Tea Break

A series where musicians and others stop by for an imaginary Tea Break to talk about their music and projects.

Richard Cluley

I arrived at Café Le Rêve at about 9.30 am to meet bandleader Richard Cluley at 10.00 am. Arthur was in his usual seat by the window, but there was no sign of his equally scruffy dog, Alfie. Instead, he was chatting to Jean, another 'regular' and quite the opposite to Arthur. She is petite, always well-dressed and not a grey hair out of place. Jean is a retired actress with a charming smile and blue eyes that must have made the difference in countless auditions. Apparently, she spent many years in America and has stories to tell of the famous people she met or worked with. She has promised to publish her memoirs and 'name names', but they never seem to get written. Perhaps that's just as well.

“Good morning, Arthur. Good morning, Jean. Where is Alfie today?”

“Good morning, Ian. Alfie is not to good at the moment. He doesn't want to get around much any more - holding back the years, I guess, like most of us. Who are you meeting today?"

"Richard Cluley, a bandleader from Cheshire," I replied.

"I could tell you a few stories about bandleaders!", said Jean. "I knew someone who knew Artie Shaw in his early days, I think he started playing professionally when he was in his late teens. Anyway, he was broke and wandered into clip joints in Greenwich Village and got to know the girls who worked there, fleecing the customers for expensive drinks and such. They took pity on Artie and would buy him drinks! He must have had a way with women because in the end he was married eight times! and his wives included Lana Turner and Ava Gardner, they also say he dated Betty Grable, Judy Garland and Lena Horne - you wonder where he found time to be a bandleader!

Richard Cluley arrived as Jean finished her story. I introduced them and Natalie, the French waitress, rescued us and took us to my usual reserved booth at the back of the café.

Good morning, Richard, what can I get you – tea, coffee?

Good morning Ian, thank you – a black coffee will be fine, please

I seem to remember that your big band’s Left Bank group were playing for a Cream Tea at your local church event and you were playing vibes. How did it go and did you all get a free cream tea?

We did thank you – home-made scones, cream and homemade jam - various types to choose from. They provoked the inevitable debate over cream or jam first! The music was very well received. The Church yard where we were playing is adjacent to the village pub, the Badger, and I heard a few days after the event that the patrons of the pub enjoyed the music too. On this occasion our line-up was supplemented by a violin, so alto sax, two guitars, violin, bass and vibes, which provided some additional texture to the sound.

I think your own main instrument is the French horn, Richard, – more Dennis Brain than John Coltrane! It seems strange that you started up a swing big band. How did that come about and how long has it been going?

Yes, you're right, I first learned the French Horn in Leicestershire in the ‘60s and I was fortunate to play and record with the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra. I had a gap from playing the French Horn - but not from music - for many years but went back to playing the Horn after my wife, Margaret, sadly passed away. Returning to the horn led to me playing in 3 different Concert Bands and several orchestras plus a wind quintet ..... and then COVID struck putting all these activities on hold. So I tracked down some free software, Jamulus, that enables musicians to play together over the internet with a noticeable but manageable delay. Swing music proved to be the easiest to play over the internet in those circumstances. It was at least a way of playing together and have a distanced social gathering. Eventually we were able to gather in the garden, six at a time, do you remember the rules?. Anyway, the gazebos and my car port were pressed into service. We had some very strange Sextet mixes but everyone enjoyed the opportunity to play together again.

On one occasion one of our players remarked “This is the sort of ensemble you’d get if the Vicar of Dibley asked for a Swing Band”. The seed was sown! So as soon as gathering in larger numbers was permitted I hired the village hall and arranged the first rehearsal. The instrument mix was a little unusual - (we had a euphonium and a bassoon!, but it was received very well and has grown and developed from there.

You have come a long way since then! I have a video on my laptop of the band playing I've Got You Under My Skin from earlier this year - let's take a look ...

Has recruiting band members been a challenge over time? Do you audition people and look for a specific standard in their instrument?

Initially recruiting was just by word of mouth and was reasonably easy, partly because we had no idea where it was all going, apart from being a fun thing to do. Sourcing arrangements, and tweaking them for the ever changing line-up was the biggest job. Later on, when the decision was made to develop a more or less orthodox Big Band, recruitment of brass was, and still is, the main issue. Cheshire has a strong and active Brass Band community and there are a number of Concert Bands in the area too which means that the good players are always in demand. We don’t audition players per se, though after a couple of rehearsals with the band I canvas the opinion of the other members of the section. Being a team player is crucial. A number of players initially aspiring to be part of the band have decided that our repertoire is too hard for them and decide to leave, so I suppose there is an element of self-selection. I might be partly to blame for some of the leavers, as I gather that I am seen as quite tolerant of folk if they have a go and mess it up but equally intolerant of folk occupying a seat and then not trying to play what is in front of them.

I guess one of the benefits of a big band is that members can learn and develop their skills from others in the band, do you find that to be the case?

Oh that is definitely true. One of our senior players is Brian Chell who has an active solo career at local pubs and in regional festivals. He often helps other payers with their improvisational skills. All of the experienced players are generous with their advice and encouragement which is a great help to me. We occasionally have some small group sessions to concentrate on developing improvisation, though it is clear that some of the players appreciate the skill and techniques required but have no ambition to develop them.

You clearly have musicians who can carry solos – there is this video on the band’s website with a saxophonist soloing on Tequila.

That would be Phil Haywood, another of our more experienced players.

Phil, Brian and our regular bass player, Ollie Young have formed their own trio 'Indigo Bop' since meeting up at the band. They even let me play with them occasionally! We are currently short of brass players who can improvise confidently, though many can play and embellish a written solo really well. Within the reeds we are fortunate to have considerable flexibility, with players confident to take on a different seat for a specific gig if need be.

