ABOUT US
CORNER POCKET JAZZ AND BLUES CLUB
A POTTED HISTORY
The Bablake Old Boys Club, as it was known then, has had use of the building in Fleet Street since 1948 when we obtained it from the school governors on a peppercorn rent. This eventually became a commercial rent until finally the club, by now known as Coventry School Former Pupils Association, to reflect the fact that girls had been admitted since the 1970s and that Bablake and King Henry VIII had become one foundation, decided to try to purchase the building and start an appeal to raise enough money for this which was launched in 2001.
We were successful in raising £66,000 towards the purchase price of £93,000 and used our reserves to cover the shortfall. Many old boys were extremely generous in their donations and there is a plaque inside the building which commemorates all those people who donated £250 or more.
Unfortunately the club is underutilised and the idea of a Jazz and Blues Club was put forward as one way of overcoming this lack of use. Since its first gig in February 2005 the club has gone from strength to strength, meeting on the second Tuesday of the month and we have recently decided to hold additional sessions on the fourth Thursday of some months.
Our Promoter Ivor Lee
Article by Pete Chambers and courtesy of him
Ivor Lee is one of those special kind of people that Coventry should be proud of. This is a man who loves his music, and Ivor’s music is jazz. He is a man on a mission and will do all he can to promote the genre in the city he lives.
Jazz entered his life at the tender age of thirteen, “The BBC rarely featured jazz” He recalls, “the only programme I can remember was World of Jazz on a Saturday afternoon around the time of Sports Report. It was on because my dad was waiting for the football results. It was on that programme that I heard Anybody Hurt? by Gloria Wood and I became a jazz fan”.
He started to buy the Melody Maker and the Jazz Journal, in the back of the Journal was listings of new releases from people like Sam ‘The Man’ Taylor, Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five and Moon Mullican Moondog.
Even better than that was the comprehensive broadcast listings in the Melody Maker. “The best radio programme was RTF 1860Metres long wave” Ivor reveals, “one hour of Gospel and Sunday afternoon 4-15 till 5-00 Jazz, Sweets, Bird, Dizzy, Miles and anybody else you cared to name. I would dash home from school in the dinner hour to hear Jack Dieval with Jumpin’ with Symphony Sid a super catchy riff. But the very best was The Voice of America broadcasting on the 31 and 41 metre band from Tunis. Four hours of jazz a night, year in, year out Introduced by Willis Conover. No problem then for me to stop in and do my Technical College homework”.
Ivor is still very much involved in promoting jazz, especially at The Corner Pocket Jazz club, based at Bablake Old Boys Club, he organises one jazz gig every second Tuesday in the month. He is also part of the Coventry Jazz Festival Committee. I’ll leave the last words to Ivor himself. “I think it is good idea for musicians in the popular field to go and listen to jazz/blues more often. It did the Stones and their contemporaries no harm there is a wealth of music in the jazz field to be found. Get to know the various styles. I suppose listen to as much live music as possible and then go and develop your own style”.
PREVIOUSLY AT CORNER POCKET
2005
February Steve Big Man Clayton
March Big Joe Pleasure Trio
April Al Nicholls /Bob Haddrell 4
May Ralph Allin Quartet
June Danny Mc Cormack/Sophie Garner
July Gary Baldwin
August Tom Hill Trio
September Ian Ballentine/ Phil Bond Trio
October Tony Burchill/ Gary Allcock Trio
November Phil Bond Duo
December Phil Bond Trio
2006
January The 44s
February Phil Bond Trio
February Big Man Clayton
March Al Nicholls/ Johnny Carr Duo
April Edgar Macias/ Colin Bowen/ Gary Allcock
May Harry Walton Quintet
June Nick Kemp Trio
July Big Man Clayton
August Society Band
September Edgar Macias/Tom Hill/Chris Bowden
October Hannah Brooks/ Alcyona/Jadie Carey/ Tasha Buxton
November Big Man Clayton and the 44s
December Graham Dent's Jucamaya featuring Ian Hill
2007
January Society Band
February John Patrick Trio
March Phil Bond Trio
April Mick Kemp
May Jazzology
June Archie Cotterell/ Carole Westwood Quintet
July Dave Speedy Big Band
August Tom Hill/Keith Bill/ Bill Thorpe/ Charlie Wright
September Bryan Corbett/ Levi French/ Ben Markland
October John Bewick/ Roger Heeley/ Adrian Litvinoff/ Marcus Ingham
November Big Man Clayton with Howard Smith
November Richard Baker Quartet with Ian Hill
December Dave Greatrex Quartet
2008
January Alan Barnes/John Hallam with Roger Heeley Adrian Litvinoff Marcus Ingham
February Avon Big Band
March Lee Hallam with Roger Heeley Trio
March Al Nicholls/ Carl Sinclair/ Martin Ingham/ Adrian Litvinoff
April Phil Bond and the 44s
May Tom Hill Edgar Macias Neil Bullock
June Bob Caldwell and friends
July Karl Sinclair and Dave Allen
August Harry Walton Quintet
September Bryan Corbett and Levi French
October Lee Hallam and Richard Baker with the Roger Heeley Trio
November Big Man Clayton with the 44s
November Coventry Consortium Big Band with Musical Director Derrick Parker
December The Matt Richford Quartet
2009
January Tom Hill/Phil Bond/ Nick Millward
