Birmingham Jazz

Spring 2013 Gigs and Club Nights
The Jazz Breakfast (www.jazzbreakfast.com) has called our first few 2013 gigs “a strong start to 2013,” and we aime to go on from there with our mix of nationally known bands and local groups in a club setting. Below are our gigs from March through to June.

As well as gigs with nationally known bands we are continuing with our new regular Club Nights featuring local bands. At all Club Nights entry is free to members and there will be a range of activities not just the live band. For non-members it will be £3 with all the proceeds going to the band.

Eat and Listen

At both the Red Lion and the Bartons Arms good food and drink is available before and during all Birmingham Jazz gigs and Club Nights.

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May 2013

Cloudmakers Trio
Friday 3rd May. 7.45pm
The Red Lion, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter B18 6NG
£10 / £8
Jim Hart brings the Birmingham Jazz programme right up to date with this ground breaking vibes, bass and drum trio. Part of the London-based LOOP Collective, as well as Stan Sulzman’s Neon Quartet, Jim also bears that rare distinction for a Brit of enjoying a nomination in the 2012 Downbeat Poll. His work links the New York downtown scene with the latest developments in Europe and is currently one of the most talked about bandleaders in the contemporary scene. Features American-born Michael Janisch on bass and Dave Smith on drums.
‘It’s clever, lyrical, immaculately performed contemporary jazz’ 4 Stars. The Guardian

Club Night

NEST
Friday  17th May. 7.45pm
The Red Lion, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter B18 6NG
£4 (members free)
Nest are an exciting new band to emerge from the Birmingham scene. They will be playing new music by the drummer, Billy Weir. The band features Dan Searjeant, Ben Lee, David Ferris and James Banner.

Club Night

Emeline and The Jazz Mates
Friday  24th May. 7.45pm
The Red Lion, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter B18 6NG
£4 (members free)
Come and enjoy a relaxed, enjoyable evening of the great standards with Judith Emeline on vocals with her band of local musicians in the classic jazz quartet line up of saxophone, piano, bass and drums. An intimate evening of great jazz accompanied by The Red Lion’s signature combination of first class real ales and good food.

June 2013
Charlotte Glasson Quintet
Saturday 1st June 7.45pm
The Red Lion, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter B18 6NG
£10 / £8
Equally at home on the festival or theatrical stage, in pop or jazz contexts, Charlotte Glasson is building a formidable reputation as a multi-instrumentalist, band leader and composer. With already five albums in her back catalogue, her current project was named as best Newcomer at the Marlborough Jazz Festival in 2009since when they band has been busy on the UK circuit. Eclectic might have been invented for this creative force as her music switches effortlessly from gypsy to reggae, to latin and mainstream jazz. With Charlotte on all reeds, Mark Bussey on trumpet, Dave Holdsworth on tuba, Sam Glasson on percussion and the great Chris Spedding on guitar. Lot of festive fun.
‘If you could bottle this band’s music, how wonderful it would be to inhale it to start every day.’ Express and Star

Laura Jurd Quartet
Friday 21st June 7.45pm
The Red Lion, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter B18 6NG
£10 / £8
Laura is not really the average student at London’s Trinity College of Music. Accepted she is paying her dues with the NYJO jazz finishing school, and she is gathering more than her fair share of awards such as the Dankworth Prize for Jazz Composition. But not all of her fellow students have helped found a majorly influential force as the Chaos Collective, or have come out with a debut CD which has critics like John Fordham reaching for their thesaurus to find new superlatives, or written for the Ligeti String Quartet. With the fluid technique of a young Kenny Wheeler and the free-wheeling abstract lyricism of the best free improvisors. Check out her impressive 2012 recording Landing Ground. With Elliot Galvin, piano; Conor Chaplin, bass; Corrie Dick, drums.

‘…full of elegantly structured, well-executed folky and neo classical-inspired chamber jazz, bursting at the seams with strong themes and equally memorable counter themes, as well as an understated experimental edge.’ Jazzwise

Previous Gigs

September 2012

Club Night: Me & 3 

14^th September 2012

19.30 £3/Members Free

The first BJ Club night at the Red Lion starts with this local band led by Conservatoire graduate Joey Walter-Lane  with Ben Markland, Anna Brooks, and Tom Martin. They play music by Composers such as Mike Mower (Itchy Fingers), Jeff Driskill, Brian Cooper, Dave Brubeck and more. It promises to be a good night to start the season.

