Here we are in 1930 - at the Cotton Club - and Duke Ellington is performing a number which is rarely played nowadays ... except by your favourite band, of course! In fact, it's the title track of our just-published, brand-spanking-new CD Old Man Blues ... why not head over to our LISTEN page, where you can hear a clip from this title track (and all the other tracks) entirely free! What's more, you can actually buy this magnificent album right now! Why wait to purchase it at a live gig? It may never happen! Certainly not before the band (and their faithful audiences!) have all been thoroughly vaccinated against Covid-19 ... whenever that might happen!  Go on! - indulge yourself - buy the CD,

Our latest CD - recorded in Cheap Street Church, Sherborne, a few days before national lockdown - should be available very soon. The editing process has inevitably taken much longer than usual, as consultations between bandleader, musicians and recording engineer Peter Kings had all to be conducted via email and telephone. Studio visits were of course not possible, thanks to the Covid situation. We hope it will all prove worth the wait! The album title refers, of course, to Old Man River - the mighty Mississippi - and its role in the history of jazz. The title track is a rarely played Duke Ellington number from 1930, and the track listing includes some other less well-known numbers, as well

... all still alive and unscathed - so far! What a strange few months we've all had! Just when most of our generation - and that includes you, dear readers and listeners! - thought we'd seen more or less all that Life's rich canvas had to offer, something new and unexpected came along and kicked us out of our complacency ... no more gigs in pubs, clubs, or at festivals ... no more packed village halls or church concerts ... considerably less practice for several of us ... and a massive glut of tomatoes on Pete Ward's grand estate in Somerton, for he normally feeds the band throughout the Summer months with his luscious crop of home-grown tomatoes - this year he has had to distribute his fine