Digby's Blog

Well, sorry if the greeting is a bit late but as Louis Armstrong used to say ‘it’s from the heart!’. Christmas is over; we’ve escaped the threatened Armageddon of 12/12/12 – and so whoop-de-doo for 2013. All the chaps of the Half Dozen wish you their best as do I – and we’re heading for [...]

Well, you’re quite right – it’s taken some time! But as of  29 June 2011 the gig-listings for 2011-12 are at last there in full. We’re very excited to be back at Ronnie’s again in August AND December of course!  And perhaps the most spectacular news of all is that in April 2012 ‘Rocking in Rhythm’ [...]

Well, waddya know! After several months of telephone calls, e-mails, telegrams, urgent smoke-signals and several prostrate carrier pigeons – all sent from frustrated web-surfers – my datesheet has finally been updated! Whoopee! – and also my apologies to those of you who may have called in and left without any useful information at all. As [...]

Well good friends all, it doesn’t seem possible but it is actually 40 years since DIGBY’S HALF-DOZEN played their first-ever London job at the legendary 100 Club, 100 Oxford Street opposite the great Alex Welsh and his band! Alex was already a friend whom I’d met a year or so previously at the Fox and [...]

Well I’m sorry it’s been so long! But I lost the key to the site and my great friend (and designer) Keith Millington had to put me right! I hope you’re all well and there are two items of BIG NEWS I wanted to pass on. The first thing is that since we were last in [...]

Well, good friends all, it’s been a while since this blog was updated – sorry! Despite the current financial gloom it’s been a busy old Autumn with trips to various festivals and a cruise to the Carribean doing trumpet cabaret on board PandO Liner ‘Artemis’ with their all-star band. As of today (26 November 2009) [...]

Well m’dears, it’s been a busy old time! On the road with Paul Jones and ‘Rocking in Rhythm’ up and down the country (including a knockout gig at the Midlands’ top jazz club, ‘The Sands’ in Gainsborough!). Don’t know whether you’ve managed to come and see us there but if not do pay a trip [...]

Well m’dears, amid the crunch (‘Crunch Blues’?), endless revelations about MPs expenses (at least they come to Ronnie’s and the Pizza) and reverberating echoes of belts being tightened against Primark belt-buckles, how’re you doing? All’s proceeding smoothly enough with the old Half Dozen and with gigs for the coming Summer. Meantime some of us managed [...]

ROY WILLIAMS Britain’s premier jazz trombonist in a celebrity conversation with DIGBY FAIRWEATHER, followed by live music from ROY, DIGBY and Friends. On Saturday 11th July 2009, 1.30 p.m. – 4.30 p.m. Loughton Methodist Church, 260 High Road, Loughton, Essex. Tickets £10 – contact David Nathan at the Archive in Loughton Library Tel.020 8502 0181 [...]

Yes, good friends all, the Half Dozen its members and I are coming up close up to our first real ‘West End’ season! From TUESDAY APRIL 7TH through to SATURDAY APRIL 11TH, we’re booked for a whole week of appearances – in a whole variety of presentations – at London’s PIZZA EXPRESS to celebrate our ‘Top [...]

Hello again! And – of course – a very Happy New Year! Well I hope you heard the GREAT news by now; that back in December our wonderful ‘HALF-DOZEN’ – Craig Milverton, Julian Marc Stringle, Len Skeat, Nick Millward, Chris Gower, Dominic Ashworth  and self - won the British Jazz Award for ‘top small group’ 2008-9! This is the [...]

No, it’s not what you think! But the fact is that when the Half Dozen – and our special guest Anita Wardell – arrived at Ronnie Scott’s on the evening  of 9 October to begin our three-night season in tribute to ‘Ella and Louis’ we were told ‘sold out tonight!’. The same thing happened for four of the five shows! [...]

Hi pals! The sad news first! Just to let you know that our new club ‘Digby’s Place’ has had to close its doors because the Railway Hotel (our hosts) has run into bad financial trouble. We wish Dave, Danny and all their staff well. But this means that our concerts at the club – on [...]

Well, good chums and readers, Summer is i’comin’ in and with it the usual welter of gigs great and small! July brings with it the mighty Birmingham International Jazz Festival whose directors have paid me the huge compliment of offering me the post of Patron after the unhappy demise of the great Humphrey Lyttelton! He’s [...]

Well, good friends, I’m sure that by now you’ll know that HUMPHREY LYTTELTON passed away peacefully around 7pm on Friday April 25th 2008.  Although he HAD to be mortal, I believe we all cherished the hope that Humph would go on for ever. He was woven into the fabric of British jazz in so very many [...]

The closure of ‘theJazz’ is a RAPE to our culture…..

Drop into my blog for the latest news – 12 January 2008

Hi Tom, Jeff and everyone out there! Well Christmas is gone and we head for 2008 with heads and hearts high! Hope you all enjoyed the Festive Season as we did in Digby-land. The Half-Dozen play next on the Isle of Wight for New Year’s Eve at the Melbourne Arenleigh Hotel Shanklin. Then the dates [...]

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