WE ARE ALL JAZZED OUT NOW.

We are all jazzed out now. Festival of Chichester is over. What a time!

The Arts dept of the Chichester Observer got a standing round of applause for organising the Festival at our sell out gig last Saturday at Hillier Garden Centre. A huge effort went in to it all. From a standing start they got 230 events organised. That is absolutely amazing.

This is Phil Hewitt the Arts Ed of the Observer busking with our guys. Geoff Valenti on trumpet and Mike Pappenheim on tenor, at the opening of the Festival.

Thanks Phil for arranging all that. A triumph, for you and Barry Smith. Special mention and thanks to Rachel Soothill for running the Facebook site and letting us all pile in. A labour of love for all of you, that was.

PLEASE SHARE AND LIKE US IN FACEBOOK.

Other pics from the two busking gigs at the Festival.

We had a big crowd at our opening concert in the lovely village of Graffham, the GERSHWIN concert, and they did look after us well. 

Hillier Garden Centre, and the general manager Nigel Budgen were magnificent, couldn't do enough for us, put out signs, sold tickets, arranged chairs, did everything. It is a wonderful venue, great sound, and so pleasant in there. About 20% of the takings went to their charity, the Guide Dogs for the Blind.

We ran the next big band show, COOL JAZZ NOSTALGIA based on songs of the 50's and 60's, then Hillier took Maria and the JAZZ SMUGGLERS TRIO for one evening, and the final night was MARIA SINGS the songs which made SINATRA famous.

We also ran a jazz soloist competition, and three separate workshops around the county.

Whew! I'm bushed. Don't know about you.

Thanks everyone who helped. In the bands and helping us were Andrew, Geoff, Maria, Vic, Bob, Mike Pappenheim, Steve Evitts, Nemone, Mike Wilson, David Whitelely.

John

Ps. In the middle of it all we also did a private trio event, a Fete at Milland village and we helped to launch the Bognor car rally. Madness, absolute madness. (Good name for a band that....)