Red Lion Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham B18 6NG

0121 233 9144

 

Gilad Atzmon’s The Power Cats

23^rd September 2012

19.45 £10/£8 Members

Gilad Atzman returns to Birmingham Jazz with his new band. This sees long time collaborator Asif Sirkis on drums with keyboard master Ross Stanley on hammond organ. All new work is to be expected delivered with his usual style wit and intensity. The music is full on power soul jazz bordering on funk.

Bartons Arms 144 High Street, Aston, Birmingham B6 4UP

0121 333 5988

Christine Tobin A Thousand Kisses Deep

7^th October 2012

19.45 £10/£8 Members

Christine sings the songs of Leonard Cohen – Phil Robson guitar & Dave Whitford double bass. “Chris Tobin is inspiring singing her own material. But she is in a class of her own singing Leonard Cohen.” John Walters.

Red Lion Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham B18 6NG

0121 233 9144

 

January 2013

Tony Kofi’s Standard Time Trio

11^th January 2013

19.45 £10/£8 Members

 

Tony Kofi is exploring the classic jazz standards songbook with his newly formed Standard Time Trio.

The group plays classic jazz standards rearranged to give that fresh sounds of today and with an organic freedom that will take you on a musical journey, whilst utilising every instrument to its fullest range. Kofi displays an innate ability to swing using hooks and grooves whilst never losing the essence to sound original. Larry Bartley is on bass – a brilliant and much sought after musician. Rod Youngs swings, and swings hard. He punctuates with a crisp grace that keeps the whole show tight and to the point.

Red Lion Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham B18 6NG

0121 233 9144

Club Night Steve Tromans Trio

January 18th

19.30 £3 Free for members

Steve Tromans Trio give us the first club night of the year with another, this time with his piano trio with Chris Mapp on Bass & Miles Levin on Drums. This is an evening that should remind music lovers of all persuasions how fortunate they are to be alive and listening in our fair city of Birmingham. This trio is an outstanding example of the standard of outstanding musicianship we have on our doorstep.
19.30 Red Lion Inn, Warstone Lane, B18 6NG.

February 2013

Ian Dixon/Mike Walker Quintet

1^st February 2013

19.45 £10/£8 Members

The band line-up is not yet fixed for this gig. But it is likely that it will be “Madhouse and the Whole Thing There” Band: Mike Walker – Guitars

Iain Dixon – Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, Clarinets, Myke Wilson – Drums, John Ellis – Fender Rhodes, Organ, Sylvan Richardson – Bass Guitar. They will be playing tracks from Mike’s debut album and tunes written by Iain. Further details to follow. “Mike Walker is one of the most powerful jazz guitarists in Europe, but a surreal intelligence, extra-musical talents and a teaching career have kept him from the stardom his skills could have brought him – and still might… Walker doesn’t dominate, but has put the narrative shape of the venture first, as well as the changing colours and grooves of a taut group…” John Fordham, Guardian May 23 2008

Bartons Arms 144 High Street, Aston, Birmingham B6 4UP

0121 333 5988

 

Partikel

15^th February 2013

19.45 £10/£8 Members

Partikel are three London based Musicians all with very different musical backgrounds who have come together to make music mixing all their favourite influences in a melodic coherent way. Drawing influence from African and Latin American music combined with the style of the contemporary New York scene, Partikel produce a personal, committed and contemporary take on the saxophone trio.

Red Lion Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham B18 6NG

0121 233 9144

 

March 2013

Club Night

Elliot Drew Quartet

Friday 1st March. 7.45pm
The Red Lion, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter B18 6NG
£4
Elliot on alto sax, Andrew Woodhead on piano, Hamish Livingstone on bass and Jonathan Silk on drums are the Elliot Drew Quartet. The quartet formed at the Birmingham Conservatoire, but no means sounds academic. Each member is an experienced gigging musician and they interpret the modern jazz classics and Elliot’s original compositions with style – and that increasingly rare commodity – swing.

