Alan Tomlinson and The River Seven, March 21 (From York Press)

Alan Tomlinson and The River Seven, March 21

12:00pm Friday 19th March 2010 in

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JAZZ adventurer Alan Tomlinson will answer a call of nature on Sunday in the wild North York Moors.

At midday, the improvisational trombonist will be up to his knees in the River Seven at Dale Head Farm, Rosedale, responding to the swirl of the water in a free 30-minute live art event.

And all because Alan loves to say “Yes” to the madcap invitations of The Shed’s experimental arts guru Simon Thackray, who promises “one of the most extraordinary musical duets ever with, and in, the River Seven in the beautiful valley of Rosedale”.

“He’s great, Simon. He keeps coming up with great ideas,” says Alan. “That’s why I’ve done Shed events three times now: I did a jazz bingo night with percussionist Mark Sanders and Mrs Boyes [the legendary Malton bingo caller], and played to queues on the Fish and Chip Van Tour around Ryedale villages and now I’m doing this river performance.”

Already Alan has travelled north for a promotional photo session and to test the Seven waters, donning waders for a trial blast of brass.

“It feels quite strange standing in the river with waders on, not being a fisherman – I’m a trainspotter instead and you wouldn’t wear waders on a station!” he says.

Alan will take on any challenge in the name of improvised performance, whether playing to a stony-faced cluster of mayors at the Yorkshire Show – “that was a bit difficult,” he says –or doing a solo gig in a Shoreditch church last weekend.

“It was quite the opposite of what I’m facing on Sunday. When you’re playing a church, you can turn around to use direction to influence the sound, and use the reverberations to almost harmonise with yourself.

“But as a direct comparison with this weekend, all that goes out of the window, as I certainly won’t be turning around in the water because I might lose my footing.”

The big question, Alan, is how you will interact with the River Seven. “I’ve been thinking about that. The water will be the backdrop to what I’m doing. It doesn’t do a lot except gurgle, but there could be bird song, which I could use,” says Alan. “There won’t be a lot of ambient sounds there, just a babbling brook, and there won’t be cars, though there may be planes overhead.”

From this response, you sense he will be reacting to the moment, going with the river flow, as it were. “Maybe I’ll attract some birds with my playing, you never know, and if I get one to land on my head or my trombone slide, that’ll be good. We’ll just have to see what Mother Nature throws at me on Sunday,” says Alan. “It’s in the lap of the Gods. If it really pours down, we’ll have to see if the farmer’s wife has a tin bath for me to play in!”

Could he turn out to be the Pied Piper of the fish world, charming them to the surface? “Well, I have been wondering about putting a fishing line on my slide to see if I can catch a fish!” he says.

For all the unpredictability of Sunday’s event, Alan has made several decisions in advance. “With the babbling sound of the water, I won’t be able to use dynamics a lot, but I will use a lot of loud sounds in order to be heard by people standing on the bank,” he says.

“If I play that way for half an hour straight through, it could end up being boring, so there’ll be several small solo pieces with different feels and musical directions for the sake of variety.”

Should you never have experienced Alan’s trombone-playing, Sunday is the perfect chance to decide whether television chat-show presenter Richard Madeley was right or wrong in his judgement of this off-the-cuff musician. “When we did the Fish and Chip Van Tour, I had to be filmed for The Richard And Judy Show for a spot about British eccentrics, and one of the other articles was about shin-kicking in Bolton, where one way to settle an argument is to tie the two people’s feet together and then they try to kick each other’s shins with their clogs!

“After Richard heard a clip of me playing to the fish and chip queue, he said he’d prefer to have his shins kicked!”

No matter Madeley’s verdict, Alan’s services have been in demand for all manner of performances, be it a topping-out ceremony for a new building next to the Reichstag in Berlin, or art-gallery openings in Germany, or a dance company commission. And then there was the time he was dressed as an angel for the Architectural Association’s celebrations in Bedford Square, London.

“That was a funny one. I was hauled up by a crane, in a harness, and then all these fireworks went off, but they didn’t tell me that was going to happen! I kept thinking a rocket was going to go up my backside!” Alan recalls.

“The mate of mine that got me that gig…he’s not a friend of mine anymore!”

Now he is contemplating an even more unusual musical engagement this weekend, one where, in the lyrical words of Simon Thackray, Alan will “paint a soundscape of a primordial world, inspired and accompanied by the music of the river”.

“Primordial?” he ponders. “I’ll have to look that up in the dictionary.

• Alan Tomlinson and The River Seven, a Simon Thackray art event for The Shed, takes place on the River Seven at Dale Head Farm, Rosedale, on Sunday at 12 noon; admission is free.

Please note: Alan Tomlinson and The River Seven is not a band of jazz musicians, contrary to some inquiries.

How to find Dale Head Farm, Rosedale.

• Travel to Rosedale via either Cropton or Hutton-le-Hole (the latter route will take you past the site of The Shed’s earlier live art event, Lol Coxhill In A Skip, at the top of Chimney Bank, which affords a magnificent view of the North York Moors). From Rosedale village, follow the sign for Castleton, then after about half a mile, take the left-hand lane for Dale Head Only. Ignore the Road Closed sign as you leave Rosedale village. Arrow signs will direct you to Dale Head Farm.

• “You should aim to be there no later than 11.30 am to give yourself enough time to park and then walk across the field for the 12 noon start,” says promoter Simon Thackray. “Drive slowly up the lane – it is very narrow.”

• Outdoor clothing with wellies or boots is recommended. “The ground can be wet and boggy,” warns Simon. “You attend this event entirely at your own risk.”

• Dogs should be left in cars during the performance.

• Directions to Dale Head Farm also can be found at www.riverseven.co.uk

• Weather forecast: Sunny intervals, 11 degrees C.