News from Lakeside
Getting there in stages
If you have attended the club since mid May, you will have been aware of the Lakeside Management experiment with the repositioning of the stage centrally in the dining room. We have had mixed responses to the change, from both audience and musicians.
In the central position – for the small and intimate trio and quartet gigs – the close proximity of the band to the listeners was liked by some. However, the overall concensus was that the performance area was generally much better situated back in the original spot at the far end of the room. Our experience with the Horn Factory Big Band certainly demonstrated unequivocally that the only satisfactory position for a large ensemble is to play down the length of the room. For bands of any size, our new amplification also has a greater chance to work properly projecting down the long dimension of the listening area.
So with a bit of grunting from Fred and John (Jean never grunts), and a good deal of help from Lakeside staff, the stage has been moved back from whence it came. I think I hear cheering!
Audience numbers
Just lately our audience numbers have been down on the same period last year. The DJS committee would like to thank those stalwarts amongst you who turn up regulary almost every week. It is gratifying to have this exceptional support. But in general we fear we are suffering from climate change. For all of us, at the same time as there has been a worsening of the financial climate, we have been enjoying some beautiful warm summer evenings. It is likely that this has been somewhat of a double whammy for the Lakeside Jazz concerts. Even if you are not watching the pennies, there has been a great temptation to enjoy a G&T in the garden, rather than head off in the car to the wilds of Lyng. It surely cannot be the football that has kept you at home glued to the television?
The Lakeside programme is just as varied and of the same high quality as always. We think there is bound to be something in every gig list to provide a real treat for your aural buds – whatever your taste in jazz.
Please come and swell the audience numbers, enjoy some superb live music and help preserve the health and continuity of Dereham Jazz Society.
Send us your pictures
Most
Wednesdays someone is clicking away with a digital camera. We could
make good use of any pictures that you are proud of. The Dereham Jazz
Society website (www.lakeside-jazz-club.co.uk) displays a few shots of
visiting musicians associated with the latest programme, but we can
always use more. It would be good to create a new page full of library
shots which would really give a feel to what DJS has on offer. If you
want to share your David Bailey moments, please e-mail them to Richard
Nelson at rvnelson@freedom255.com.