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The new Hammond B-3 makes
one of its first Club outings ... |
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The new Hammond B-3 makes
one of its first Club outings ... |
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We knew this evening was going to be something different when it was arranged that we would be having no less than three musicians on stage - Michael Wooldridge would be bringing along his Yamaha HS8 and with him would be his two guests, Phil Solomon (one of this country's finest drummers) and Richard Baker, playing trumpet, to present their MELODYTIMES production. Imagine our delight when we got a 'phone call a few days before the event asking whether we would like to be one of the first clubs to hear the fabulous new Hammond B-3 in concert, instead of the HS8. Of course, the answer was "Yes, please - but where do we get a B-3 from?" No problem - Nick Swift of Swift Music in Bristol and Barry Freeman from Hammond UK very kindly offered to bring the instrument from Bristol to Crawley, before taking it to Caister for the Sceptre Promotions Festival. |
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The evening was a great success right from the first notes played. First of all, the 'real' Hammond sound was exploited fully by Michael, and this was enhanced by the superb percussion skills of Phil Solomon, and the unusual addition of 'live' trumpet of Richard Baker. Many of the audience were taken completely by surprise by the additional talents of Michael - did you know he is a very competent drummer? And he also sings? There was one point in the evening when Richard moved Michael off the organ bench and took over, whilst Michael then moved in on the drums. The drum sequence by both Phil and Michael was incredible and worth a video shot. You'll need Real Player for this, but if you haven't already got it installed, simply download it free by clicking below.
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Click to enlarge images ... |
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| The 'new' B-3 |
"You mean - like this?" |
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| "All Change!" | Thanks to Nick Swift | ||||
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We would like to express our
gratitude to Nick Swift of Swift
Music, Barry Freeman and Darren Brown of Hammond-Suzuki UK for their
assistance throughout the evening. |
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The previous evening Bristol Organ & Keyboard Society, of which Nick Swift is Chairman, had been the first Society to host the B-3 in concert . |
