nz/tickets.html