"Roll up, roll up, roll up! ..."

Jazz club audiences are frequently kind enough to credit us musicians with the success of a session, but the real heroes in keeping our music alive and kicking are those tireless promoters and organisers, who, either single-handedly or together with a hard-working committee, somehow manage to keep clubs going all over the country (admittedly with varying degrees of success). Gosport Jazz Club certainly numbers among the best-run and best-supported clubs we've ever visited over the years, and we can always look forward to a big crowd and an enthusiastic reception - that is, once we've braved the M27 and the impressively stationary traffic down into Gosport (which leads us to wonder how you locals ever get anywhere!). In the jazz clubs we visit, we are not infrequently introduced to audiences by a somewhat reticent, reluctant, retiring 'front man' who is more of a shrinking violet than a dynamic MC ... not at mighty Gosport - oh, no! You are all very lucky to have such an extrovert character as Chris Newman up front - effortlessly combining the showbiz flair and sardonic humour of both Barnum and Bailey - and willing to practically cajole club members into supporting the club's impressive list of promotions ... nice to know the Press Gang is still operating in 2018! It's always enjoyable to play here - but it's great fun, too, thanks to all of you, and (despite illness in the band's ranks) we had the usual thoroughly good time. The icing on the Gosport cake was to have an old(-ish!) friend guesting on clarinet, in the shape of 'local-boy-made-good' John Maddocks - what a treat to have him on board for the evening! Thanks, John - and many thanks to Gosport JC, Chris and t'committee for the invitation!