It is always interesting to read stuff about Basingstoke as, although I have never lived there, it is the spiritual home of the Thumwoods and my Mum's family also come from the town or it's environs. (The villages around-about are actually very picturesque even if the town itself is an architectural nightmare with most of it's history lost where the planner inflicted more damage that Cromwell an the Luftwaffe combined.) Curious to encounter two references to Basingstoke and jazz this week. The first appertained to the Quercus gig at the Anvil which has now appeared on an ECM record. Somehow I missed that gig (probably too busy) but this folksy kind of stuff doesn't really appeal. I now see that a Benny Walters track recorded in Basingstone is to be played on JRR this weekend. That will make Saturday even sweeter after Rochdale have imposed another defeat on our friends down the road in Fratton Park! Basingtoke must be about as far removed from New Orleans or 52nd Street as is possible to imagine. I don't think the town has produced any jazz musicians and the only pop artist to have come from there was Tanita Tikaram - whatever happened to her? Even the "Fergie" who hailed from nearby Dummer was the ginger one married to royalty and not the one who does the auto-tune stuff with the Black Eyed Peas. Other than that, Basingstoke is most famous for the late John Arlott and the Wote Street Willy.
I seem to recall that George Coleman also recorded a live gig in the town so time in the early 80's and at a time when the Anvil concert hall had not been built by Costain. I suppose the proximity of London makes a trip down the M3 appealing to jazz musicians especially if you get to play at such as venue at The Anvil. It does seem strange, however, that Basingstoke is beginning to build up quite a number of appearances on record. Living outside Winchester I would have thought that a city with a famous school and a number of colleges would have made jazz more popular yet Basingstoke seems to repeatedly out do the former capital of Wessex in resect of jazz.
I seem to recall that George Coleman also recorded a live gig in the town so time in the early 80's and at a time when the Anvil concert hall had not been built by Costain. I suppose the proximity of London makes a trip down the M3 appealing to jazz musicians especially if you get to play at such as venue at The Anvil. It does seem strange, however, that Basingstoke is beginning to build up quite a number of appearances on record. Living outside Winchester I would have thought that a city with a famous school and a number of colleges would have made jazz more popular yet Basingstoke seems to repeatedly out do the former capital of Wessex in resect of jazz.
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