Another poorly attended jam this week alas, but… there was a much better atmosphere this week, with everybody getting back to our ethos of not taking ourselves too seriously, after recent events. From 2003 it has always been our intention of giving people (of various abilities) the chance to jam, have fun and also have the chance to meet fellow musicians - and non-musicians. This was certainly the case this week I’m relieved to say!

Two very special guests this week were my Customtone boss Martin Fieber and his good friend Malcolm Hine, for whom I had the pleasure of depping in his band the “Odyssey Soul & Blues Band” very recently. Six first-class numbers were played on their opening set, which began with “No More Doggin’” - no, it’s not what you think, totally different meaning these days I hasten to say! I was particularly pleased to play Martin’s own composition “Old Enough To Know Better” in the opening set, but I do wish he had included a few more of his own numbers because they are of real quality and with such clever ironic lyrics too!

I was also hoping Malcolm would bring along his slide-guitar, if only to play amongst our jammers because he is one of the finest slide-guitarists on the scene, ranking equally alongside Martin Fieber. Maybe next time I’ll ask Malcolm to guest with a non-playing slide-guitarist.

We just about managed to squeeze two more numbers from Martin and Malcolm at the end of the night with lively renditions of “Mercury Blues” and “Natural Ball” - a great way to end a trouble-free night!

It was a blessed relief to see Des, Billy Sharpe and Mark Sibley back here after a couple of weeks' absence, especially when there would’ve been a severe lack of vocalists without them this week. More worrying was to see no drummer’s names on this week’s signing-in sheet, which resulted in Reg Patten playing drums all night. He was kept topped up with refreshments, though - a hero of the night he certainly was – well done Reg, and thanks!

The lack of vocalists did enable us to allocate an extra jam set to both Mark Sibley and Billy Sharpe who had our small but friendly audience out of their seats and onto the dance floor jiving. Apologies to Mark for having to cut back his second jam set to two numbers rather than the intended three - I didn’t realise how near we were to the end of the night.

A special “get well” message to our normally ever-present jammer Dave Richards who was absent owing to a nasty chest infection. Wishing Dave a speedy recovery and hope to see him back here next week. A huge thanks to Martin Fieber & Malcolm Hine, our MC Mike Dearing plus each of our jammers who contributed to a perfect night of Blues (and the occasional non-Blues) which was played with such good humour once again! Time to call…

The Roll Of Honour:

• Guitar+Vocals - Billy Sharpe and Mike Dearing
• Harp+Vocals - Mark Sibley and Des
• Guitar - Warren, Raf Azzara and Chris Greene
• Sax - Peter Harvie
• Bass - Dave Taylor, Mark Fairey, Robin Hemmings
• Drums - Reg Patten

As always, mp3s will soon be uploaded by our Webmaster Ken Cumberlidge. Photos were provided by Peter Harvie, Queen Bee Vera arranged the jam-sets and also took photos while Peter was on stage. This week’s batch of photos can now be viewed and enjoyed on our Facebook page

Our thanks to everyone who helped to pack away the equipment at the end of the night.

Next time at Leytonstone Blues Jam:
Next week’s guest will be “Fretboard Gymnast” Conrad di Ianni, who I’m delighted to welcome back here. He can also be seen playing three whole sets at the Manor Arms this coming Saturday afternoon - more details below. Please arrive nice and early: the earlier we start, the more time for jamming.

Something for the weekend:
No Blues at the Southgate Club this Friday, but on Sunday 3rd July (6.30pm- 10.00pm), St Harmonica’s Blues Club will be staging their monthly Blues jam at the same venue. Vera and I will be there, hope to see many of our friends there too. For further details, go to The St Harmonica's Website

But on Friday 1st at the SX Bar in Brentwood I can highly recommend getting along there to see “The Feelgood Band” fronted by Mark Sibley - truly a top-class band and should not be missed! For further details, check out The SX Bar Website

As previously mentioned, Conrad di Ianni will be guesting with “Ronnie Collins’ Last Project” on Saturday 2nd July at The Manor Arms, 150 East India Dock Road, E14 0BP. 3.00pm-6.00pm - please use beer garden entrance after 3.00pm, no charge at the door.

Thanking All Our Jammers & Listeners,