Jazz: Matt Hopkins/David Newton Quartet

The melodic and inventive guitar playing of Matt Hopkins has been featured in groups as stylistically diverse as Andy Sheppard’s Hotel Bristol, Emily Wright & The Royals, and the Hopkins-Hammond Trio. He also takes the lead role in the “Music of Pat Metheny” project alongside pianist Dave Newton. Matt is also known as an instructor and educator, specialising in jazz improvisation.

It’s a great pleasure to welcome internationally acclaimed pianist David Newton to the club for the first time since we moved to the Hen and Chicken. Dave Newton has been voted Best Pianist in the British Jazz Awards no less than ten times and has long associations with some of the UK’s top instrumentalists such as Don Weller and Alan Barnes. His exquisite touch has made him the accompanist of choice for vocalists such as Claire Martin and Stacey Kent.

On bass we have multi-instrumentalist Jules Jackson – whilst bass is his main instrument he is equally proficient on drums and keyboards and is also well known as a studio producer who has participated in the recording of many jazz albums. Besides all this, he is Assistant Deputy Head of Jazz at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Drummer Alex Goodyear has become an audience favourite with his dynamic and engaging drum solos and has recently toured Europe with John Law’s Recreations project.