Jazz - Friends of Lewes Library

The first jazz club in Lewes was set up in about 1955 at the Brewers Arms on the High Street, says 81 year-old jazzer Roy Martin when I speak to him over the phone. A move that was not without controversy. “At that time jazz musicians were thought of as ‘agents of the devil’”, he tells me. “The chief education officer fought tooth and nail to try and protect the youth of the area from this devilish influence. So they insisted on putting blankets over the windows of the building so that people outside wouldn’t be able to hear anything.” “What happened”, he continues, “is that people were all crowded inside dancing like demons so lots of them started to flake out with heat exhaustion. There was no air.”

It didn’t succeed in putting Roy off though, who remembers the events first hand. Fifty odd years on, Roy is the only surviving original member of vintage band, ‘The Jazz Caverners’ who will be playing in their latest (albeit trimmed down) incarnation at Lewes Library tonight. The event, which includes a talk by Roy on the fascinating history of jazz in Lewes, is part of a campaign to raise the profile of the library - a cause that is close to Roy’s heart. “I’m a member of MULAG” (Music Library Action Group), he explains, “which was set up to stop the meanness of Government attempts to clamp down on funding music collections in libraries.” And tonight? “It’s about showing people that Libraries are not just about books.” He laughs, “Or women in cardigans saying ‘Sssh’!” ER