Jazz in the Hall brings New Orleans to Gainford

THE sounds of New Orleans will come to Gainford – via Stockton on Tees – this weekend.
Bill Goyder and the New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band present Jazz in the Hall on Saturday, November 19. The band is led by cornet player Peter Wright
Music fans are in for an evening of traditional jazz in the style of the likes of Chris Barber and George Melly, while helping to raise money for St Mary's Church, Gainford.
Clarinettist and saxophonist Mr Goyder, who lives in the village, will take his place as one of the seven jazz veterans performing on the night. He explained: “It seems to be lost in the mists of time when the group got together, but it was sometime in the 1970s. The band has played in the Oxbridge, in Stockton, almost every Thursday night since then. I came along in about 1990 – I am regarded as one of the new members of the group,” he said.
“When we are playing at the Oxbridge, room is tight, so we don't have drums, however, at Gainford we will be a seven-piece with drums.”
Jazz in the Hall will be played in traditional New Orleans style, explained Mr Goyder, whose love of the music dates back to his teenager years in the 1950s.
“If you go to New Orleans and you go into these jazz places, you find the musicians are sitting down rather than up on a stage.”
He said previous jazz nights in Gainford have proved popular. “We have done it before with a smaller four-piece band. It's quite good for dancing,” he added.
Mr Goyder, a former warden at St Mary’s, said money raised from the evening would go to general church funds.
Tickets are selling well and are available for £10 including supper. There will be a raffle and a bar available.
Jazz in the Hall, at Gainford Village Hall, takes place between 7.30pm and 11pm.
For more details and tickets, contact Mr Goyder on 01325 730234 or Sue Taylor, 01325 730379.