Talking of flexibility, you don’t only play the French horn – apart from the vibes what can you turn your hand to?

During COVID I decided to learn the harp, easy enough to get started but very difficult to play really well. With Nantwich Concert Band and Keele University Concert Band I played the theremin for a Dr Who piece – now there is an instrument I would love to introduce more to the Jazz community, but I haven’t got the time it would take to develop the proficiency. I dabble with bass guitar in my Home Studio too. I play valve trombone with the Big Band sometimes – cheating by using a French Horn mouthpiece – to protect my Horn embouchure- but that also allows me to play the really high notes demanded by some of the 1st Trombone parts. I also play percussion - congas, bongos, guiro etc - for some of our Latin numbers – it all adds a bit of theatre to the performance.

Running the band must take up a lot of time, not only deciding on charts and arrangements but practise sessions, publicity and finding gigs?

Running the band is time consuming, yes, but generally fulfilling. A number of the players refer to it as my “passion project”. While my wife Margaret was alive much of my spare time was taken up with work, and our joint passion, competition ballroom dancing. I had officially retired by 2017 when Margaret passed away and I really needed some additional things in my life to keep me meeting people and active. Music, cycling, motorcycling and some gardening have, between them, given me a full life with lots of friends and with music playing the greater role. For rehearsal sessions we are fortunate to have the regular use of the local Cosey Club free of charge in return for two gigs a year – A lunchtime “Wartime Music” concert on Remembrance Sunday and a pre-Christmas “Christmas Swing” just before Christmas. Charts continue to be an item but we have quite a repertoire already with about 500 pieces so far to choose from. Publicity is a role I would dearly love to pass on, I seem to spend some time every day on social media but that’s the only way to keep the interest alive.

What is the gig situation like in Cheshire?

Finding gigs is a mixture of self-promoted gigs – risky but rewarding too, and responding to requests - we are regulars at the Crewe Town Council Christmas Lights Switch On ceremony when Baby It’s Cold Outside usually gets the Memorial Square audience very excited! The biggest issues are finding venues suitable for a Big Band and then there is the financial aspect. Very few venues have the space for a Big Band and the proprietors may be very happy to pay £500 or so for a small rock band but paying a proportionate fee for the 20 piece band very rarely happens at the moment. That is another reason for having the smaller combos. There are some enterprising landlords in the area who are doing their best but on the other hand a local Jazz Club in Alsager that has been going for some time appears to be on the edge of closing simply because of the finances

Would you like another coffee, Richard. Joe the chef here has also been developing a range of fancy doughnuts with exotic fillings, can I tempt you to see what he has concocted this week

It’s a good job I cycle regularly! Yes please to both!

I also meant to ask you where the name of the band, the Swinging Woodpeckers, comes from? Why Woodpeckers?

I live at Woodpecker Cottage, the band technically started as an idea at one of the post COVID sessions there. Seemed like a good name at the time and it appears to have gone down well.

You can also put together smaller groups from within the band, is that easier to organise than big band gigs? Tell me about the smaller groups, and I think you have two good vocalists also?

Well I am not sure about easier to organise! The very small groups can and do work from Lead sheets so the “musical arrangement” side of things is easy but as groups like the Nonet get larger, or if we are providing strict tempo dance music, detailed arrangements and some rehearsal is necessary. It has worked out quite well though because playing in the smaller groups, while requiring a higher level of skill and enthusiasm for performance per se, has generally only appealed to our best players. I run a “profit-share” scheme to distribute the income generated from the gigs, retaining some for admin, insurance, PAT Testing, that's testing electronic items and provided free for all players, microphones and general PA systems, music, publicity, etc. The musicians in the smaller combos end up with bigger “payouts” partly because the benefit from the smaller gigs is larger per head and partly because playing in the smaller combos means more performance opportunities.

I think you mentioned when we were in touch before that some local landlords have organised a two day Kelsall Jazz Festival and an event in Sandbach on August Bank Holiday at the Swan & Chequers. Have your band been involved?

I think it fair to say that we provided the backbone of the Kelsall Jazz Festival in June - Phil Haywood being the key organiser. "Indigo Bop", "The Woodpeckers Nonet", "Left Bank" and "The Sax Section", all of them combos from our Big Band, appeared along with "Interplay", "Mr Basey’s Little Big Band" and "Bus Stop" over the weekend. We are not involved with the Swan & Chequers event on August Bank Holiday weekend which is led by Andy Scott in Sandbach and has a more prestigious line-up

If you could invite a past jazz musician, instrumentalist or vocalist, to guest with the band, who would you choose and which number would you want to play?

When I worked as a sound engineer I had the privilege of providing sound for the Trans-Atlantic Jazz Festival. Most nights I was at Morton’s Night Club in Berkeley Square. A highlight night was providing PA for Billy Eckstine’s set when half way through Sarah Vaughan arrived causing the proprietor of the club to panic - “Could I provide another microphone?” – no problem!! The two of them just sang across a table to each other for the next 20 minutes – magical! Reproducing that with one of our combos would be something else!

What are your plans for the months to come, Richard?

I suppose consolidating what we have and developing the skills and performance level of the different combos will be my main focus. Persisting with the endless grind of promotion will sadly be necessary but it brings its rewards. On which note, we already have a number of gigs about to take place if anyone is in the area details of our gigs are here.

Thanks for dropping in, Richard. It has been good to hear what is going on in Cheshire and I look forward to seeing how the Swinging Woodpeckers continue to fly.

Thank you, Ian. It has been a pleasure - not to mention being treated to coffee and fancy cake!

You are welcome - now, I think the band should play us out with Moonlight Serenade, Richard

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