Ross Hicks is a young Cardiff based pianist who made a great impression on a short tour with saxophonist Simon Spillett last summer: "Hicks was a revelation, ideas emerged and developed and injected drama even as the pieces unfolded at near terminal velocity" - Mike Collins . Debuting his upcoming album ‘Three Elms’, Ross and...
The Sophie Stockham Quartet pay tribute to the great hard-bop saxophonist Lou Donaldson. Known for his soulful bluesy approach to the saxophone, Donaldson was one of the pioneering voices in Hard Bop during his time with Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers and Horace Silver. Saxophonist and composer Sophie Stockham Brown (Starlings, Orphic, Dakhla, Sefrial,...
Martin Kern grew up in Bülach near Zürich in Switzerland and first started to play classical cello, then later at age 17 picked up the saxophone. He studied in Paris at the Cèntre d´'Information Musicale and at the Swiss Jazz School in Bern before spending some time in New York. He then moved to Berlin...
Double bassist James Owston last appeared at the club back in December with saxophonist Alex Clarke, playing alongside Dave Newton and Clark Tracey, and has a growing national reputation both as a player and band leader. In 2019 James graduated from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with a first-class degree with honours, since when he has...
Pianist John Donegan's visit last year was one of our most enjoyable gigs of 2023, in which a Bristol line-up performed music from John's album Shadows Linger, originally recorded by the cream of Ireland's jazz musicians in 2022. Shortly after that performance John was back in Dublin to record the follow-up album Light Streams with...
John Law (“one of our finest pianists” - Jon Turney, London Jazz News, Feb 2024) presents his Re-Creations project. The idea is simple: creatively re-work some of the best known tunes from all genres and that way we musicians can do what we want with them and the audience always feels part of the creative...
Sara Colman makes her debut visit to The Be-Bop club, bringing her quintet of longstanding collaborators. The ensemble will perform music from Sara’s album Ink on a Pin: A Celebration of Joni Mitchell featuring arrangements of songs drawn from the albums Blue, Court & Spark, Hejira, The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Clouds and Wild Things...
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...
Dan Newberry and Andy Hague have played together at the club previously in a quintet with piano and bass, but for tonight's performance have invited Tom Berge to play Hammond organ in a set focusing on the groovier end of Blue Note-style jazz. Saxophonist Dan Newberry is currently studying for a Masters at the Royal...
Saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulos provided one of our most memorable gigs of 2023 when he visited to present his Dexterity project, playing the music of Dexter Gordon as quintet. For his latest venture he has teamed up with long term collaborator pianist Paul Edis for new album Feels Like Home, released April 2024 on the Ubuntu...
Juggenaught is a Birmingham based quartet, led by pianist Piera Onacko. Incorporating soundscapes and open passages with heavy grooves and structured basslines, the band bring avant-garde and experimental influences to a modern jazz setting. Following appearances including Lancaster, Moseley, Cheltenham and Marsden Jazz festivals, The Vortex, Matt and Phreds, Spice of Life, Symphony Hall and...
The Dave Storey Trio present material from their third album 'CIRCEO’ featuring their signature quicksilver interplay honed over almost a decade of playing and touring together. The jazz tradition brought to life for the 21st century – communication with love, humour and fire.Featuring long term collaborators multi-award winning saxophonist James Allsopp (Kit Downes, Last Poets)...
