trombone poetry

chronicle: January 2012

Paul Taylor — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:36:40 +0000

Although his free-jazz blart-frenzy, The Near Jazz Experience, is perhaps not a racing certainty as a romance-kindler on next week’s Valentine’s Day there, Terry Edwards easily banished any January gloom at the hallowed Indo Bar in Whitechapel. The poetry of doomed liaisons and scrambled newspapers was frisbeed over the pizzas and Weissbier by trombone poetry, with the trombone also invited again to step into the NJE vortex.

At Lurca’s birthday party “self-indulgent cabaret”, we had a flutter of Hawkwind from Richard Sanderson, the roaring tuba of Oren Marshall, spontaneous trombone poetry compositions such as What The Beetle Had For Breakfast and, girded by a herd, a hurdy-gurdy.

In the secular, beer-selling bit of The Union Chapel, the Upper Hall, Park Road Pilot put on another packed charity-funding arts event, wherein trombone poetry recited Punch, written about a ruined reading at Lurca’s bash, plus a few blues-fuelled inventions. The mellifluous Roshi Nasehi got herself into loops, and someone treated us to spoken chatroom obscenity tedium.

The outnumbered punters at the Vibe Gallery’s poetry open mic were warmed by a sarangi recital, before the poetry was let loose. Nice vibe, shame about the art.

In Stoke Newington’s former snooker hall, The Others, trombone poetry was invited to collaborate again with Paulo Duarte’s illustrious Overground Collective, getting the ball rolling with plunger-mute preludes and poems like Shaky Ground and The Magic Chair. There followed a stunning improvised duet by Rachel Musson and Julie Kjaer before the Collective took over.

The month tumbled to a finish at Freedom of Expression in Croydon, where The ART Pack was ceremonially launched with the swing of a brown ale bottle at the wrong end of The Green Dragon. Paul Shearsmith, wielding a pBone, duelled with this trombone, followed by a burst of trombone poetry, a ration of ruM, and an outcry of APE. That’s ART, that is.

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Monday 13 February 19:45

trombone poetry + Richard Tyrone Jones + Katrina Naomi + Bernadette Reed + John Clarke + open mic

TALKING RHYTHM!

The Amersham Arms
388 New Cross Road
London
SE14 6TY

free admission

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Tuesday 14 February 20:00

The Blowpipes Trombone Trio + Roshi Nasehi + open mic

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The Green Dragon
58-60 High Street
Croydon
CR0 1NA

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The trombone will be out and about with Pete Williams‘ band this month, to launch the new album, “See”. See:

Monday 20 February

The Lexington
96-98 Pentonville Road
London
N1 9JB

Tuesday 21 February

The Glee Club
The Arcadian Centre
Birmingham
B5 4TD

Tuesday 28 February

The Greystones
Greystones Road
Sheffield
S11 7BS

Wednesday 29 February

The Deaf Institute
135 Grosvenor Street
Manchester
M1 7HE

chronicle: December 2011

Paul Taylor — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:07:56 +0000

As December chilled, trombone poetry flew south, although only getting as far as Bromley South, joining forces with Mick Collins’ Modern Jazz Orchestra at the monthly residency. New works included Leave It, a foundling poem extracted from a Caribbean paper, The Sunday Sun.

Another expedition was undertaken to Mycenae House in deepest Greenwich, to lob poems and several original tunes into the flow of jazz standards at the regular Monday night jam, starring Phil Mead on piano and Dave Silk in a threadbare Santa outfit with a double bass made out of chocolate fingers. Humbug.

Tuesday 17 January 20:00

trombone poetry + Terry Edwards’ Near Jazz Experience + James Smith (DJ Set) + pizza

INDO BAR

133 Whitechapel Road
London E1 1DT

free admission

020 7247 4926

Saturday 21 January 20:00

trombone poetry + Roshi Nasehi + Ezat Luba Yomtovian + Josephine Dyer + Somaye + DJ Enri

PARK ROAD PILOT

The Union Chapel (Upper Hall)
Compton Terrace
London N1 2UN

admission: £6

020 7226 1686

Proceeds go to Thinking Development, a partnership of Haitian community groups and a London-based volunteer design team. They are designing a multi-functional and sustainable primary school complex for over 1,200 Haitian girls. The group is also documenting the process in short films so that Haitians can have their voices heard and people everywhere can follow and learn from their work. The design and documentation process is entirely volunteer-run, meaning that all funds go directly into minimal project expenses and the building fund.

