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Kirk Lightsey Trio
Jamil Sheriff Octet
Killer Shrimp
Cathie Rae Quintet
Nikki Iles Quintet with Norma Winstone
Clark Tracey Quintet - the farewell tour
Alan Barnes 'Liquorice Stick Allsorts' with Liz Fletcher
Snake Davis Quartet
Renato D’Aiello's 'Sintetico' Quintet
Empirical
Frank Griffith Nonet
(Friday 2nd November 2007)
Since becoming resident in France, Detroit born Kirk regularly tours the UK in the company of his favourite Brits, calling in at Wakefield to great acclaim. There is no doubt that the trio is the most advantageous showcase for his prodigious talent as there is always the feeling of wanting more when someone else takes over.
Kirk has played with them all - from Chet Baker to Dexter Gordon and Lester Bowie - and distils that immense experience into a McCoy Tyner sized orchestral sound with the inventiveness of Hank Jones.
In March this year, Downbeat featured a major article on the NY club Bradleys, no longer open, which had specialised in piano jazz for 20 odd years. This was largely as piano duo with bass accompaniment only – exactly the style of Kirk’s recent CD with Rufus Reid.
Dave
and Steve are soulmates who give exactly the support Kirk’s varied
playing requires.
Kirk Lightsey
- piano
Steve Watts - bass
Dave Wickins - drums
Latest CD:
The Nights of Bradleys (Sunny Side SSC 1136)
Web: No Site Top
(Friday 9th November 2007)
Jamil has brought this band to Wakefield whenever he has a new batch of compositions ready for performance. It has always given us a thoroughly good time.
He has retained the services
of the best musicians to pass through Leeds in the last decade - even after
they have dispersed to other European corners to lead their own bands. Jami’s
writing and arranging are both accessible and intriguing, designed to give
the audience a good show and the musicians a good workout. We are lucky to
have such a talented musician working on our doorstep.
"This is intelligent and original music and it is highly accessible
as well as being beautifully recorded. There are many post-bop influences,
balancing disciplined, through-composed sections with highly articulate solos
from some of the best young musicians in the country. Little wonder that there
are long queues for the CD wherever the Jamil Sheriff Octet plays." (Yorkshire
Post reviewing Daydreams)
Jamil
Sheriff - piano
Joel Purnell - saxophone
Andrew Colman - saxophone
Kevin Holborough - trumpet
Ben Martin - trombone
Pat Mc Carthy - guitar
Zoltan Dekany - bass
John Perry - drums
Latest CD: Daydreams
(GLP)
Websites: www.jamilsheriff.com
and www.myspace.com/thejamilsheriffoctet
Top
(Friday 16th November 2007)
This is the name chosen by Ed Jones and Damon Brown for their major new
project. It features the rhythm section of Ben Hazleton and Troy Miller.
'Sincerely Whatever' is a technically brilliant, hard-hitting exploration
of funk, latin, bop and even drum & bass, rooted in straight-ahead
jazz with furious interplay in a spacious environment.
These musicians have an intuitive sense of where each is going and have
now played together long enough to be able to exploit this and produce
amazingly entertaining music. This is their first gig outside London on
a ten date tour which brings Damon back home from the continent; we get
them fresh and eager to please.
They are recent winners of the Parliamentary Jazz Award 'best jazz ensemble
2007' and their debut album 'Sincerely Whatever' was also nominated for
best jazz CD 2007.
Damon Brown - trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals
Ed Jones - soprano/tenor saxophones, bass clarinet
Dave Mannington - bass
Alyn Cosker - drums
Latest CD: Sincerely Whatever (33 Jazz)
Websites: www.myspace.com/killershrimp
Top
(Friday 23rd November 2007)
Cathie is a singer with a dynastic pedigree in her Scottish home. Daughter of the legendary bassist Ronnie Rae she now manages his partner Fionna Duncan’s equally legendary Vocal Jazz Workshops. Eldest of six musician siblings; her sister Sylvia is married to Clark Tracey.
She is steeped in the tradition and can draw upon the whole range of wonderful musicians in Scotland to work with. She has a Chet Baker tribute band with Colin Steele but on this occasion will be drawing on a wider range of sources and, perhaps, a few of her own compositions.
