Cheltenham Jazz and Boogie!

Wonderful sunshine-filled days at Cheltenham Jazz Fest are still making me smile! The free stage featured lots of local bands, including the skiffle band that sang ‘People of the world…. spice up yer life!’- not jazz, but very funny and helped us to unwind. Big Top highs were reached at the Soul Jazz Summit- Guy Barker’s Big Band, BBC Concert Orchestra and 9 exceptional singers. Emilie Sande, Lucy Anne Daniels and Tommy Blaize were amazing- rich resonant voices, carrying deep emotion and joy!

And how we sang and danced as Jools Holland and Band gave us boogie woogie wonder the following night. He kept inviting his friends to solo. Such a generous host: taking delight in what they were sharing was so natural to him. That’s the art of encouraging and collaborating- and he gave us a masterclass. Whether the drum solo, or revelling in the delights of Louise Marshall’s superb vocals, or indeed the enthusiasm of one of the tenor sax players who also gave us ‘the pineapple shaker’, this amazing gig went too fast for us- and clearly Mr Boogie Piano Man could have kept going all night!