Wednesday 25 January 19:00

trombone poetry + poetry open mic

VIBE GALLERY

100 Clements Road
London SE16 4DG

free admission

Thursday 26 January 20:00

trombone poetry + The Overground Collective

THE OTHERS

6-8 Manor Road
Stoke Newington
London
N16 5SA

SUNDAY EXTRAS

Sunday 29 January 14:00

The Vintage Tea Dance Orchestra + Sunday roast

SUNDAY LUNCH TONGUE

The Ivy House
40 Stuart Road
London SE15

free admission

Sunday 29 January 19:00

Yiddish Twist Orchestra

SNAPSHOTS FESTIVAL

Rich Mix
35-47 Bethnal Green Road
London E1 6LA

free admission

Tuesday 31 January 20:00

APE (Grassy Noel, voice, poetry; Paul Shearsmith, pocket trumpet & trombone, fire extinguishers; Mike Walter, saxophones, synth, percussion; Graham MacKeachan, double bass, objects)

+ ruM (Mike Walter, Paul Taylor)

+ trombone poetry:

The ART Pack

+ open mic

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The Green Dragon
58-60 High Street
Croydon
CR0 1NA

chronicle: October/November 2011

Paul Taylor — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:09:28 +0000

Some dark upset in the laptop’s innards prevented the publication of the October chronicle and November dates, and this bulletin is hardly timely either. We persevere.

All these chronicles are posted and archived on the site/blog, and there are plans to write a lot more blog posts in the New Year, while keeping the mail-out monthly. Blog entries, in turn, are synch’ed with the Farcebook Page, which you are invited to “like”.

The duo, ruM, unleashed more folk music and free improv in the nether regions of The Green Dragon in Croydon, enhanced by a West Country dialect recitation by Mr Mike Walter. Also on the bill was a Freedom Of Expression favourite, Eddie’s Brother. May his plectrum never wilt.

October’s adventures came to a finale at Scaledown, where trombone poetry brandished a fire-engine-red trombone at the Fitzrovian multitude. Sharing the proceedings were Matt Scott’s Squeezebox Jukebox, the Gipsy guitar stylings of Raymond Shine, and the duo of Mike Adcock and Sylvia Hallett, who wielded a saw, in a friendly way.

fork handles sketch

In November, back in Croydon again, The Green Dragon Waltz was improvised by trombone poetry, along with tunes from Speech, the album.

Out East, Jerico Orchestra kindly made space for a trombone poetry set at the George Tavern, which combined new writings and the old Deptford saga, 100 Lines for the Centurion.

There are rumours of a wee tour next year. Do stay in touch.

Monday 5 December 20:30

Mick Collins Big Band + brief trombone poetry set

H G WELLS CENTRE

St. Mark’s Road
Bromley
BR2 9HG

admission: £6

Monday 12 December 20:00

trombone poetry + standards/originals with jazz rhythm section + open mic

MYCENAE HOUSE

90 Mycenae Road
Blackheath
London
SE3 7SE

admission: £5/£3

www.jazznights.co.uk

chronicle: September 2011

Paul Taylor — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:48:15 +0000

Just up-river from trombone poetry HQ, over on the North bank of the Thames, are the Hermitage Community Moorings, in Wapping. For the occasion, the floating pier-house became the Hermitage Oral History Café, and hosted a poetry night. Graham Buchan regaled us with locally-inspired poetry, and trombone poetry hove to with a new flotilla of marinet poems written for the event, plus improvised hornpipes. A performance poet over-taxed his memory and sank. Extra rum rations all round.

The day after, yet further up-river, trombone poetry flew the flag again near London Bridge City Pier for the Thames Festival, courtesy of Southwark Arts Forum. Khadijatou Doney charmed the crowd; trombone poetry baffled them with a new work made from a dismembered Hebrew/English phrase-book.

No sloop was laid on for the voyage to Margate, but trombone poetry found its way to the venerable Theatre Royal for Bubble & Squeak, a cabaret extravaganza in aid of Broadstairs Food Festival. Nigel Burch & The Flea Pit Orchestra set the ball rolling, and trombone poetry weaved in a couple of short sets among The FranTastics, Skip “Little Axe” McDonald, Christine Tobin and a crowd-challenging free-jazz blow-out by Trevor Watts and Veryan Weston. Most of the crew were eventually washed up at the bar of the Walpole Bay Hotel.

Tuesday 25 October 20;00

ruM + Eddie’s Brother + Chris Parr + Tom Slatter

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The Green Dragon
58-60 High Street
Croydon
CR0 1NA

admission: free

Friday 28 October 19:30

trombone poetry + Matt Scott + Mike Adcock & Sylvia Hallett + Raymond Shine + ?