"…this Rae has an engaging stage presence and a wide vocal range which, unlike some other technically gifted singers, she uses sparingly but effectively. Cathie chose classy but seldom-heard songs which reveal the greatest of her considerable talents - she has a natural sense of swing…and one of the songs "Time Out" revealed the singer to be no mean songwriter."
Cathie Rae - voice
Colin Steele - trumpet
Paul Harrison - piano
Euan Burton - bass
Stuart Richie - drums
Latest CD: Flow
(Jazz base records - JBS03)
Web:
www.raefamilyjazz.com
and www.myspace.com/cathieraejazz
Top
Nikki Iles Quintet with Norma Winstone Gallery
With
support at 7.30pm from the Reuben Fowler (trumpet) Trio
(Friday
30th November 2007) Founders Day Gig – All
ticket
When Alec was asked to nominate a band for this event it was no surprise
that he opted for an artist who has meant so much throughout the development
of the Club.
Nikki, like Norma, has become an icon of Jazz in the UK and particularly that
with an English accent.
The repertoire will have a distinctive air of English song, but will also include originals by band members, relatively uncharted territory by the likes of Joni Mitchell and James Taylor and settings of Rupert Brooke. Brought together by a love of song, Nikki and Norma have been gathering suitable material for the ensemble over recent years.
Mark, Mike and Steve have also matured in the same jazz environment as Nikki and provide ideal foundations for a sympathetic band.
The American drummer, Jeff Williams, spent 2 years with Stan Getz in the seventies and has played with many American notables including Lee Konitz, Randy Brecker and John Scofield. More recently he played in the UK with a band featuring Joe Lovano and Tom Harrell.
Norma Winstone - voice
Nikki Iles - piano
Mark Lockheart - tenor saxophone
Mike Walker - guitar
Duncan Hopkins - bass
Jeff Williams - drums
Latest CDs:
Nikki : A Wing and a Prayer (with Tina May) (33 Jazz 134)
Norma: Amoroso…..Only More So (with Stan Tracey Trio & Bobby Wellins)
(Trio TR576)
Websites:
www.normawinstone.com
and www.nikkiiles.co.uk
Top
(Friday 7th December 2007 - last gig)
It is more than ten years since Clark put together his “new”
band of up-and-coming youngsters to form the quintet which has now recorded
three times.
Zoe Rahman has now led her own very successful trio since the millennium and
has been nominated for, or won, a variety of awards recognising her achievements.
Simon Allen has just launched his own band featuring his ex-leaders, Laurence
Cottle and Clark. Mark is in huge demand for big band and session work.
Clark has another project in preparation himself - he may tell us news of
it tonight.
Most of all don’t miss this last chance to hear an excellent band playing
superb music in a style we have always loved at Wakefield – creatively
excellent.
Clark Tracey - drums
Zoe Rahman - piano
Peers Green - alto sax
Mark Armstrong - trumpet & flugel
Peter Billington - electric and acoustic basses
Latest CD: The Mighty
SAS (TentoTen Records - TTT CD 574)
Web:
www.clarktracey.com
Top
Alan Barnes 'Liquorice Stick Allsorts' with Liz Fletcher
(Friday 14th December 2007)
Three set event with party food (No regular cooked food catering tonight)
This new project of Alan’s is intended to be a different way of featuring the music of Benny Goodman and Django Reinhardt. Concentrating on the clarinet and creating a Benny Goodman small group, this is a line-up where inventiveness and interplay will be unavoidable. Swing and fun are the watchwords wherever an Alan Barnes band takes the stage - but for a Christmas party we wanted even more.
Liz Fletcher has been
a joy in all the contexts we have featured at Wakefield.
Would Alan bring her too and gild the lily for us? "Delighted!"
was his response; she will join the boys for part of the second and final
sets.
Alan Barnes - clarinets
Liz Fletcher - voice
Jim Hart - vibraphone
Paul Clarvis - percussion
Latest CD: Yeah! (Proper
records)
Web:
www.alan-barnes.co.uk
Top
(Friday 4th January 2008)
The Quartet, 'Fruit Tree' will be supporting this gig
led by Dave Evans.
What better way to kick off the New Year than a knees-up with Snake’s
band.
We have seen Snake perform
in many combinations of musicians from the 'full on' Suspicions to the more
restrained appearance with Helen Watson. He hits the spot every time.
