Over this period, Integrale would release further Django Reinhardt chronological CDs, whilst other favourite Gypsy/Jazz guitarists; Romane and Stochelo Rosenberg would release a duo CD of their own, called Elegance; whilst Romane also made a great CD with a big band.
But the biggest event of the year regarding CD releases, came from Bireli Lagrene. After more than 15 years of making a variety of jazz albums from mainstream to fusion; he smashed back on to the gypsy/jazz scene; with a new band called ‘Gypsy Project‘; which would inspire a new generation of fans, and for me would reignite the passion for this uniquely guitar led music.
Meanwhile, Bjork released Selma Songs in 2000, and Vespertine in 2001. Whilst I liked both these albums, by the time of her next release in 2004, I had begun to find it a little bit samey; and by the time of her next release in 2004, the appeal had worn off.
On the home front; In the August of 2000 I went to another British Gypsy/Jazz festival at Gossington, where headliner Angelo Debarre played a storming set. I went along with bass player John Coulson and family, where we met up and jammed once again with Pete Dalby, amongst many others. I also played rhythm guitar for Gary Potter on the main stage. This was a great, if slightly nerve-wracking experience for me, especially when Gary threw me a couple of guitar solos. I also played a great set in the other tent, with up and coming Liverpool based guitarist John Wheatcroft, who I’d previously jammed with on recent visits to Liverpool.
On the band front around this time, Paul and I had discussed the idea of getting a singer involved with the band, in order to broaden our appeal and versatility. Then by pure chance, we had a jam at Pete Warwick’s annual field party with a violinist called Lizzy Ramsey, who as it turned out was also a singer; and we invited her to come to a band rehearsal with a view to getting some material together. Things went well, and after a couple of sessions we asked Lizzy to join the band, and she accepted. After several practise sessions we had worked out some great material, which diversified the sound of the band even further, and went down very well with audiences. We recorded a demo, and to reflect the new line-up, we changed the name of the band to the ‘Swing Club’.
Lizzy and I also formed a duo for smaller gigs, calling ourselves ‘Jazz Alchemy’, and also recorded a demo of our own.
In 2001 I celebrated my birthday with a jam party at the popular Nottingham music venue; The Golden Fleece, where I performed with a variety of local jazz musicians; including Mandy Tatton from Brazilica.
Neither the Swing Club nor Jazz Alchemy would survive 2001. By the end of the summer, the Hot Club parted company with Lizzy Ramsey because of personal entanglements, and Jazz Alchemy lasted only few more weeks. After a brief hiatus; the original, ‘classic’ guitar led trio line-up would re-emerge early the part of 2002. In the autumn, I took a trip up to Liverpool and jammed a lot with my good friend John Whittington. The re-emerging core trio of the Hot Club would soon get busy in 2002, and for that and other various reasons; this would be my last trip up to Liverpool, after nine years of yearly visits, and a few short years later, I was saddened to hear of John’s untimely death at the age of 36.
Meanwhile, On November 7th 2001, I met up with my old friend Dewi, and we saw Hawkwind; along with Huw Lloyd-Langton, one last time. On this occasion we did not have the opportunity to see Huw, and regretfully I would not see him again. I found the concert fairly good. Much better than when I last saw them in 1994, but nothing like as good as they were in what I considered to be their personal greatest era for me; the 1980s. Nevertheless, Hawkwind for me, are still the most important and most personally influential rock band of my life. I could never discard their music from 1970 to 1990, and even a fair bit of what came after those first great 20 years. They are still an integral part of the music that I still listen to and enjoy today.
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