April  2025

Spring is in the air and the Elizabeth Jennings Jam session, North Oxford, is on for this group making music on the banks of the  Oxford canal.  While this Sunday afternoon event  (2-4 pm) welcomes in every spring and summer, music of the last six decades ranging through folk, country, blues, ragtime, early European and Latin American music, the genres and ambience can sometimes be a far cry from the tranquil Oxford city canal atmosphere, notably bawdy English ballads going back a few centuries and haunting blues renditions harking back to the Mississippi delta at the beginning of the 20^th century.  An eclectic group combining professional and amateur musicians play a variety of  contemporary and intriguing traditional musical instruments, such as Bowed Psaltery, accordions, musical saws, lutes, keyboards, string and percussion.

While the Sunday afternoon sessions  have yet to be “discovered” or placed on the regular tourist To-Do lists, visitors looking for a part of Oxford away from the maddening crowds of regular tours are enthusiastically welcomed and invited to join in; a hidden gem and refreshing experience. 

The event is a child of Covid19 when the lead musician, Frank Underwood decided to go on the green looking for somewhere safe to play, no doubt like all of us, to get away from the strictures imposed in lockdowns, to counter the  spread of the dreaded disease. Other musicians followed, leading to regular jam sessions and appreciative audiences – in keeping with the advice to avoid close contacts, spread out on the green.  Frank, a classically trained musician, sings and plays lute, guitar, harmonica, piano and more. Originally from Banbury, North Oxfordshire,  brought up in Oxford, he has been making music for over half a century. He embodies that  unique characteristic of  Oxford life, namely ordinary people who turn out to have led extraordinary and well-known lives.  The unassuming Frank led a band, Windsong, that featured Annie Lennox prior to her role in Eurythmics. He has also worked with and/or had links with Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and James Blunt. He was commissioned to write and perform music to honour Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, featuring “Child of Soweto”. A Jane Austen buff, he has also established a group- Austentation- devoted to the author. He has released three CDs, featuring medieval material, folk and blues. Like his diverse musical genres, his musical journey started from busking in Greenpark tube station, London, to performances all over the UK and worldwide, including stints in France, India, Norway, Italy, Switzerland and America.  His  focus now is Oxfordshire and nearby counties.

Angela Mayorga who sings and plays guitar and percussion, also a key member of Austentation, has collaborated with Frank for thirteen years on various musical projects. She currently performs at a variety of venues in Bath, London, Chipping Norton, Banbury, Woodstock and Oxford. Angela, from Colombia. adds a Latin feel to the event. Sally Welsh stumbled  across Frank on the green shortly after the onset of COVID 19.  A music teacher and artist, born in London, she has been playing the guitar and singing for several decades. She feels she has now found a new family and has a personal insight on music which she  says makes “people come to life and blossom”, a perspective developed whilst dealing with her mother who had Dementia and found that music brought out the best in her.

Other band members include Caroline Whatsham, an exciting musician based in Banbury who sings and plays her unique chainsaw and other  instruments, covering blues, flower power and English folk songs. Gillian Tunley a lecturer from Reading University and professional singer, also  a member of Austentation, joins in now and again with Operatic airs, jazz songs, medieval and music hall pieces.  Beverely Grey another Austentation member plays around Banbury and is popular for her acoustic versions of well-known pop songs and ballads.

A regular ‘visitor’ is Emma Welsh, Sally’s daughter, based in Brighton who sings and plays the guitar, backing her mother. Emma works in community music to assist mental health, disable and dementia patients and refugees and performs in Rainbow Chorus, a LGTB group. Mark  Bedford, an accomplished musician who composes and arranges music used in films and TV often visits from London, playing his own version of traditional and classical melodies plus some of his own tunes on keyboards. Nick Gill  belts out ragtime and jazz on the piano. Along with songs there is also poetry; Andris Wood, American transplant Regency Punk, decked out in 18^th century costume regales the crowd with Edgar Allan Poe, Keats and Byron whilst  Simon Welsh, Sally’s son living in Devon shares his entertaining and incisive poetry on love and pain whenever he is in Oxford. Angela Raven-Roberts, a former long-time resident in Ethiopia has brought the Krar and tells stories of its use in traditional and contemporary Ethiopian music. A self-proclaimed “Air Guitarist”, she helps compere the group when they perform at the North Oxford Association (NOA) Summertown, the group’s off season (late autumn and winter) venue.

The Elizabeth Jennings session is indeed a beautiful quirky part of Oxford but one that gives a lot of fun to session musicians, locals peering from their balconies, in whoever is lucky enough to escape from the hordes of tourists in Oxford city centre. Bystanders have also been known to occasionally introduce a tune,  a dance or unusual musical instrument. The group welcomes all people  to join in and  before you know it there is a tambourine or set of bells in your hand and you find yourself singing, humming or tapping your feet, “there is always a song or beat inside of you and you just have to let it out!”

So, bring a picnic and a tune and join the fun on the Green at Elizabeth Jennings Way and look out for notices for performances at NOA in the off-season. There is no charge for the event.

Direction: From Oxford city centre, take Woodstock Road and turn off left into Elizabeth Jennings Way (corner of Keble and St Hughs sports ground) which leads to the Elizabeth Jennings bridge and the green is on the left of the bridge alongside the canal.

J Boima Rogers

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