Tuesday 3rd September

LOUIS MOHOLO-MOHOLO’S FOUR BLOKES

Louis Moholo-Moholo: Drums
Jason Yarde: Saxes
Alexander Hawkins: Piano
John Edwards: Bass

An intriguing evening with the venerable South African drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo and his quartet Four Blokes, featuring longtime collaborators Jason Yarde (well known to Jazz Hastings devotees), Alexander Hawkings and John Edwards.

Born in Cape Town in 1940, Louis has been a seminal figure since his emergence with the legendary Blue Notes in the 1960s. Since then he’s played with classic line-ups such as Brotherhood of Breath and his own bands Spirits Rejoice and Viva La Black.
That last band became the first black group to tour South Africa, sponsored by the British Council, as the end of Apartheid and freedom became imminent and irreversible.
The other three ‘blokes’ in the quartet are also at the cutting edge of modern creative jazz. We know Jason as a highly sought after musician; Alexander and John have equal international reputations.
“Listen to the …quartet to understand how, in this music, the individual and the collective can simultaneously attain equal importance: a most elevated state of being” wrote one critic.

Tuesday 1st October

TWO OF A MIND

Chris Biscoe: Baritone Sax
Allison Neale: Alto Sax
Simon Thorpe: Bass
Matt Fishwick: Drums

Saxophonists Chris Biscoe and Allison Neale formed Two of a Mind to explore afresh the freewheeling, wonderfully melodic interpretations of standard material recorded 50 years ago by Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond on the classic albums Blues in Time and Two of a Mind.
Reflecting the line-up of the originals, the new band is a quartet of baritone and alto sax, bass and drums. It evokes the spirit of these classic recordings while giving free reign to the personalities of the musicians.
Multi-instrumentalist Chris Biscoe has featured on baritone sax with such big bands as Graham Collier and the New York Composers Orchestra. American born altoist Allison Neale’s beautifully crafted lines evoke the spirit of Paul Desmond and Art Pepper, with whom she has a particular affinity.
They will be joined by bass player Simon Thorpe, well known to Jazz Hastings from Hexagonal. And by drummer Matt Fishwick, who has played in the UK and USA with Scott Hamilton, Jim Mullen, Anita O’Day and many others.

Tuesday 5th November

JIM RATTIGAN’S PAVILLON

Jim Rattigan: French Horn
Martin Speake, Andy Panayi and Mick Foster: Saxes
Percy Purseglove, Steve Fishwisk and Robbie Robson: Trumpets
Mark Nightingale and Sarah Williams: Trombones
Hans Koller: Piano Dave Whitford: Bass
Gene Calderazzo: Drums

Jim Rattigan is a rare thing in jazz: a French horn player – not many of them about – who for the last 19 years has also headed and composed for his own 12-piece group called Pavillon, each member of which can safely be described as “a player of note”.
He studied at Trinity College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music and for six years was a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. But during that time he was also always playing jazz.
He founded Pavillon in 2000 and has since recorded five albums. A sixth is in the pipeline. In 2016/17, the band enjoyed a highly successful Arts Council tour.
In a review, Dave Gelly in The Guardian described Rattigan as “a composer with a canny approach when it comes to combining the sounds of various instruments. The distinctive voice of the horn becomes familiar as it weaves among the saxophones and trumpets and takes its turn among the soloists.”

Tuesday 17th December

O’HIGGINS AND LUFT PLAY MONK AND TRANE

Dave O’Higgins: Tenor sax
Rob Luft: Guitar
Scott Flanigan: Organ
Rod Youngs: Drums

Jazz veteran Dave O’Higgins and young “firebrand” Rob Luft will lead a quartet featuring Thelonious Monk compositions (expect some rarely heard ones!) and tunes played by John Coltrane with especial reference to his choice of standards in the 1950s.
Both Monk and Trane were “modernists”, but also steeped in swing and the rich tradition of the beboppers. Dave and Rob intend to respect this lineage whilst putting their own mark on it. Expect some swing, fun, grooves and moods from this exciting new collaboration.
Dave has worked with some of the world’s finest musicians, including Jimmy Smith, Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, Stephan Grapelli, Jamie Cullum, John Dankworth, Cleo Lane and Frank Sinatra.
Rob, a 25-year-old Londoner, was named “Breakthrough Act of the Year” in last year’s Jazz FM Awards and was nominated “British Jazz Musician of the Year” in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2018.
They will be joined by Irish keyboard player Scott Flanigan and American drummer Rod Youngs, last seen at Jazz Hastings in February.

All gigs take place at:

East Hastings Sea Angling Association

The Stade, Hastings, TN34 3JF

Doors open 7.45 for 8.30 start.