Well that got you reading!

I'm walking the Moon Walk Marathon on 16th May. 26.2miles of bra wearing walking through the middle of the night round London. It is for Breast cancer and I so far have not one penny of sponsorship. So....if you sponsor me I will post a pic of me resplendent in my bra if just one person bothers to go and sponsor me - please!!!

You can do so at https://www.bmycharity.com/V2/strumpet  thank you

Had a great time at the Ronnie Scott's gig last week with the Humph band. Barry Cryer said some v funny things about Humph and it was that that got me crying. It is the anniversary of his death tomorrow and I'll be thinking about his loved ones.

Thanks for reading

x

Hello
Been blogging on my website (www.SueRichardson.biz). So if you'd really like to know about my cars mpg, the quack of a toy duck and why Joy Spring is my new best friend please go there for a look. xxx

Hellooo

I'm delighted that the gorgeous download-single "Sad Sweet Song - a tribute to Humphrey Lyttelton" is now launched (at last week's London Jazz Festival) and available on iTunes, Rhapsody etc... and YOU CAN BE PART OF IT!

NOW WE NEED YOUR HELP! With a percentage of profits going to the Humphrey Lyttelton Memorial Fund, wouldn't it be great to get a jazz tune into the download charts??!! Like Humph did before with "Bad Penny Blues"!

To do this we need action concentrated in this first week or so.... here are a few ways you can help us... please do the first two at least!

PLEASE PLEASE...

1. BUY IT NOW!! It'll only cost you 79p on iTunes: Go to this address now:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbumid=295004608&s=143444

2. Send this email on to your friends and ask them kindly to do the same!! NOW :-) Use yr Facebooks, MySpaces etc too, thanks!


then if you have any energy left (!) ...


3. Please ASK A RADIO STATION FOR AIRPLAY! They really do pay attention to listener requests...


4. Listen to a RADIO INTERVIEW:

I'm going to be interviewed at 12.40pm Thursday 27th Nov on BBC Southern Counties Radio (Bucks, Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Kent) re the single - you can listen online at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/southerncounties/local_radio/How_to_listen/listen_index.shtml
You can click on "listen again" if you miss it

Ian will be interviewed on the Robert Elms show on BBC Radio London at 14.30pm Monday 1st Dec Listen at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/radio


You can send feedback about the shows or Single to the BBC at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/feedback


Splash Point Records is a tiny record company, dedicated to only putting out quality recordings by quality artists... Certainly this single fits this remit, so please help us spread the word THIS WEEK.
It's a beautiful melancholy ballad, written by Humph and recorded by BBC Jazz double-award winning singer Ian Shaw on piano/vocals, and with me on trumpet.
The Single has been released by Splash Point Records with the support of Humph's family and a portion of profits going to charity...

You can be part of this unique Tribute to the great man :-)

Thanks so much for your help!
xxx

Hello
Have a stinking cold, so bad that GP has put me on steroids! Managed to get through my gigs at The Spice of Life and Royal Opera House last week without anyone noticing! Luckily feel back on form again now. Very exciting week. Ian Shaw's new single, Sad Sweet Song, is launched on Friday (it's available now on iTunes - please buy it - a donation of profits goes to Humphrey Lyttelton's Memorial Fund.) I am v lucky to be the trumpet player on it. We will be doing it at Blackheath Halls this Friday.

Looking forward to my gig at City Inn this Thursday. Do hope there will be lots of lovely people there to listen - it was the first gig plugged on BBC Radio 3's Jazz Record Requests last weekend. It's all been very encouraging and I'm really enjoying gigging at the moment. I have been so tired since Oscar was born, but feel like it's all back on top now.
xxx

I was thrilled to be invited to the launch of the new book, Last Chorus, last night. The book is a compilation of his writings on so many aspects of his amazing life. His band played at the event in Foyles, Charing Cross Road, and I was again asked to play with them. I performed Sad Sweet Song, the tune written by Humph which Ian Shaw and I have recorded and which will be released on 21st November as a download single. I am honoured to have been asked to play with Humph's band again. It was very exciting for me to be in the same room as some of my idols - Jeremy Hardy and Andy Parsons - I go weak at the knees in the presence of comedians! Be still my beating heart.

