Alcyona Mick & Tori Freestone The Verdict, Brighton Sunday 4th March, 2018 Touring their new album, Criss Cross, saxophonist Tori Freestone and London Jazz Orchestra bandmate, pianist Alcyona Mick began their set with the title track of Tori’s most recent trio album, El Barranco, reconfigured for piano and saxophone. Freestone’s strength is […]
Arun Ghosh Quintet Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham-by-sea Saturday 3rd March, 2018 From the vibrant hues of the passport-style gatefold on his latest CD release But Where Are You Really From?, to his trademark traditional Indian stage gear, the subcontinent-influenced grooves of rising clarinettist Arun Ghosh have recently been making themselves widely felt, notably […]
Alex Hitchcock/Tom Barford Quartet The Verdict, Brighton Friday 2nd February, 2018 The chordless two tenor quartet of Alex Hitchcock and Tom Barford are a relatively new group but one with an impressive and original sound. Their opening number showed their ability to perform tight unison passages and harmonies, the result of many hours […]
Ivo Neame Quartet The Verdict, Brighton Friday 16th February, 2018 Pianist Ivo Neame successfully bridges the gap between contemporary classical music and contemporary jazz with compositions that have an esoteric and highly original voice. The supporting band of George Crowley, Tom Farmer and James Maddren expertly negotiated some tricky time signature changes […]
South Coast Jazz Festival Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea Saturday 20th – Saturday 27th January, 2018 The South Coast Jazz Festival kicked off its 4th year with The Jazz Repertory Company performing 100 Years of Jazz in 99 Minutes. In the pre-concert Q&A, drummer and bandleader Richard Pite quoted jazz writer Whitney Balliett who […]
Charlie Stacey Trio The Verdict, Brighton Friday 19th January, 2018 After agreeing to fill in at the last minute for Dave Drake, who was unable to leave the US due to visa difficulties, pianist Charlie Stacey performed an impressive mix of standards and originals. Beginning with Coltrane’s dedication to Sonny Rollins, Like […]
Cloudmakers Five The Verdict, Brighton Friday 12th January, 2018 Formed eight years ago, Jim Hart’s Cloudmakers Five, originally a trio but extended with saxophone and guitar, have so far released four albums to critical acclaim, mostly due to Jim Hart’s artful compositions and an enviable chemistry between the musicians in the band, all […]
Abi Flynn Benefit Concert The Walrus, Brighton Wednesday 6th December, 2017 Beginning with Nature Boy sang beautifully by Lou Beckerman, this was a memorable evening from the opening number, with many of Brighton’s top musicians gathering to raise money (and share the love) for vocalist Abi Flynn. Throughout the evening there were […]
Three Little Birds Friends Meeting House, Brighton Sunday 10th December, 2017 Beginning with the standard After You’ve Gone, this vocal trio of Ela Southgate, Sara Oschlag and Rachel Simpson reunited for a concert with guitarist and arranger Matt Wall and bassist Dan Sheppard. The vocal harmonies worked beautifully, with the addition of […]
Sam Barnett The Verdict, Brighton Friday 15th December, 2017 Promoting his debut album London-New York Suite, 16 year old saxophonist Sam Barnett began with the opening track from the album, Morning Shadowplay and intermixed tunes from the album with compositions that he has written since. Accompanied throughout by fellow teens, drummer Zoe […]