SCALEDOWN

The King & Queen
1 Foley Street
London
W1W 6DL

admission: free/collection

chronicle: August 2011

Paul Taylor — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:16:43 +0000

On a stage under the wing of a giant heron mural, the Dead Space Festival filled a void in a street off Brick Lane with bands and bards. New poems such as Uncertain Underground and Contrary Motion were offered up, plus some kind of Brick Lane Tango. Sadly, this great little festival was apparently snuffed out an hour later, due to belligerent locals who preferred dead space.

Brief sub-cultural aside: in a life happily ungoverned by fashion, it was entertaining to learn that one of the performers had deliberately left the price tag dangling from her cardigan, as a fashion gesture. Though this may still be absent-mindedness in some other sense, it is of course hardly as comical as the old half-mast jeans routine, despite the hint of Spike Milligan.

At the Beautiful Days Festival in Devon, ruM began a recital, on the attractively-named Dirty Davey Stage, to passing punters and a village of tents. Once again, Nobby Hall rubbed shoulders with Albert Ayler, and thousands of adoring music-lovers abandoned the main stage en masse, to dance, cheer and swoon at our feet.

By the time trombone poetry appeared on stage later on, the vast crowd had been herded away again by a man with a sheep dog and a pointed stick.

Clapham Common Bandstand: London’s top Latin bands, La Clave and Roberto Pla’s Latin Ensemble play a set each on a glorious Sunday afternoon. But that was then, the early 1990s. In 2010, The Blowpipes Trombone Trio play two sets, for the same individual fees. Go figure.

At The Queen’s Head, a gem of a boozer near Kings Cross, trombone poetry was the guest of the Horseless Headmen, Grahame Painting’s new quartet with Roland Bates, Nick Cash and Ivor Kallin. After the band’s intricately improvised first set, the audience suddenly vanished (even before the trombone was visible, thanks) leaving only a seemingly keen couple to listen to the trombone poetry set, who then played chess instead, with the bloke commentating on it like a barking seal. When the barman had a gentle word, they too promptly left, leaving behind them an abandoned game and the whiff of kippers.

Friday 9 September 19:00

trombone poetry + other poetry

HERMITAGE ORAL HISTORY CAFE

Poetry night at Hermitage, on the Thames. Poets perform work about history, memory, and rivers.

Hermitage Community Moorings
16 Wapping High Street
London
E1W 1NG

vik@hrprojects.org

Saturday 10 September 12:00-20:00

trombone poetry (at 15:00) + Khadijatou Doney + Slo’burn + Steve Barbe + ?

THAMES FESTIVAL

Southwark Arts Forum stage
Queens Walk
London Bridge City Pier
SE1

Friday 23 September 19:30

trombone poetry + Nigel Burch & The Flea Pit Orchestra + The FranTastics + Skip “Little Axe” McDonald + Christine Tobin + Trevor Watts & Veryan Weston

BUBBLE & SQUEAK

Broadstairs Food Festival

Theatre Royal
Addington Street
Margate
Kent
CT9 1PW

01843 293877
www.theatreroyalmargate.com

admission: £10 advance / £12 door

chronicle: July 2011

Paul Taylor — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:05:43 +0000

In Richmond, it was only an unseemly dribble of muzak that had to be staunched, no-one else seeming to mind enough. The Holloway Road gig was enlivened by the hefting through the recital of giant plates of steaming chips, destined to mute the babble of a sports team conveniently parked a mere hockey stick away from the stage.

A confusion of opposites: Holloway open to passing van-loads of athletes, Richmond secretively abandoning a would-be audience downstairs to the oblivious mercies of the bartenders. There was fine poetry to be had, though, for those who could sniff out Sweet Thursday.

In Croydon, the free/folk laboratory known as ruM edged ever nearer to its own specific levity of poise and upset, even without feathered trilbies. This piquant starter preceded the main nosebag: some kind of lunar clipclopera headed for the hems of the Edinburgh Festival. Bring back Mr. Ed.

The Blowpipes Trombone Trio rattled the conservatory of that Bethnal Green gem, the Café Gallery, for a Friday jazz session with added poetry. We hope to be allowed a pizza next time.

They will surely not equal the famed pizzas of Indo.

It was the Dead of Nit. In Whitechapel’s Indo Bar, trombone poetry enjoyed another night of inspirations, inventions and circlish delights, with added skirmishes on a couple of Nitwood numbers.

The Blowpipes ventured into the wilds of Myatt’s Fields to woo the natives with a snippet of Stravinsky and a jam on Blueberry Hill. All this on a proper bandstand: deckchairs, ice cream, sunstroke and so forth.

