Geoffrey Keezer & Gillian Margot The Verdict, Brighton Monday 5th June 2017 Beginning with a masterclass, in association with Brighton Jazz School (of which Keezer is a patron), husband and wife team Geoffrey Keezer and Gillian Margot answered questions from the audience that covered everything from musical empathy, rubato, introductions, rhythm, song choice […]
ENEMY The Verdict, Brighton Monday 22nd May 2017 ENEMY, a superb trio of Kit Downes, Petter Eldh and James Maddren, was formed as a reaction to how Kit thinks about “complexity, and how liberating it can be”. And although this was an evening of complex music, it was also an evening of […]
MAISHA New Generation Jazz,The Verdict, Brighton Friday 31st March 2017 Drummer Jake Long’s MAISHA specialise in post-Coltrane world-influenced music, very much in the spirit of Pharaoh Sanders and this was apparent from the first number, Welcome to a New Welcome. The final piece of the first set was introduced by an extended […]
Christian Brewer/Leon Greening Quartet The Verdict, Brighton Friday 7th April Despite flies buzzing around the stage, attracted by the bright stage lights in a darkened room, the band began with a blistering slice of hard bop, in the form of Cedar Walton’s Ugetsu, made famous by Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. The groove of […]
Jamie Brownfield & Liam Byrne Smalls at The Verdict Thursday 13th April Beginning with Hackensack (a tune based on Lady Be Good) it was obvious that trumpeter Brownfield and tenor saxophonist Byrne have a fantastic musical chemistry. Vocalist Imogen Ryall paid tribute to Billie Holiday performing Mean to Me and a memorable […]
Rick Simpson’s Klammer The Verdict, Brighton Friday 14th April 2017 A mesmerising evening of highly original contemporary material from pianist Rick Simpson featured some outstanding performances from reedsman Mike Chillingworth and saxophonist-of-the-moment George Crowley. Simpson’s esoteric compositions were ideally suited to the wide range of timbres at his disposal, including Chillingworth’s bass […]
Sari Schorr and the Engine Room Crawley Blues Club, The Studio, The Hawth, Crawley Sunday 16th April 2017 I’d never heard of Sari Schorr until she was listed as appearing at the Hawth. Quite a revelation. From all out blues, a touch of rock, and more than a hint of jazz, she puts […]
Geoff Achison and the Soul Diggers The Hawth, Crawley Friday 17th March 2017 Australian Geoff has made a welcome return to these shores after a few years, with his usual mix of hard blues containing quite a sprinkling of the jazz influence. Many of his solos on guitar would not go amiss in […]
Frank Holder Trio The Hawth, Crawley Sunday 19th March 2017 Just two weeks shy of reaching 92 years of age Frank Holder is certainly by now a national treasure. He’s not quite so firm on his feet with the dancing, he does sometimes forget the words, but scats easily over the problem or […]
Sara Oschlag & Terry Seabrook’s Trio The Snowdrop, Lewes Monday 20th March 2017 Much-loved vocalist Sara Oschlag performed a mixture of some of her signature tunes such as the blues It’s Alright, Okay, You Win and Bye Bye Blackbird together with a selection of other well-known standards, including Sarah Vaughan’s version of Misty (from […]