Fleece Jazz

On Wednesday 27 November,  Art Themen at 85; “Live in Soho album Tour” – £20

albert

albert

Art Themen Saxes

Pete Whittaker Organ

George Double Drums

albert

Described by THE OBSERVER as "One of the tiny handful of undeniably perfect jazz musicians”, Art remains as brilliant and inimitable as ever.

An exciting and inventive saxophonist, Art Themen has been an appealing presence on the British jazz circuit for over 60 years. A previous winner of the tenor sax category in the British Jazz Awards, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Worshipful Company of Musicians and shortlisted for the Jazz Instrumentalist of the year in the recent Parliamentary Jazz Awards, this living legend has famously combined his role as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon with saxophone duties in the bands of Alexis Korner and Stan Tracey (the ‘Godfather of British Jazz’) as well as recordings with Joe Cocker, Jack Bruce and even Bing Crosby.

Pete Whittaker, Hammond star, is always a delight. Originally a piano player, he migrated to organ after hearing the classic 1950s & 1960s Jimmy Smith records and after immersing himself in the sound world of Larry Young, Groove Holmes, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff etc. Despite his deep love of the vintage Hammond tonewheel consoles, Pete has always had one eye on the digital clones, though none have impressed him as much for authenticity as the Crumar Mojo which he now plays on the vast majority of his gigs and several recent recordings.

George Double's playing and recording credits include Dame Shirley Bassey, Grammy Award Winner Jack Jones, Marc Almond, Mica Paris, Ruthie Henshall and Kym Mazelle. His West End and touring theatre record includes stints on Wicked, Guys and Dolls, Avenue Q, Sinatra and Anything Goes. He is active on the British jazz scene and appears regularly at Ronnie Scott’s club in London and elsewhere as a freelancer (with Chris Ingham, John Etheridge, Art Themen, Digby Fairweather, Derek Nash and many others). He is also curator of Hadleigh, Southwold and Frinton Jazz Clubs.

On Wednesday 11 December: John Law’s Re-Creations “Many Moons” – £20

John Law Piano

Sam Crockatt Saxophone

Henrik Jensen Double Bass

Alex Goodyear Drums 

“. . . so full of joy that it can renew your faith not just in jazz, but music itself,” – Independent on Sunday

A prize-winning classical prodigy on piano, John Law turned away from classical piano studies to pursue jazz and improvised music when he was 23, and has been involved in, and acclaimed for, a wide variety of contemporary jazz and classical projects ever since - from solo piano concerts and albums, trio and quartet tours and recordings, to large scale works for his semi-classical ensemble Cornucopia.

Formed in 2016, as a counterfoil to John's group Congregation (which mixed contemporary jazz with electronics and backing tracks), Re-Creations began life as a fun project, with the aim of playing many different tunes from different musical genres. The fact that audiences almost always knew the songs, meant the group’s material was at the same time very accessible. Gradually, classical pieces have started appearing in the repertoire, including a version of the Kyrie from Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle and Satie’s Gymnopédie.

This quartet’s repertoire includes jazz classics by Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and George Gershwin, plus tunes from pop/rock/indie bands such as Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder and Radiohead.

Parliamentary Jazz Award-winning saxophonist, Sam Crockatt, hails from a musical family, first playing clarinet as a child to accompany his pianist father. Later switching to the saxophone, Sam studied at the Royal Academy of Music under tutors including Martin Speake, Julian Siegel and Tim Garland and then began to play regularly with musicians such as Gwilym Simcock and Julian Arguelles. Citing John Coltrane, Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins and Lee Konitz among his influences, his ability to marry his understanding of past masters with contemporary styles keeps him constantly in demand.

The quartet also features Danish bass player Henrik Jensen who came to London in 1997 to study electric bass at The Musicians' Institute before switching to the double bass and studying at the Royal Academy. He has worked all over the world from the Blue Note in Tokyo to concert halls in Moscow while keeping busy on the London jazz scene. Drummer Alex Goodyear was last here at Fleece Jazz with Jon Lloyd in March; he brought a delicate touch to his drumkit that was a wonder to behold as he used the whole kit in a gentle and yet expressive way. He studied Jazz Drums at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama under the tutelage of Martin France and James Maddren.

Blending jazz, pop, and classical genres, this promises to be an evening of jazz entertainment.

“Melodic contemporary jazz with a strong rhythmic pulse and some strikingly memorable and original tunes” –  Sandy Brown Jazz