OVER 50 YEARS OF MHJO

The Mid Herts Jazz Orchestra has a long history. It was started in 1963. The orchestra was the brainchild of the late Eddie Harvey who was with John Dankworth in the early days. He played trombone and was a fine pianist/arranger. In the sixties the band was called The Watford Branch Musicians' Union Rehearsal Orchestra and used to rehearse in New Greens Hall in St Albans.

The orchestra later became known as The Ed Harvey Big Band. Eddie used to front the band and offer the members his expertise. Since then the band has generally met weekly on Mondays. Eddie stayed with the orchestra until September 1982 when he began to spend more time teaching.

It was then that the talented group of musicians took the name The Mid Herts Jazz Orchestra. In 1987 the orchestra moved to the Wheathampstead Club. The orchestra was displaced from Wheathampstead in 2010 by a ballet school and found a new home in the sports pavilion at nearby Sandridge.

The orchestra gives a concert on the second Monday each month except in August and rehearses on the other Mondays.

The usual line up consists of four trumpets or flugelhorns, four trombones and five reed players. The reed section usually has two alto saxophones, two tenor saxophones and one baritone saxophone. The reed players also play clarinets, flutes and soprano saxophones.The orchestra is completed with a rhythm section made up of piano, guitar, bass and drums. All the members of the orchestra are volunteers.

After Eddie Harvey resigned as musical director in 1982 he was succeeded by Keith Baldwin who took over as MD until 1984. Norman Sage then ruled from 1984 until 1992. Arthur "Art" Mead held the job for a year and passed over the conductor's baton to Dick Whittingham in 1993 who continued as MD until 2003. Geoff Scott (who still plays with the orchestra now and again as a dep) held the fort until July 2011.

The current musical director is Gordon Rushton who took Geoff's place leading the orchestra, making him the orchestra's 7th in the job. Gordon said that he wasn't with the band when it first started because he couldn't afford the 7/6 (seven shillings and sixpence = 37.5p) a week needed to pay towards the cost of the rehearsal room. He was able to find the necessary 7/6 nine months after the band got started. (Inflation from 1963 to February 2013: 7/6 in 1963 would be £6.31 now. £1.00 in 1963 would be £16.83 now)

The concerts are frequently enhanced by the addition of a guest vocalist. The repertoire includes music in the styles of the big bands led by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and others equally renowned.

The orchestra maintains a tradition that began in the very early days under Eddie's direction. The progamme at each concert includes a Dixieland Jazz number. The players for the Dixieland number are a trumpeter, a clarinettist and a trombonist with the piano, guitar, bass and drums of the rhythm section. (Eddie's first band experience was with George Webb's Dixielanders.)

The concerts are now held In the Spencer Cricket Club pavilion in Sandridge at 8pm on the second Monday each month except in August. Admission is £4.00. A raffle is held at each concert to help raise funds. There is a licensed bar and ample free car parking near the pavilion.

The members of the orchestra change as time goes by. Check out our Gallery.

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A lot of the information and in our history pages was originally complied by Wilf James in 21st February 2014.

It has been recreated here, hopefully with his permission.

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