In somewhat less bucolic Hoxton, trombone poetry joined forces with the Jerico Orchestra, at Charlie Wright’s International Bar. This free-improvising ensemble, featuring such luminaries as saxist Bob Peachey and the well-sprung Adam Bohman, is enjoying a last-Monday residency.

The month was rounded off with a summer fair at St Margaret’s House. All music in the trombone poetry set was accompanied by a young man called Myles, on his first gig, brandishing bells, finger cymbals and an egg shaker. A lovely start to finish with.

Saturday 13 August 13:00 – 23:00 (sets at 13:45, 16:00)

trombone poetry + sundry turns

DEAD SPACE FESTIVAL

124 Brick Lane
London
E1 6RL

http://www.facebook.com/DeadSpaceFest

admission: £10

Friday 19 August (sets at 16:15 / 18:15)

ruM + trombone poetry + umpteen bands

BEAUTIFUL DAYS FESTIVAL

Dirty Davey stage

Escot Park
Nr Fairmile
Devon
EX11 1LU

http://www.beautifuldays.org

Sunday 21 August 15:00 – 16:30

The Blowpipes

CLAPHAM COMMON BANDSTAND

http://www.facebook.com/blowpipes

Sunday 28 August 18:30

trombone poetry + Neptune is Mars (Grahame Painting, cello; Roland Bates, piano, Nick Cash, drums) + Noel Taylor, Niko Meinhold, Satoko Fukuda, Guillaume Viltard

THE QUEEN’S HEAD

66 Acton St
London
WC1X 9NB

chronicle: June 2011

Paul Taylor — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:31:05 +0000

Though barred from the pulpit, trombone poetry delivered unto the throng a sheaf of fresh poems and instant compositions, after basking in the radiance of the Cellestial Quartet at the Union Chapel. Daylight Music: cultural uplift.

Out in the wilds of Kent, trombone poetry was welcomed back to The Naturist Foundation Jazz Festival and its well-stocked beer tent. Foundling poems mined from The Thanet Times and other organs were given an airing. Deirdre Cartwright, Kathy Dyson and the enigmatically named Sarah P paid a thoughtful and intricate tribute to Emily Remler. Sam Leak unveiled a series of solo piano works to round off the evening.

There was another ration of ruM (Mike Walter & Paul Taylor) at Freedom of Expression in Croydon, with refined versions of Nobby Hall, Emerald and so forth.

The month ended on a high note, with a glad return to Salisbury Poetry Café, cultivated by poet Grace Gauld, where trombone poetry offered fresh poems and a new piece of music by Sarah Collins: an arrangement of the folk song, She’s Like the Swallow. We look forward to more compositions for solo trombone from readers of this chronicle, even beyond Wiltshire.

Tuesday 4 July

trombone poetry + Nitwood

DEAD OF NIT

Indo Bar
133 Whitechapel Road
London E1 1DT

admission: free

Tuesday 12 July

ruM + performance by MJ Hibbett (and Steve) of “Moon Horse vs. The Mars Men Of Jupiter“, a brand new two-man science fiction rock opera which will be appearing at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe (as part of PBH’s Free Fringe), Camden Fringe, and touring the country.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The Green Dragon
58-60 High Street
Croydon
CR0 1NA

admission: free

Thursday 14 July

trombone poetry + ?

SWEET THURSDAY

The Old Ship
3 King Street
Richmond
Surrey

Monday 18 July

trombone poetry + ?

BEDSPRINGS ACOUSTIC

Phibbers Bar
203 Holloway Road
London N7 8DL

admission: free

Sunday 24th July 14:00

The Blowpipes Trombone Trio

MYATT’S FIELDS BANDSTAND

Cormont Road
London SE5 9RA

admission: free

Monday 25 July

trombone poetry + Jerico Orchestra

CHARLIE WRIGHT’S INTERNATIONAL BAR

45 Pitfield Street
Hoxton London N1 6DA

0207 490 8345

admission: free

chronicle: May 2011

Paul Taylor — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 06:14:37 +0000

The nautical brick-a-brack of The Montague Arms rattled to a broadside of improvised brasswork. Poems of bafflement and adventure were set adrift. We can only assume that a proper Monty knees-up was had by all as the evening rolled on, as trombone poetry provided the overture but then had to vanish into the New Cross night.

Though the trombone has had many a shout in the club downstairs, Jazz Verse Jukebox lured it upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s for a jazz/poetry outburst hosted by Jumoké Fashola. Polarbear, who is not Polar Bear nor even slightly ursine, flatcapped a couple of yarns, and the beguiling Zena Edwards shone again, with impromptu trombone beckoned aboard. A young poet’s balloon of earnestness was punctured, for this observer, by a sudden chin-jutting grimace that conjured up Albert Steptoe. A very familiar jazz poet bounded onstage and showed his improvisational prowess by weaving into his first poem the spontaneous line, “I’m losing my pants”.

