We are delighted to welcome British jazz legend Alan Skidmore and award winning saxophonist Simon Allen back to Fleet Jazz, supported by the outstanding rhythm section of Gareth Williams on piano and Clark Tracey on drums, with Marianne Windham on bass.
Alan Skidmore is without doubt one of the most innovative and exciting tenor sax players the UK has ever produced and has been a cornerstone of the British jazz scene since the early 60s. The list of international artists with whom he has performed, recorded and broadcast reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of contemporary music and includes Georgie Fame, John Mayall, Elvin Jones, Eric Clapton, Clark Terry, Stan Tracey, Van Morrison, Charlie Watts, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Weather Report, and Dexter Gordon. Dynamic and inventive Alan’s soloing on up tempo numbers is a tour de force and his treatment of ballads is nothing short of outstanding.
”Alan Skidmore.. a player with immense physical and imaginative stamina, at home in any context, from tight structures to total abstraction, and with any tempo, from breakneck to slow” – Ian Carr, Jazz The Rough Guide
One of the most intensely creative, dynamic and exciting jazz performers on the UK scene, Gareth Williams has worked with many international jazz greats, including Art Farmer, George Coleman, Bud Shank, James Moody and Dave Liebman, as pianist and MD for Claire Martin and with many other top British musicians.
Son of Stan Tracey, Clark Tracey is a drummer of exceptional ability. He has had 30 years’ experience playing alongside some of the most important artists in jazz at home and abroad. He has recorded over 90 albums (11 as a leader) and performed in over 50 countries, and was awarded “Best Drums” title in the British Jazz Awards in 2017 and 2018.
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Alan Barnes presents Copperfield
Date: Tuesday 19th July
Doors: 7.15pm / Bar: 7:15pm / Show: 8.00pm
Tickets: £20 General Admission
Like the Dickens classic itself, Alan Barnes’s “Copperfield” has something for everyone. A great night out that is also a treat for the jazz connoisseur; it will delight anyone who loves music or literature – or just being entertained!
This new suite of pieces, touring for the first time this year, takes the audience through the characters and scenes of ‘David Copperfield”. Readings from the original Dickens tell the story, and after each scene eight virtuoso musicians bring the characters and scenes to life, switching audiences from hilarity to pathos with a skill that would have done credit to Dickens himself!
A cheery clarinet plays Copperfield, the lost orphan Little Em’ly is a lyrical tenor, Mr Dick flies his kite in the personage of a soaring flugelhorn and trombone, Mr Micawber expresses “Something will turn up!”on the piano and Uriah Heep writhes around on the bass clarinet. Just as we see David progress through the trials of his life, so the movements of this suite seem to develop along with him.
The music and readings inspire the full range of Dickens’s imagination and emotion: from loneliness and remorse through to love and then irresistible joy.
”Barnes is a true Dickensian. He is a serious reader of the novels. It is a clear blunder of providence that he was born too late to appear in their pages!” - Hot News
Alan Barnes – Saxophone, Clarinet and Bass Clarinet
Bruce Adams – Trumpet
Mark Nightingale – Trombone
Robert Fowler – Saxophones and Clarinet
Karen Sharp – Saxophones and Clarinet
David Newton – Piano
Simon Thorpe – Bass
Clark Tracey – Drums
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Sara Dowling Quartet
Date: Tuesday 20th September
Doors: 7.15pm / Bar: 7:15pm / Show: 8.00pm
Tickets: £20 General Admission
Voted Best Vocalist in the British Jazz Awards 2019, Sara Dowling is gaining fame as one of the most talented jazz singers in the UK. She first trained as a cellist at Chetham’s and the RNCM, before emerging as a powerful and expressive jazz vocalist and composer. Her most important influences are Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan.
Although her vocal approach is steeped in the jazz idiom and its repertoire, Sara is now coming forth with her own original sound that resonates in her compositions as well as her unique approach to standards.
The fabulous fearlessness with which she approaches the act of singing, the burning conviction, the irresistible communicative power and jaw-dropping musicality she brings to it makes Sara one of the UK’s leading Jazz vocalists.
With ROSS STANLEY – piano, DARIO DI LECCE – bass, STEVE BROWN – drums
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TBC
Date: Tuesday 18th October
Doors: 7.15pm / Bar: 7:15pm / Show: 8.00pm
Tickets: £20 General Admission
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TBC
Date: Tuesday 15th November
Doors: 7.15pm / Bar: 7:15pm / Show: 8.00pm
Tickets: £20 General Admission
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What’s New
Ian Shaw, Iain Ballamy, Jamie Safir
Date: Tuesday 6th December
Doors: 7.15pm / Bar: 7:15pm / Show: 8.00pm
Tickets: £22 General Admission
Note: Ticket price includes a complimentary glass of prosecco and mince pie.
What’s New is an exciting collaboration between three of the UK’s leading jazz musicians playing in chamber format: multi-award winning vocalist IAN SHAW, his contemporary the legendary saxophonist and composer IAIN BALLAMY and one of the finest young pianists of his generation JAMIE SAFIR . Their interplay draws on the connection of Ballamy and Shaw who have known one another almost since the start of both their careers.
The music is about human connections - friendships, relationships, positive and otherwise - and plunders 80 years of the popular song. Expect new arrangements, from the title song of their recording to Bernstein’s Some Other Time as well as the Bacharach/David classics Alfie and You’ll Never Get To Heaven alongside works by Legrand, Jobim and Ellington.
“Three great jazz voices entwining. Captivating.” - Robert Elms, BBC Radio London
Featuring Ian Shaw – vocals, Iain Ballamy - tenor sax, Jamie Safir – piano
An unmissable start to the Christmas Season!
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