Music / Jazz
Jazz pick of the week: March 30 – April 5
A pretty thin jazz week looms, so hoorah for the Canteen for laying on a third of the gigs – three out of nine. The bad news, however, is that a similar proportion of events are all happening on the same night – Wednesday 1 (and I promise this isn’t an April Fool gag).
On that night Canteen offers paint-stripping jazz/funk sax energy from Matt Sibley’s Quartet (also featuring fellow Code Red veteran Andy Christie on guitar, Andy Novak on keys and Eddie John drumming) while Moscow Drug Club’s Gypsy-noir (above) returns to the Fringe Jazz @ The Mall session and violin-led manouche outfit The Schmoozenbergs will likewise be turning No 1 Harbourside into a Parisian Gypsy swing cafe.
The Canteen jazz week begins on Monday 30 with their fortnightly jazz jam session and ends on Sunday 6 with Bruce/Ilett 6, a pocket selection of their big band line-up led by Jonny Bruce’s trumpet and Denny Ilett on guitar – a masterful pairing of talents. If you find the hurly-burly and lateness of the Canteen’s evening gigs off-putting, the Sunday afternoon sessions have a much more relaxed vibe.
And that just leaves three: John Pearce‘s full-toned jazz violin stars at Future Inn (Thursday 2) with James Morton’s regular Groove Den session at the Gallimaufry welcoming a surprise guest the same night and Dave O’Higgins debut visit to the Bebop Club (Friday 3 – see below) … though you might want to check out the Old Fish Market Facebook page for a last minute update on their Sunday evening jazz trio slot.
Gig pick: Dave O’Higgins Quartet (Bebop Club, Friday 3) With a CV that embraces both Brubeck brothers plus Ray Charles and Mr Bean he’s clearly respected worldwide yet, amazingly, this is the first visit to the Bebop for one of the country’s top post-bop sax talents.
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
