LAST Sunday, January 14 the Hamilton Botanical Gardens came to life with The Evergreens Jazz Band providing the music for the Friends of the Gardens annual summer music program.

The cooler, windy Sunday meant a smaller than usual gathering of local families and friends however they showed their appreciation for the toe-tapping Dixieland jazz that The Evergreens played.

“We had Rex Lee, trumpet player, join the band and we played plenty of good tunes, and we all feel part of the crowd and appreciate this program that the Friends of the Gardens organise,” trombonist, David Coldbeck said.

Friends of the Gardens president, Marilyn Lyons, briefly addressed the gathering, thanking them and The Evergreens for their support. Two more programs are planned for the first Sunday in February and March with local artists Darrell Parfrey and Friend featuring in February and Hamilton’s Trax Big Band performing March 3 and a third Sunday on March 24 with Tony Donkers & Eric Ryan as MisteBeat to close the program down. Great music to come!

David, in his closing comments, thanked the audience for their support of The Evergreens and the Friends of the Gardens program and added that the Port Fairy Jazz Festival will be on the second weekend in February. Hamilton will be well represented with The Evergreens Jazz Band, Trax Big Band and The Cheryl Kelly Gang who will be featuring as part of this universally recognised Jazz Festival. The Festival will be run over the second weekend in February, commencing on Friday, February 9. It is not far to go from Hamilton to be part of a wonderful weekend of Jazz, so put the date in your diaries.