Club News

July & August

Thanks to every one of you who has been supporting all year; we continue to

Welcome to the Summer Edition of Jazz Matters; we hope that you’ve managed to survive the spring and will be celebrating the lighter evenings and (hopefully) warmer weather with plenty of visits to

  Once again we have a varied programme of top class performers that includes some regular favourites and some extremely interesting new musicians, all of whom will be delivering jazz of the highest quality.

July 3rd Pete Churchill – piano & vocals

Pete is a pianist of great versatility who disappears off the positive end of the scale on the ‘swing-o-meter’.  Add this to a vocal ability that is fluent, highly melodious and sensitive and it becomes easy to understand why this wonderful musician is among the most popular to appear at our venue.  With his encyclopaedic knowledge of songs and composers Pete invariably offers a programme that is absorbing and informative that is delivered with charm and style. In addition to a reputation of the highest order as a jazz educator, Pete’s pedigree includes a spell as musical director for Five Guys Named Mo’ in the West End, so it is obvious that this multi-faceted performer will offer a stimulating evening of entertaining and meaningful jazz.

July 10th Bruce Adams - trumpet & flugelhorn

A trumpeter of immense yet beautifully controlled power with great originality and the ability to absorb and adopt a huge variety of jazz styles and moods, Bruce really needs to be seen and heard in person to be fully appreciated.  A much soughtt after performer, Bruce offers the highest level of musicality allied to an outrageously fine sense of humour and an ability to engage with his audience on many levels.  Given his combination of a technique that compares with the very best, a rare degree of great taste and creative improvisation there is no doubt that anyone attending one of Bruce’s performance will be moved by the music, entertained by the humour and have their spirits lifted by this thoroughly engaging man.

July 17th Pete Long – saxophones

A saxophonist who plays with exuberance, enthusiasm & verve, Pete Long is a larger than life character who obviously enjoys creating great jazz.  Whether involved in one of his big band projects, that include leading ‘Echoes of Ellington, Gillespiana & the Ronnie Scott Big Band, or performing in front of a small group Pete always delivers music with that rare combination of thoughtfulness & excitement.  With a highly creative and incisive mind ‘Plong’ has trains of thought that are original and fascinating, whether improvising or chatting about his work.  Pete is a superb jazz musician who is always busy as a bandleader, arranger, composer and instrumentalist, if you come along to Googlies on 17th July you will see why.

July 24th Terry Smith – guitar

Terry Smith has been a fixture at the very top of the UK jazz scene since the 60s when he dominated the polls as Britain’s leading jazz guitarist.  His career has encompassed many facets of music including The Walker Brothers, J.J. Jackson’s Greatest Little Soul Band in The Land, Brother Jack McDuff and his own innovative jazz/rock band ‘IF’.  Terry displays an amazing technique with great sensitivity and soul, with which he produces jazz of the very highest quality.  An unassuming man, Terry is inventive and always worth hearing, other guitarists find him inspirational and the rest of us are simply enthralled by his taste and originality.

July 31st Allison Neale alto sax

Allison Neale is a jazz saxophonist and flautist. Born in Seattle, USA, and raised in Northamptonshire, UK  Allison started playing by ear at an early age, assimilating the stylistic approach of many players, but above all Paul Desmond and Art Pepper, with whom she still has a particular affinity.  Spending her formative years playing alto in the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra, she had the opportunity to perform with many leading international artists such as Adelaide Hall, Bobby Shew, Bud Shank, and Lanny Morgan, amongst others. Allison also held the flute chair in the national youth jazz orchestra between 1996 and 1998 following which she had a spell in the highly popular and much acclaimed Humphrey Lyttelton Band.  Now working with her own quartet and featuring as a soloist, Allison’s melodic approach and pure tonal quality delights audiences all over the country.

7th August Karen Sharpe – tenor saxophone

Karen took up the tenor saxophone whilst studying composition at the Royal Northern College of Music. A friend introduced her to a recording of Dexter Gordon and she was instantly hooked, quickly joining the college jazz band and finding regular work in a busy soul band based in Liverpool. Since relocating to London in 1999 Karen has become a busy freelance musician working alongside many top class British and American musicians such as Scott Hamilton, Sir John Dankworth, Danny Moss, Alan Barnes, Mark Nightingale, Annie Whitehead, Roy Williams & Tina May. In March 2004 Karen began a three-year stint in Humphrey Lyttelton’s band, which took her to venues and festivals across the UK and into Europe. Karen played at the Ginza Festival, Tokyo in 2006 with British singer Tina May and pianist Nikki Iles, and more recently Karen has been working closely with South African singer Esther Miller, with whom she appeared at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2007.

August 14th Frank Holder – vocals & percussion

Frank Holder sings with a clarity of tone that is beautiful to hear, his repertoire includes just about every ‘standard’ ever written and he delivers them with a level of energy that is astounding.   On top of that, Frank’s ability as a percussionist (mainly bongo and conga drums) provides a captivating rhythmic experience rarely seen in UK jazz clubs.  Frank was an original member of the John Dankworth bands and was instrumental in the discovery and development of Cleo Laine (long before she was Dame Cleo Laine) with whom he still performs.  An engaging and natural entertainer Frank’s performances offer a fresh and dynamic approach to jazz that will make your feet tap and your spirit sing.

August 21st Simon Allen – alto saxophone

Rapidly becoming a firm favourite at Googlies, this young saxophonist, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, plays with an assured authority that belies his age.  Simon’s approach to jazz is wholehearted and his enthusiasm is infectious, which allied to a magnificent technique, goes some way to explaining his deserved popularity.  Having been recently featured in the Clark Tracey Quartet (you can tell of a man’s quality by the company he keeps) Simon’s career is blossoming and he is undoubtedly destined for great things within the jazz world.  This is your chance to see one of tomorrow’s stars and understand one of the reasons why the future of jazz is in good hands.

August 28th John Barnes & Mike Cotton – saxophones & trumpet

Two stalwarts of Britain’s mainstream jazz community, John & Mike team up to bring an evening of hugely enjoyable jazz.  John Barnes began his career playing New Orleans Jazz with great success, since when he has performed with such luminaries as Alex Welsh, Gerry Mulligan, Bobby Wellins and Spike Robinson.  He is highly acclaimed on the whole range of the saxophone family and clarinet and is revered for his humorous approach to life, jazz and everything.  Mike Cotton has enjoyed a long established career as a trumpet, flugelhorn and harmonica player and as a distinguished bandleader.  His bands have worked in many fields of music including backing artists including Stevie Wonder, Solomon Burke and Doris Troy.  Mike is however, best known as a jazz trumpeter of great skill and versatility and with John will offer an evening of highly entertaining jazz.

J.J.

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