On this occasion he wanted to feature the lineup that gives him the best solo
exposure - from folky flute to soulful sax with romance and groove on the
way. We can guarantee a great crowd will be helping him have another good
time at Wakefield - one of his favourite places to play.
You’ll be dancing in the aisles.
Chris ‘Snake’
Davis - saxes and flute
Paul Birchall - hammond and keys
Neil Fairclough - bass
Bryan Hargreaves - drums
Latest CD: “Hysteria”
on Skin records (Skin 5003)
Web:
www.snakedavis.com
Top
(Friday 11th January 2008)
Renato has played Wakefield twice before and his smooth accessible playing was instantly appealing to the Wakefield audience. His quartet brings continental style to material which is both familiar and friendly.
Chris Parker describes
his style in a review he wrote in March 2007:
“D'Aiello concentrates on tonal beauty, producing a series of ripe,
rich, sonorous tenor expositions of a mix of in-band originals and standards
in the manner of, say, Dexter Gordon. Relaxed, unhurried but imbued with intense
warmth tinged with poignancy, D'Aiello's tenor sound thus prioritises the
expression of sentiment rather than the demonstration of instrumental facility,
and in a set that includes everything from easy-paced lopes that slowly build
to a tightly controlled climax through intensely melodic, fluting ballads
to Dexter-ish swaggers and vigorous workouts.”
John Fordham gave Renato’s
new CD four stars when reviewing it for the Guardian:
“D'Aiello's weighty, behind-the-beat sound shows how a poetic imagination
can rekindle a long-gone style without nostalgia... ” - John Fordham
Renato D’Aiello
- saxes
Ross Stanley - piano
Quentin Collins - trumpet
Nicola Mureso - bass
Max Russino - drums
Latest CD: Sintetico 33
records (33JAZZ151)
Web:
www.renatodaiello.com
Top
(Friday 18th January 2008)
This new young band were entered by the BBC for the inaugural EBU Jazz Competition,
at the North Sea Jazz Festival, last Summer. They won. EBU judge, Kenny Werner,
said of them :
“Impressive high overall quality, great interaction, an own sound
paired to an irresistible presentation.”
They have
been schooled by Courtney Pine and Dennis Rollins and have burst on the
scene with a wholly professional approach and stage presence.
Jazzwise described them as providing:
“... a unique blend of jazz tradition with a high-energy contemporary
edge [that] garnered an impressive response when they appeared supporting
Courtney Pine at the Jazzwise, 'To The Power of Ten' festival.”
They have a Radio 3 broadcast in October and will support Joshua Redman
when he appears at the London Jazz Festival.
This is a band who will appeal to everyone, but particularly those with
a love of well-presented jazz in any of its manifestations.
Nathaniel Facey - tenor saxophone
Jay Phelps - trumpet
Kit Downes - piano
Tom Farmer - double bass
Shaney Forbes - drums
Debut
CD: EMPIRICAL (Destin-E records) Empirical's
debut album "EMPIRICAL" has been made album
of the year in the December 2007 issue of Jazzwise magazine (UK's
premiere jazz publication).
Web:
www.myspace.com/empiricalmusic
Top
Photo by Gary Wallis
(Friday 25th January 2008)
Frank Griffith is the American-born Head of (Musical) Performance at
Brunel University and a swinging clarinet player. As a guest at Leeds
College last year he fronted their Big Band in a relaxed and highly entertaining
mainstream performance of a selection of standards.
He taught and worked in New York for 15 years in the 1980s and 90s playing
with Ron Carter, Jack McDuff and the big bands of Buddy Rich and Toshiko
Akiyoshi, among others.
His composing and arranging skills have been at the basis of the nonet
through which they are performed – originally in New York and, since
1997, in London. He writes beautifully crafted scores, wholly within the
tradition, which sound like a mini big band and feature superb soloists.
Adrian Fry shares arranging duties for the band with Frank.
Frank Griffith - clarinet & tenor saxophone
Bob Martin - alto saxophone
Jimmy Hastings - baritone saxophone
Henry Lowther - trumpet & flugelhorn
Freddie Gavita - trumpet
Adrian Fry - trombone
Ross Stanley - piano
Mark Hodgson - bass
Paul Clarvis - drums
Latest
CD: The Coventry Suite (33 Records - 33JAZZ112)
Web:
http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/acad/sa/artstaff/music/frankgriffith
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