Spring 2007 concerts
Click on a venue for more details and directions - Click the band name for a photograph.
Date,venue Ticket price |
Band |
Musicians |
Description |
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Sat Jan 20
Full £12.50 Concessions £8 Under 16s £5 |
Norma Winstone "Chamber Music” | Norma Winstone - voice Klaus Gesing - Clarinet & saxes Glauco Venier - piano |
Star of the international jazz world, Norma Winstone, has recently recorded the new album ‘Chamber Music’ on the prestigious Universal label. The trio with the german saxophonist and clarinetist Klaus Gesing and the italian born Pianist Glauco Venier plays almost exclusively original compositions of the members of the band, underlined with beautiful words by Norma Winstone. They create a sense of intimacy and chambermusic-like intensity, being introspective without losing the awareness of the 'outside'. European jazz at its very best, avoiding the air of 'art' in favour of a more honest and fulfilling listening experience. “Right now, she is at the peak of her form...there is no jazz singer in the country to touch her." |
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Fri Jan 26 £10 / 7 Advance Tickets
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Dave O’Higgins - sax Tom Cawley - piano Simon Lea - drums Sam Burgess - bass |
Dave O’Higgins’s prominence on the live jazz scene has been acknowledged for more than two decades. A stylish and passionate player, he was winner of Best Tenor Sax in the British Jazz Awards in ’95 and ’97. Disparate playing credits have included US 3, Incognito, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Cleo Laine Jason Rebello, and Jamie Cullum! He’s currently performing all over the world with his own bands. "O’Higgins plays with quite exceptional fluency and his fund of ideas never runs out." The Observer “Dazzling post-bop tenorist with a magnificent range and a dramatic turn of phrase." The Guardian |
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Fri Feb 2
£9 / 6 |
Russell Vandenberg – tenor sax Mike Outram – guitar Simon Colam –keyboard Tom Mason – double bass Darren Altman - drums |
Co-lead by Russell Vandenberg and Darren Altman, Centre-Line work around brilliant original compositions from group members. Their music ranges from contemporary soulful grooves to post bop heads, some with free settings, others reflecting a heavy urban stance. Wonderful control and lively, angular melodic ideas make this one of the most spirited and exciting groups around. “What will excite and inspire you much more than the latest media hype are the unsung heroes of UK Jazz … any of the brilliantly talented and committed young musicians such as Russell Vandenberg.”Jazzwise Magazine |
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Fri Feb 16
£10 / 7 Advance Tickets
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Benn Clatworthy – sax Cecilia Coleman piano Mike Janisch bass Martin Drew drums |
A welcome return for the saxist whose gigs in recent years have met with a storming response from Sheffield Jazz audiences. His raw, cutting edge style is straight out of Coltrane, but even his most intense passages are lyrical and thoughtful. Born in South London, he studied with Ronnie Scott, who recommended him to Berklee. Now living in Los Angeles, he’s made a name for himself playing with the likes of Cedar Walton. New York resident Cecilia Coleman, is a highly acclaimed pianist, composer, bandleader and educator with a string of American jazz Festival performances to her name.
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Fri Feb 23
Full £15 Concessions £10 Under 16s £5
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Stan Tracey Octet 80th birthday tour
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Stan Tracey - piano Andy Cleyndert - Bass Guy Barker - Trumpet Nigel Hitchcock Mark Nightingale -Trombone |
Stan Tracey is an outstanding figure in the jazz world. His career has spanned five decades with a huge influence on both his peers and successive generations. As the house pianist at Ronnie Scott’s in the 1960’s he played with all the visiting American jazz greats – Sonny Rollins said “Does anybody here know how good he really is?” His capricious piano playing combines the percussive melody of Monk with the robust lyricism of Ellington resulting in a highly idiosyncratic style – a master of harmony with a potent improvisors intellect. Astonishingly, Stan was 80 in 2006. With an undiminished musical and physical energy he still continues to tour as much as ever. In celebration of reaching this grand age he will be touring the UK in 2007 and appearing here with a band featuring some of the top names in British jazz today. Stan has led a myriad of innovative groups featuring the most progressive musicians of each generation. He is a prolific composer and has written many works – perhaps his most renowned being the suite “Under Milk Wood” widely acclaimed as a masterpiece. In this concert he will be including music from the suite Genesis and Continental Drift/Shift written by himself and Clark Tracey - a celebration of their globetrotting as musicians, together and separately, over the years. This concert is bound to be immensely popular, so you’d be advised to book well in advance.
