Longest serving jazz bar celebrates 35-year residency
A local jazz band is set to celebrate an impressive 35-year residency in a popular County Down pub.
On Sunday November 24, Jenny Watts in Bangor celebrated what is believed to be the longest running jazz residency in Ireland, as Marty Wilson and his popular jazz band, also known as ‘the Kings of Swing’ play a special extended set from 1-4pm.
The only Sunday Blues found at Jenny Watts since the band first performed in 1990 have been of the musical variety, as local patrons have gathered in the city’s oldest pub for the popular afternoon jazz session each and every week for the last 35 years.
Marty Wilson (62) moved from Scotland to Northern Ireland to join the Ulster Orchestra as its principal trombonist in 1990. Having settled in Bangor, Co. Down, he adopted Jenny Watts as his local pub. One fateful Friday night, a chance conversation with a young Bill Wolsey, Jenny Watts’ owner, now managing director of the Beannchor group, set a chain of events in motion that resulted in the band’s impressive residency.
“I told him I’d just moved over from London and used to play in a jazz band there” Marty recalls. “I explained the best time for jazz was a Sunday afternoon, when people are relaxing, enjoying a Sunday roast, with some music in the background and I asked him if he might like to give a jazz session a try.
“He was sceptical at first. He said, ‘that may well work in London, but this is Northern Ireland and, on a Sunday, not very much happens here, especially music and people enjoying themselves, It’s kind of frowned upon.’
“Back in those days, the pubs were only open from 12pm until two o’clock in the afternoon, and then they didn’t reopen until 7pm, closing again at 10pm. I said, ‘Why don’t you try it, and if it doesn’t do well, then that’s okay. We can call it quits.’
“He thought about it for a while and said, ‘Well, okay, we’ll try it out. We’ll try it out, Martin for three weeks to see if it works out’. He advertised it in the paper, and we started playing on Sundays.
“The crowds took to it straight away. There were queues outside the front door. It was just so popular, and just kept going from strength to strength, and soon became a permanent weekly fixture due to its popularity – 35 years later we are still playing. We feel lucky to have found a venue that provides us with the right clientele, the right time slot and great communication between the band, venue and the audience.”
Bill Wolsey, managing director of the Beannchor Group said, “Back in the ‘90s our jazz Sundays started slowly, and then suddenly, they really took off. The Marty Wilson Jazz Band has now become synonymous with Sundays at Jenny Watts.
“When you have the right people, in the right places, working together, success happens and having the jazz band in Jenny Watts has proven to be the perfect pairing.”
Bill added, “Jenny Watts is a real traditional pub, and this is becoming a rare find, and this setting has been a key part of why these jazz Sundays have been so successful. Jazz is a genre that transcends all generations, and a venue like Jennys does this too – they both create a feeling of warmth and relaxation.
“Our regulars come to enjoy a glass of wine, a pint or a delicious meal, but mostly they visit for the great atmosphere. I know that many travel down from Belfast and beyond for jazz Sundays – It’s just a great little bar.”
