The ‘home of the blues’!

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Last week I went into London to watch a band called Gentleman Tim and the Contenders. This was at Ain’t Nothin’ But… a blues bar in London that has live blues acts playing every night of the week – amazing!

It was quite a small venue, with the band at the far end squashed onto a small stage, but they were great, the main attraction, and there was a really happy vibe in the place.

The bar boasts that it has the best the blues this side of the Atlantic, and that it is ‘the home of the blues’. Quite serious statements! I’m not sure how accurate they are, but I’d definitely go back, and hope to play there soon too!

The Spin Jazz Club and Snake Davis

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Last night I went to an excellent jazz venue in Oxford called the Spin. it’s held every Thursday night at the Wheatsheaf in the centre of the city. It’s a bit tricky to find (down a narrow alley along one of the main roads in the centre), but well worth the search!

Last night saw the fantastic Snake Davis play alongside the house band. Snake is a brilliant saxophone and flute player – extremely emotive in his presentation of his playing, but also also captivating to watch. He has a great bag of vocabulary, and can shred as well as he can be sensitive.

Guitarist Pete Oxley was in the House band alongside regulars Mark and Raf, and together they produced the perfect platform for Snake to work his magic.

They played a wide variety of tunes including numbers penned by Hoagy Carmichael, King Curtis, Pat Metheny and also Oxley himself.

I can’t recommend the club enough, although you’ll need to book in advance if you want a seat! hope to see you down there soon!

New web home

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Good morning everyone.  Welcome to a revised version of my web home.  Apologies for any problems and lack of content you may have encountered – I’m working hard to counter that.  In the meantime please feel free to have a look and listen to what’s already up, please get in touch with any questions, and very shortly there will be more interesting on the way.

Thanks for your patience.

Gary