Sally talking about Nowzad Charity and Brin the dog at Six Bells Chiddingly 19.10.10
Sally talking about Nowzad Charity and Brin the dog at Six Bells Chiddingly 19.10.2010, at the benefit gig The First Flying Notes of Autumn with Ray Russell Andy Mackintosh, Cathy Segal-Garcia, George Baldwin Geoff Castlel and Ralph Salmins.
A Great Jam Night For A Great Cause.
The members of 5 Troop, Kilo Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines arrived in the war torn town of Now Zad in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan in November 2006. Their mission was to provide stability for the local people during a period of ever decreasing security.And as one of the Royal Marines -- Sergeant Pen Farthing was soon to realise, it wasn't only the local people that needed their help. For some of the many stray dogs of Now Zad they now had a guardian for the first time in their lives.
The Nowzad Dogs charity has been formed to do something positive for the cats, dogs and other animals of Afghanistan and Iraq that have no hope and nobody to care for them.All money donated goes directly to helping the animals of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Brin, a stray dog, who no one knows how but has been able to sniff out land mines and save the lives of many.
Early in 2010 Brin was adopted by British Soldiers in Southern Afghanistan. Brin had a happy life on the camp and often went out on patrols with the soldiers until one fateful day when things went wrong!
Brin had accompanied his soldiers out on a patrol when at the last minute plans changed and the soldiers were airlifted back to camp but in the rush to move Brin was left behind. It was assumed by the soldiers that Brin would make his way back to camp as he had done on other occasions when he had become separated from them but this time it was not to be.
Word soon spread that the Taliban, angry that the Brits had brought in a specially trained dog in the first place had captured him and it was not expected that they would ever see him again.
Then, in July 2010 Afghan Special Forces arrived on base with a 'tail' to tell that they had mounted a mission against the Taliban and had found Brin and they were returning him to his rightful owners! The soldiers were of course overjoyed to see Brin again and Nowzad promptly sprang into action to get Brin to the safety of the rescue centre.
Once we had Brin at the centre we quickly made plans to get him to the UK and in early Sept 2010 Brin made the long journey to England and into the quarantine facility where he will stay for 6 months.
*Ray Russell & Friends - Little Wing-benefit gig for The Nowzad Dogs charity- Six Bells Chiddingly.
The Nowzad Dogs charity has been formed for the cats, dogs and other animals of Afghanistan and Iraq that have no hope and nobody to care for them.All money donated goes directly to helping the animals.
Filmed on 19.10.2010.
Ray Russell
A consummate professional as guitarist, composer and producer, Ray has an extraordinary capacity for both virtuosity and versatility. More than just a great session player, Ray has been a collaborator, front man, band member, arranger, composer and friend to many of the Worlds most influential musicians, bridging the chasms between different musical genres with ease. His talents span different media as well.
Over four decades, Gill Evans, John Barry, Tina Turner, Phil Spector, The Ronettes, Van Morrison, Art Garfunkel, Dionne Warwick, Bryan Ferry, Jack Bruce, Cat Stevens, Phil Collins, Alex Harvey, Mark Isham, Georgie Fame, Frankie Miller are but a few of the artists and producers who have known that Ray Russell would add something special to their work. From Plain Jane, a period drama to the ITV flagship detective series A Touch of Frost, many of televisions best loved shows are uplifted by Rays music.
Ralph Salmins
Part quote from Ralph Salmins
Interested in jazz and R&B from a young age, I became a professional musician at the age of 16 when I joined Ken Mackintosh's Band. My early influences drew me towards the great big bands and the exciting groove tradition that came out of New York in the early 1970's. My attraction to funk and R & B music brought strong influences from Bernard Purdie, David Garibaldi, Billy Cobham and my greatest influence, Steve Gadd. I started freelancing around London while studying classical percussion at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where I was awarded the Philip Jones Percussion Prize for my final recital in 1986. I've has been nominated for the British Jazz Awards three times, winning the Best drummer category in 2006 and been twice ranked top ten Studio Drummer in Rhythm Magazine Readers Polls. I won the 2003 Reader's Poll Studio Category at Mike Dolbear.com and was nominated for the 2007 Ronnie Scott's Jazz Awards.More at the link
Geoff Castle.
Pianist and composer Geoff Castle has played with top names on the British jazz scene since 1970. He was born in North London in 1949. He joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in 1967. In 1970 he joined Graham Collier's septet which starred at the 1971 Montreux festival winning two prizes. Geoff has featured in both acoustic and electric jazz and he joined Ian Carr's Nucleus in 1974 playing electric piano and Moog. He played with this band for eight years and appeared on six albums and many European tours. The band played at the first Jazz Yatra in Bombay in 1977. In 1980s he recorded original material with Strange Fruit and Paz. In 1983 he visited New Zealand and recorded Southern Excursion which was voted NZ jazz album of the year. He was musical director for the NZ film Should I Be Good? . He composed the incidental music for BBC TV's eight part Nippon series. Soundtracks he has played on include The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Return of the Jedi, and Space 1999. In 1995 he launched his CD label Turret Records. He has played regularly at Ronnie Scott's with the Stan Robinson Quartet and artists including US jazzmen George Coleman, Jimmy Giuffre, James Moody and Art Farmer. Geoff also performs with folk fusion band Carmina
Andy was born in 1953 and started playing the saxophone at the age of four, with the influence of his father and mentor Ken ,a very Famous alto player and Band leader. He became a professional in 1969 after leaving school.He joined Maynard Ferguson's Band on Lead Alto in the early seventies, and toured extensively in the USA for many years.After leaving Maynard's band he stayed in America for about eight years, working and recording in Los Angeles with numerous Artistes.Since his return to England in 1980, he quickly established himself as first call lead alto for numerous sessions and gigs.He has continued to work extensively in all areas of music including Classical: Films:Pop:TV Jazz: and toured with Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis, The Supremes with Diana Ross, Michel Legrand, and James Last (Fifteen years).The Jack Sharpe Big Band (co-leader), The Jazz 7 (co-leader), Stan Tracey Big band, Stan Tracey Octet, Derek Watkins Quintet, Dick Walter Big Band, Georgie Fame, Madeline Bell, Lipslide (Leader), Tony Lee Trio, Roy Budd, Jiggs Whigham, Kenny Baker, Allan Ganley Big Band, Lee Gibson, Pete Christlieb, John Dankworth and many others.
George Baldwin-Bass
George Baldwin, is a UK based Composer, Producer and multi-instrumentalist with a BA Honors Degree in music.