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Fri Mar 2
£9 / 6
Advance Tickets
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Zoe Rahman – piano Gene Calderazzo – drums Jeremy Brown – bass |
The Observer called her "one of the finest young pianists in Europe", now established as among the brightest stars on the scene. Her most recent album, short-listed for the 2006 Nationwide Mercury Prize, was voted Jazz Album of the Year at the 2006 Parliamentary Jazz Awards and hailed as“one of the most distinctive piano trio albums”Jazzwise Magazine, a “fantastic new album” Courtney Pine, BBC Radio 2, and “an impressive sequel to her debut” Jazz Review. Music which shifts effortlessly between meditative and hypnotic pieces, pulsating and tricksy modern bebop, rumbling South African themes and off-beat improvisational lines. “An exceptional pianist” Jack Massarik - Evening Standard “a musician of powerful technique, group sympathy and compositional skill” John Fordham – Guardian
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Fri March 9
Full £11 Concessions £7 Under 16s £5
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Gee Gallo Minetto ~ The Italian Trio
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Jonathan Gee - piano Danilo Gallo - double bass Alessandro Minetto – drums
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Jonathan Gee is “one of European jazz's most celebrated musicians… His music is precise, lucid and original, and at times breathtakingly lyrical." “Gee usually plays with British musicians including the powerful drummer Winston Clifford, but this trio was born after the pianist's appearance at Italy's Apennine jazz festival in 2003. Bassist Danilo Gallo and drummer Alessandro Minetto are young rising stars of the Italian scene both as players and composers, and a random shot at playing together at the festival resulted in a dramatically creative band touching on the methods of Jarrett, Mehldau, Hancock and Paul Bley without attempting to clone off any of them. “ John Fordham , The Guardian
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Sat Mar 17
£9 / 6
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www.myspace.com/empiricalmusic
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Jay Phelps - trumpet Nathaniel Facey - alto sax Kit Downes – piano Neil Charles - double bass Shane Forbes - drums |
Young, hip and bold - a brand new five-piece, featuring four former stars of Tomorrow’s Warriors. They’re short-listed for the prestigious Peter Whittingham Jazz Award with a debut album currently being produced by Courtney Pine. They perform with astonishing musical maturity, confidence and a cohesiveness derived from many years of playing together. Dedicated to maintaining the roots of traditional modern jazz but with a definite finger on the pulse of the contemporary world.
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Fri Mar 23
£9 / 6
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Tom Cawley – piano Josh Blackmore – drums Sam Burgess – bass |
For 10 years, Tom Cawley has been establishing himself as a top-class pianist and a prolific co-writer, having a hand in shaping the sound of artists as diverse as Gwyneth Herbert and Acoustic Ladyland. His own trio has a breathtaking emotional and dynamic depth featuring the robust and intuitive bass playing of Sam Burgess and the explostive debut of 20 year-old wonderkid drummer Josh Blackmore. Cawley is a visionary pianist and innovative writer. “His gushing improvisations are agitated and jagged, while his themes are serene. Influenced as much by classical as jazz, restlessly turning the harmony inside and out .. his compositions have a gorgeous, elegaic quality to them.” Jazzwise |
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Fri Apr 13
£9 / 6
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Google alcyona |
Alcyona Mick – piano Ingrid Laubrock – tenor sax Robbie Robson – trumpet Phil Donkin - double bass Asaf Sirkis - drums |
24-year-old pianist-composer Alcyona has a unique and fascinating approach to composition and improvisation - an innovative style influenced by Bartok and Messiaen as well as Monk, Shorter and Jarrett - she lead the first jazz group to receive the Leverhulme Fellowship - a coveted prize for the best chamber music ensemble at The Royal Academy. “A formidably-talented rising star, Alcyona composes rather formal, rhythmically devious pieces, and her patient, probing solos mingle sharp and sparing lyricism with something like the percussive chording of Ahmad Jamal.” John Fordham, The Guardian
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Fri May 4
£9 / 6
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Renato D’Aiello – sax Shane Forbes – drums Andrea Pozza – piano Nicola Muresu – bass Quentin Collins – trumpet |
A full scholarship from Berklee college, Boston, led Renato D’Aiello into a series of international tours, including Japan with Yoshida Masahiro trio and Europe with Art Farmer. A UK resident since 1999, he has played with a number of world class musicians including Kirk Lightsey and Claire Teal. “Italian saxophonist Renato D'Aiello oozes class. When he plays quietly the effect is like hearing an old friend kindly giving you some much-needed advice. And when he lets rip, he has you rocking in your chair.” James Griffiths - The Guardian
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Fri May 11
£10 / 7 Advance Tickets |
google Arnie Somogyi google Eddie Henderson |
Arnie Somogyi – bass Dave Smith – drums Tim Lapthorne – piano Paul Booth – sax Rob Townsend – sax & laptop Eddie Henderson - trpt |
Ambulance sees Arnie Somogyi, one of the UK’s leading bass players, teamed up with four of Britain’s exceptional, up-and-coming young jazzers – the result: ‘specialists in musical accident and insurgency’! They’re touring their new work with special guest, American trumpet icon, Eddie Henderson. Henderson was encouraged to take an interest in jazz by Miles Davis and went on to play with Herbie Hancock's sextet, Pharoah Sanders and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. “ UK Bass virtuoso Arnie Somogyi’s contemporary quartet - engagingly fresh ... full-bodied ... subtle ... creative collective.” John Fordham - The Guardian |
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Fri May 18
£10 / 7 Advance Tickets |
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Jan Kopinski – saxes Steve Iliffe – keyboard Stefan Kopinski – bass Karl Bingham - bass Steve Harris - drums |
A truly original contemporary jazz outfit from the UK. Almost impossible to categorize - virtuosic jazz, gritty funk, snappy anthem-like tunes. Unpredictable and exciting, they carved a unique style and won praise from critics at home and abroad. 8 albums and extensive touring in Europe, and New York in the 80's and 90's led to "Best British Band" at the British International Jazz Awards in '91. Now they’re back. " a volatile mixture of freedom and funk" New York Times “Pinski Zoo is a seriously left-field jazz/funk outfit. In a career spanning more than 20 years they have won prestigious awards, supported some of the biggest names in jazz, and demonstrated an admirably restless creative spirit...” James Griffiths - The Guardian |
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