Desire Avenue

Hi all,

I have been researching the possibility in tracking down an audio copy of Stina's infamous London gig from 1992.

I am not aware of any bootleg available (?) so entertained the idea of contacting the venue itself (Jazz Cafe in Camden) with hope of retrieving it from "the archives". Sadly, MeanFiddler owns the venue now and the only contact given for the club is a restaurant booking number and an external ticket vendor number.

SO, I entertained the idea of contacting the original owner Jon Dabner (who later ran Jazz Cafe Records) to see if he still had access to a copy (slim chance I know - but still a chance nonetheless). The only contact details I could find for him was with a music charity. Sadly, after contacting the charity directly I was told he had left the organisation 5 years ago. Hmmm.

It seems that I cannot contact or locate him at the moment, so this is where I am asking the forum VERY politely if I can call upon anyone resourceful enough to help me track down Jon Debner. There are pay websites and software that has the electoral roll of the entire country which, I have previewed as a freeware teaser, contains only one Jonathan Dabner for the whole country.

Can anyone here kindly help with tracking down this man? The benefits of doing so could be to unearth a lost Stina Nordenstam gig on CD-r - a rare prize indeed.

Thanks for any help,

TravisB.

p.s. Here's a copy of the original email I sent to Jon Dabner, the former owner of the Jazz Cafe - returned undelivered;

Sent: 06 October 2005 11:15
To: 'jondabner@drakemusicproject.com'
Subject: Jazz Cafe memories...

Dear Mr. Jon Dabner,

I hope you don't mind my writing to you, but wondered if you could spare a moment to reflect on your past endeavours to benefit some rabid jazz fans!

I have researched and found out that you were involved with the formation and managing of the awesome Jazz Caf? in Camden until the mid-nineties, when, apparently, Meanfiddler took over the reins of this legendary jazz venue.

In 1992 a reclusive Swedish star by the name of Stina Nordenstam played your venue in Camden and, as it turned out, it was the only gig she ever performed in this country (and one of only a handful of concerts she has ever done).

Basically, and to cut a long story short, I am the moderator of a Yahoo group called 'The Nordenstam Shelter', which is a hub for Stina Nordenstam fans to converge and share unavailable rarities and information, and am researching the possibility that an audio copy of this Jazz Cafe concert exists - somewhere.

I don't know if you recall the concert itself; Stina was probably accompanied by the fellow Swedish backing band The Flippermen, it was an infamously tense and stilted (but brilliant) concert and Stina was quite traumatised by the whole thing (as legend has it anyway).

Do you have any memories or anecdotes of the concert itself? Do you even, by any chance, have any audio record of the concert in your archives (or know someone who could help with this?). If you did have, you could make many jazz fans very happy with this lost gem, and probably quite a few donations to your very worthy Drake Music Project.

I know you are a very busy man, but any help or guidance would be most appreciated!

Thank you very much for your time.

Kind regards,


******* ***

The Nordenstam Shelter Moderator

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nordenstam_shelter/

Good luck with that Travis.I just checked in the MU (Musicians Union) directory and there's no mention of him there in any context.You could try Jazz Services-
http://www.jazzservices.org.uk who might give you a lead to him.
I have to say that the chances are incredibly slight...it's possible the soundman at the gig took a recording off the board,but that doesn't happen very often,and if he/she did,they might well have given it to Stina.And I wonder what she would have done with it?
Another possibility is the musos involved on the gig.Some of the Flippermen have websites-Anders Persson and Johan Horlen for example but whether they played on the gig is another matter...
Where did you get the ' tense and stilted' bit from?
I think if there was a boot of it circulating we'd know about it by now.


Nonetheless,hope reigns eternal...

Thanks for your response and guidance, Sound World. You've given me a few leads there.

Funnily enough I got the 'tense and stilted' concert bit as a paraphrase from the very first article/interview I ever read about Stina (I still have the clipping). It was in the NME around Autumn 1992, with Stina commenting on the London gig and stating that her next album (A.S.C.H.E.) would be much darker and, when confronted with the fact that Sweden has the highest suicide rate in the world, she laughed and said she was "very Swedish"!

Will keep you posted on any developments.

TravisB.

TravisB wrote:Funnily enough I got the 'tense and stilted' concert bit as a paraphrase from the very first article/interview I ever read about Stina (I still have the clipping). It was in the NME around Autumn 1992....

Interesting post this is, so we learn something more about the early days, when there still were concerts...
So could you post this clipping here, it would be so nice to read...
Unfortunately i wouldn't know how to help you with this quest, but to wish you best of luck. It's weird these things happened and there's no recorded history of it, only memories; there just has to be something left right...

thanks for posting that in the nordenstam shelter travis!

Hi,

I don't have a scanner so took photos of the article for you, and its in here;

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/No ... iles/Stina Articles/

Sorry, but I am mistaken on two counts with the article itself;
1. It was Melody Maker magazine, Not NME.
2. The 'tense and stilted' paraphrase I used was clearly from another article I have somewhere (as I scan my study with weary eyes) - though this article makes an indirect reference to the gig/s she recently performed.

Now all I have to do is get a video capture card and upload a vhs copy of an MTV Europe interview/feature with Stina from 1993, which I also have in my archives.

TravisB.

Nice one Travis.Although Stina would probably dissociate herself from the woman she was then.
Look forward to the Video!! You should do it!

wow. I have no information at present, though I so wish I did, because i so admire the effort you're putting forth to find the concert. I just had to let you know I really respect that. Especially for Stina's music. Way to be. And hey, if you ever do find it, don't forget to share good karma, ya know?

I did try "Friends Reunited" as a long shot but no joy there either i'm afraid.

RobB wrote:I did try "Friends Reunited" as a long shot but no joy there either i'm afraid.

Hey RobB there's no need to bring your personal problems here you know

sound world wrote:Hey RobB there's no need to bring your personal problems here you know

........so anyway I contacted Jon Dabner on Facebook last night and he quickly replied to say that he left the Jazz Cafe in April 1992 and that he didn't know anything about Stina Nordenstam. So that's the end of that. Now, about my personal problems.....

With the ten-year + invisibilty of Stina, I find myself wondering sometimes, did ANY of this actually happen?

Quite a feat to remain invisible on t'internet these days...

I read somewhere recently that Stina had gone back to teaching. But if so you would have thought one of her students would have mentioned on-line who their teacher was? Maybe Stina's using an alias and looking nothing like her 'public image', people simply don't recognise her, especially after 14 years out of the lime-light.

It has taken the best part of 17 years (but hey,you do need plenty of patience to be a fan of Stina ) but at last some solid info about the Jazz Cafe concert. Thanks to a review in the Observer (Sunday 15th November 1992), the date of the performance can now be confirmed as being Monday 9th November 1992. Stina's set consisted of just six songs, which included 'Another Story Girl' (as the opener), 'Memories Of A Color', 'Something Nice' and a new song, 'Fireworks'. Presumably the two remaining songs were from her debut album. Stina,wearing a large cardigan, appears to have performed the entire set from the comfort of a chair, with her arms crossed and her head lolling on her shoulder. According to the reviewer,she barely spoke or moved from that position. Stina's band appears to have consisted of a double bassist and a drummer playing brushes. If there were a pianist or a guitarist then they weren't mentioned. A UK tour was being planned for the New Year. Does anyone know if that took place? [b)]