Took my baby Oscar along with me - he was too interested in all the great musicians and comics present to sleep and then had a lousy night so I feel like I haven't slept a wink -again!

The London Jazz Festival starts soon and I am glad to be appearing in 3 shows this year. So I have to ignore the hunger for sleep and get practising. Got a couple of great new arrangements and tunes to polish off in time.

I am so excited. I have been asked to play with Humphrey Lyttelton's band at a tribute gig in Swansea next month. I have long been a Humph fan, not least for his sense of humour. My birthday pressie last year was going to see the I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue show. It was so funny I ached afterwards!

So I'm busy practising the tunes for the show in between nappy changing Oscar! Playing at my lovely niece's wedding this week and trying to finish the song Old New Borrowed Blue in time to perform it. It'll be my New tune for the show I am part of at LJF in November.

Well the summer has truly gone but I'm going on my summer holiday tomorrow! Have tonnes of packing left to do and need to be up and out by 6.30am. Going to be a long night! even my trumpets are on holiday - they are off back to eclipse for a polish up and to remove the few little dents I have made (oops).

Getting back into work has been tiring but wonderful. Ipswich Jazz Club were so welcoming and even made baby Oscar, who came along too, very welcome. The audience there is so receptive that all 5 of us in the band had a ball.

The Albert Hall gig last Sunday was really well attended. It was a sell out gig and I really enjoyed myself. Some of the guests were really chatty and friendly. There were 2 young girls in the audience who are learning to play the trumpet so I do hope they found it inspiring!

The BIG news is that as a result of the playing I did on Ian Shaw's recording of a Humphrey Lyttelton song I have been asked to perform with Humph's band at a gig in Swansea next month. It is such an honour and I am getting excited already (for excited read nervous!!!). Brian Perkins from Radio 4 is compering. He has such I gorgeous voice - I can't wait to meet him.

Have lots to do for the London Jazz Festival coming up in November so I am busy wrting new material and arranging some old standards for a special show at Covent Garden Opera House called "Old New Borrowed Blue".

Well, better go packing awaits....

Oscar arrived in the world on 5th June and is a joy (see him in My Photos). It's just starting to feel normal but the sleepless nights are worse than doing endless late night gigs and drinking too much!

Have now got back into playing with gusto. Nice to be back and looking forward to all the great gigs that are coming up. Really looking forward to going to Ipswich, the club have been so lovely that I'm looking forward to meeting them all.

I was very privileged whilst still hugely pregnant to play on Ian Shaw's tribute to Humph. "A Sad Sweet Song" is a very fitting tribute and Ian's poignant version is sublime. Humph wrote it a few years ago and always thought Ian would do it proud.

Writing this one handed as I have a screaming baby in the other! So do excuse the typing!

xxx

This is a very weird time for me. I am on maternity leave until August. Our first baby is due on D Day (6th June) so just two weeks to go now. I am big and fat and swollen and can't quite believe this is really all going to happen soon! The poor bump has suffered me playing and singing for 9 months and put up with the CD launch and all the associated mayhem so I hope that it doesn't repay us with lots of sleepless nights!

Other than that huge life changing event all is well on the sunny South Coast. I am spending my days listening to Cuban music and trying to get the enthusiasm up to write some new tunes. I just heard something great on somebody else's myspace page and it made the creative juices stir so maybe some new stuff will happen soon.

Here's to a lovely sunny summer.

Hello

The Jazz Line Up review on Radio 3 in Dec was great and as a result listeners wrote to Jazz Record Requests and asked to hear more. So they played Emergence on the show this Saturday. Heard from the producer today that it received really great feed back too. HURRAY! A much better way to start the New Year than being in bed with flu (which I did do for a week).

I'm off to France next week where the CD has been selling well so looking forward to that.

Now that the work dust for Emergence is settling I am trying to write some new material. I've written a song with a great poet called Susan Richardson! Hoping to go to her gig at Lauderdale House on 7th Feb - she is great live - last time I was in tears!