The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #149641   Message #3482327
Posted By: Gavin Atkin
22-Feb-13 - 03:55 AM
Thread Name: Mike Hebbert at Frittenden, Sunday 24th
Subject: Mike Hebbert at Frittenden, Sunday 24th
Here's one for concertinists and folkies in Kent - legendary Jeffries duet concertina player Mike Hebbert is our featured guest at the Frittenden session this Sunday evening.

Concertina enthusiasts will know that Mike brought the Jeffries duet to public prominence back in the 1970s and made a nice album for Free Reed records - and folkies may be interested to know that he played with the band on Ashley Hutchings album Kicking up the Sawdust.

On the folk circuit he has a long-standing double act with singer Andrew Frank and his concertina classes and workshops have featured at Kilve, Witney, Swaledale, Bradfield and the English Country Music Weekend.

Here's what he says about the Jeffries duet: 'With a huge repertoire of tunes from many traditions, Michael shows the tremendous versatility of the Jeffries Brothers's duet concertinas. A triumph of late Victorian craftsmanship measuring only 6in across, Jeffries squeezeboxes pack the essence of the music whether they're blazing away like a fairground organ, punching a tango rhythm, or unfurling the long melody of an Irish slow air fit to break your heart.'

I'd just like to say that it was Mike that inspired me to take up the Jeffries duet more than three decades ago, and his playing still inspires me today.

Our sessions at Frittenden's Bell & Jorrocks pub start at 8pm and are informal and free, with lots of old-fashioned and traditional songs and tunes, perhaps a little stepdancing and a big emphasis on variety, humour and entertainment generally.

If you liked your pub the way it was before the telly and the computer came, this is the event for you. You don't have to be a performer in order to join us, but if you are, why not bring a song, a tune, a story or a poem yourself?

For information, see http://singdanceandplay.net or contact Gavin Atkin at gmatkin@gmail.com