John Donegan Sextet

John Donegan – piano, Andy Hague – trumpet, Luke Annesley – alto sax,  Ben Waghorn – tenor Sax, Chris Jones – bass, Ryan Thrupp – drums.

Originally from Cork in Ireland, John Donegan lived in Bristol during the 90s and was a mainstay of the jazz scene here before work took him to London. Now retired from his day job, over the past few years John has been able to dedicate his time exclusively to music and has released several recordings demonstrating his compositional skills including a suite of 21 contemporary pieces which have been released as 2 CDs, Siamsa Vols 1 & 2. “An intriguing combination of classic bebop laced with Irish folk melody, this album from pianist John and his saxophonist friend Tommaso Starace is full of sublime lyrical moments” – Musicians Union Magazine.

The music for tonight’s gig will mostly be drawn from John’s latest release Shadows Linger – The Irish Sextet which was recorded in Dublin in April 2022 featuring some of Ireland’s best known players including saxophonists Michael and Richie Buckley [both ex-Van Morrison band] and trumpeter Linley Hamilton, presenter of BBC Radio Ulster’s Jazz World programme. “Although firmly within the jazz tradition his compositions still sound fresh and exciting and the standard of the playing from this stellar Irish sextet is excellent throughout.” – The JazzMann.

When performing in London John’s sextet includes such heavy hitters as Steve Fishwick on trumpet and Alex Hitchcock on tenor sax, but for tonight we have assembled a special cast of Bristol’s finest players to perform John’s excellent arrangements – hopefully all of whom should be no strangers to our regular audience.

This will be the first time John has performed at the club since we moved to the Hen and Chicken, and also the first time we have attempted to squeeze six players on to the Chicken Shed stage!

More info about John – www.johndoneganjazz.com
Listen to Shadows Linger – https://johndonegan.bandcamp.com/