Shanghai Blues Special Night
From Scratch
Friday 8th March 7.00pm Free*
Shanghai Blues
1st Floor Arcadian Centre,
Ladywell Walk B5 4TD
From Scratch is led by guitarist Ralf DeCambre a regular member of the late Andy Hamilton’s Blue Notes. It will include Mark Hamilton on Sax and promises to be a night of Bluesy Jazz, with Calypso and Latin tunes.
*Entrance is free with customers buying either the special Birmingham Jazz night two courses or a meal off the A la Carte menu.

Gabrielle Ducomble
Sunday 10th March 7.45pm
The Red Lion, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter B18 6NG
£10 / £8
There are not many artists who record a double gold selling album and then decide to go back to first positions to study their new love of jazz. Vocalist Gabrielle has done just that, after reaching the final of Pop Idol in France in 2003. Following that period she began to work with some of the best jazz musicians in Europe and her musical life was transformed. Her current group includes Nicolas Meier on guitar, Nick Kacal on bass and Dan Teper on accordion and they have a busy schedule in London with a uniquely hybrid repertoire of American standards, alongside tango, bossa and French chanson from Brel and Gainsbourg. A perfect jazz club musical experience.
Club Night

Svengali
Friday 15th March 7.45pm
The Red Lion, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter B18 6NG
£4
A moment many Birmingham Jazz lovers have been waiting for – the return of the legendary Svengali big band. Formed in 1988 with the Cannonball jazz club as it home, this band was created and led by master writer-arranger Chris Corcoran as a tribute to Gil Evans. Featuring some of the best players in the region, Svengali won awards and commissions from Birmingham Jazz and gave memorable performances with visiting stars such as Guy Barker and Andy Sheppard –with a repertoire stretching far from its original remit to include originals and re-worked jazz versions of rock and latin classics. Now, the centenary of Gil Evans’ birth offers us the opportunity for the re-birth of this great band.

April 2013

Eyes Shut Tight
Friday 12th April 7.45pm
The Red Lion, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter B18 6NG
£10 / £8
A far from conventional piano trio, led by bass player Paul Baxter. Originally based around Leeds, but the artistic success of their two albums ‘Evolution’ and ‘The Thaw’ is now taking them all round Europe. Originally inspired by the classic Keith Jarrett/Haden/De Johnette trio, they have been compared to EST and The Bad Plus. Featuring Johnny Tomlinson on piano and Kris Wright on percussion, with most of the writing and arranging from Paul.

Blue Note

Featuring: Chris Bowden, Neil Bullock, Purcy Pursglove, Steve Tromans, Ben Markland and special guest Bryan Corbett
Saturday 20th April 7.45pm
The Bartons Arms, 144 High Street, Aston, B6 4UP
£10 / £8
A unique Birmingham Jazz project intended to the best of locally-based musicians to Birmingham Jazz audiences, in a first class jazz club setting. This is in indeed a super-group worthy of a much higher profile on both the regional and national scene. None of these excellent artists need an introduction to jazz lovers, let’s just say it promises to be an unforgettable night of first class contemporary jazz. And, hopefully, the long-awaited return to the stage of trumpeter Bryan Corbett as an anticipated special guest. Great jazz, wonderful dining and excellent real ale – all on tap.

 

Andy Hague Quintet
Friday 26th April. 7.45pm
Rose Villa Tavern, 172 Warstone Lane, Birmingham B18 6JW
£10 / £8
Coming up from Bristol as part of their national tour is trumpeter Andy Hague with his excellent quintet, featuring Ben Waghorn on saxophone. Andy is a busy man, running the city’s Be-Bop club, a big band, various groups and summer schools. His love is the entire range of American jazz from Blue Note to Brecker Bros, and it shows in every masterful note. His latest album Cross My Palm has flavours from Miles and Shorter interpreted through his own range of original compositions. Ear stretch harmonies and post-bop rhythms. With Jim Blomfield on piano and Mark Whitlam on drums.
‘..I find the soloing on this record remarkably tasteful. Hague has a lovely horn sound too..’ The Jazz Breakfast.