An altogether more hushed and reverent affair blossomed in another upstairs chamber the following night: The Prince of Greenwich hosted Talking Rhythm. There were Spanish songs, odes to tea, and archaic versifying before David Studdert strummed to the coda.

Ineptly absent from last month’s schedule was another instance of Freedom Of Expression at The Green Dragon in Croydon. The Blowpipes pounded a Perez Prado mambo into the bar below, and played an arrangement of a trombone poetry number, Slippery Jack, that was also performed beforehand by that brave and song-free guitarist, Tom Janssen, whose new album is almost upon us.

Also emergent: a newly edited video on the site from the Collision Festival performance. The poem about Larkin and me from last year’s festival in Hull is now in the latest edition of About Larkin, the journal of the Larkin Society.

The trombone poetry debut at the Brockley Max Festival was on a necessarily rainy bank holiday at The Talbot. Brand new nonsense verse was recited through a ruptured pub quiz microphone to bewildered regulars, and the Talbot Tango was invented for the occasion. Onwards and outwards!

Saturday 18 June 12:00 – 14:00

Cellestial Quartet + trombone poetry + Catherine A.D.

DAYLIGHT MUSIC

Union Chapel
Upper Street
London N1 2XD

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Thursday 23 June 19:30

Billy Bottle, Martine Waltier + trombone poetry + Deirdre Cartwright, Kathy Dyson, Sarah P + Sam Leak

NATURIST FOUNDATION JAZZ FESTIVAL

The Naturist Foundation
Brocken Hurst
somewhere near Swanley / Bromley
BR5

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Tuesday 28 June 20:00

ruM (Mike Walter & Paul Taylor) + Alan Lacroix + Sue Verran

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The Green Dragon
58-60 High Street
Croydon
CR0 1NA

admission: free

http://www.myspace.com/alanlacroix

http://www.myspace.com/sueverran

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Thursday 30 June 19:30

trombone poetry + open mic

SALISBURY POETRY CAFE

Salisbury Arts Centre
Bedwin Street
Salisbury
Wiltshire

Bloomsday!

Paul Taylor — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:08:34 +0000

chronicle: April 2011

Paul Taylor — Thu, 05 May 2011 12:43:37 +0000

Once the footbawl male voice choir fizzled out downstairs, Freedom Of Expression at The Green Dragon in Croydon kicked off with a bright burst of electronica from Gagarin, in part-tribute to his newly celebrated namesake. The trombone poetry set featured last autumn’s Larkin poem and four tangos. Wayne Myers deftly wound up the proceedings in the guise of Fit and the Conniptions.

The Spoonful of Poison event at The Urban Bar in Whitechapel presented a zoological variety of acts, including resident performers Dangerous T and Jude Cowan, the latter improvising songs from Reuters news bulletins, neatly complementing trombone poetry’s new batch of foundling poems. Sadly, the event became substantially more toxic than usual, due to a flunky’s inability to hold his drink, so we will be in no hurry to contribute again. Down the hatch!

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Friday 8 May 20:30

trombone poetry + Snorkel + FDS + Designa Wave + VJ Flickering Light

THE MONTAGUE ARMS

289 Queens Road
London SE15

admission: £5/£3

(trombone poetry onstage 21:00-21:30, before sprinting to Roberto Pla’s residency at Plaza Park, 200 Westminster Bridge Road SE1 7UT)

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Sunday 8 May 20:00

trombone poetry + Polarbear + Zena Edwards + Sh’maya Poetics + Ciyo Brown + Jumoké Fashola + open mic

JAZZ VERSE JUKEBOX

Upstairs @ Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club
47 Frith Street
London W1D 4HT

admission: £7

http://www.ronniescotts.co.uk
http://www.jumokefashola.com

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Monday 9 May 19:30

trombone poetry + Jack Underwood + JJ von der Heydt + David Studdert

TALKING RHYTHM!

The Prince of Greenwich
72 Royal Hill
London
SE10 8RT

admission: £3

http://www.theprinceofgreenwich.com

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Thursday 19 May doors 19:00

launch party for new venue

Snowboy & the Latin Section + Fowokan

STAND!

Fairfield Halls
Park Lane
Croydon
CR9 1DG

admission: £15

box office 020 8688 9291
http://www.standatfairfield.com

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Monday 30 May 20:00

trombone poetry

BROCKLEY MAX FESTIVAL

The Talbot
2 Tyrwhitt Road
London
SE4 1QG

http://www.brockleymax.co.uk