Agree, Andrew, tell us more.

Says I, just a listener, but back in that decade listening a lot — those great LPs.

Doug
> On May 24, 2017, at 5:09 AM, Bill Wootton <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> At least two more please, Andrew, the sneak jazz thief.
> 
> Bill
> 
> On Wed, 24 May 2017 at 6:55 PM, Patrick McManus <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> Andrew thanks -could imagine some photos to go with them more would be
>> fun for this old codger who only was a tea chest drummer -briefly
>> skiffling!!
>> 
>> 
>> On 24/05/2017 08:59, Andrew Burke wrote:
>>> *JAZZ PROSE POEM *
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> My earliest memories are sprocketed by jazz …
>>> 
>>> ~
>>> 
>>> Back in the Fifties my big brother would go to *KP for Dancing* at the
>>> Kings Park Tennis Club, driving his red MG TC with the top down. I’d
>>> smuggle myself under the canvas as he got ready and then sneak out when
>> he
>>> went inside the hall. I couldn’t see through the window but I could hear
>>> the band playing full blast the swing numbers of the day. I crouched
>> among
>>> the bushes. A female vocalist sang *St Louis Blues* and the drummer
>> soloed
>>> with the subtlety of a blacksmith. The crowd roared out for more. There
>>> were boring spaces between sets until the final dance of the night with
>> the
>>> clarinet aimed at the ceiling and wailing above the pounding drums in
>> Woody
>>> Herman’s *Golden Wedding.* In the great excitement and applause I would
>>> sneak back under cover to brave our speedy trip home.
>>> 
>>> ~
>>> 
>>> My first car was a 1948 Morris – complete with optional crank handle
>> start.
>>> My first drum kit was a hotch-potch reject kit assembled from my aged
>>> teacher’s early days of modern waltz and pride-of-erin. The bass drum
>> was a
>>> monster that took up all the back seat. And to make the cymbal sizzle I
>>> hung my keys across its dull surface. The young female sax player nursed
>>> the snare on the passenger on our way to rehearsals. We dragged Fred in
>> for
>>> the reed solos because he couldn’t read but he could swing! Without a
>> bass
>>> player, the pianist had a busy time playing rhythm with his left hand …
>> and
>>> I played bass drum and high-hat on the beat – thump/tish, thump/tish –
>> more
>>> marching band than jazz.
>>> 
>>> We had the charts for *The Theme from Peter Gunn* with our pianist
>> playing
>>> the bass part. We never did find a bass player before our enthusiasm …
>> ran
>>> out.
>>> 
>>> ~
>>> 
>>> With the sun shining in the garage doors, I set the bass drum front skin
>> up
>>> on the cold floor. I’d seen photos of Gene Krupa’s kit and knew the badge
>>> his bass drum proudly displayed. With a thick black marking pen and an
>> old
>>> school ruler, I drew the outline with great care, and filled in the badge
>>> with my initials – AB. Laboriously I filled in all the thick band up and
>>> down with black. Dramatic. I stood the bass drum up and placed the pedal
>> on
>>> its back rim, dragged my three-legged kitchen stool up, sat and tried it
>>> out. It definitely sounded fatter. I thumped it heavily and tried to lean
>>> over far enough to see if the badge was vibrating. It always stopped
>> before
>>> I could see it, but I could hear it – just like Krupa’s *Jungle Drums*
>> on a
>>> Clef music 10” LP, with a David Stone Martin cover.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ~
>>> Should I continue - maybe two more?
>>> 
>> 

Douglas Barbour
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https://eclecticruckus.wordpress.com/

Recent publications: (With Sheila E Murphy) Continuations & Continuations 2 (UofAPress).
Recording Dates (Rubicon Press).
Listen. If (UofAPress):

I go down to the Twilight Arcade
and watch the Martian invaders,
already appalled by our language,
pointing at what they want.

          Bill Manhire