Gigs normally take place at:
East Hastings Sea Angling Association
The Stade, Hastings, TN34 3JF
Doors open 7.45 for 8.30 start.
Tuesday 6th August
ROD YOUNGS QUARTET
Rod Youngs: Drums
Tony Kofi: Alto Saxophone
Byron Wallen: Trumpet
Renato Paris: Piano/vocals
Larry Bartley: Bass
London-based drummer Rod Youngs’ approach to music is intuitive, emotional and all-embracing but soundly rooted in the jazz tradition. He moves seamlessly from one genre to another, always preserving stylistic conventions whilst injecting creativity and individuality. A native of Washington DC, Rod developed an interest in music from his father, who managed some of DC’s foremost R&B bands. He developed a life-long obsession with drums and percussion. Since those early years, Rod’s consummate musicianship has brought him a wide variety of work including concerts, numerous recordings and sessions for radio, TV and film. He has become the drummer of choice for a formidable array of artists including Gil Scott-Heron, Courtney Pine, Hugh Masakela, Natalie Cole, Mica Paris and Abdullah Ibrahim. This session will celebrate the music of legendary American drummer Max Roach, who was born 100 years ago this year. For this special evening Rod has brought together some of the UK’s leading jazz artists: Tony Kofi on Alto Sax, Byron Wallen on trumpet, Renato Paris on drums and vocals and Larry Bartley on Bass.
Tuesday 3rd September
REBECKA EDLUND’S VIRGIN
FOREST BAND
Rebecka Edlund: Vocals and 12 string guitar
Laura Jurd: Trumpet
Elliot Galvin: Piano
Caius Williams: Bass
Rebecka Edlund is an award-winning Swedish singer, lyricist and composer. Her music is a joyous mix of jazz and Scandinavian folk music, herding calls, bird whistles and other sounds from nature, exploring freely improvised storytelling and contemporary song writing.
Her debut performance at Jazz Hastings last year with drummer Corrie Dick’s Sun Swells project wowed the audience. This new session will explore the sound world of jazz and feisty folk music through original compositions, improvisations and favourites from the American Song Book. Rebecka’s band features some of the most exciting musicians on the UK scene. Laura Jurd’s distinct voice as an improvising trumpet player is at the heart of everything she creates. Her band Dinosaur was recently nominated for a Mercury prize.
Elliot Galvin is a composer, pianist and bandleader whose entirely improvised solo piano album was named The BBC Music Magazine’s album of the year. While Caius Williams is an improviser, bassist, and composer with a varied practice including improvised, electronic and experimental music.
Tuesday 1st October
ADAM GLASSER QUARTET
Adam Glasser:
Piano/Harmonica
Ant Law: Guitar
Steve Watts: Bass
Corrie Dick: Drums
Adam Glasser is widely regarded as one of Europe’s leading jazz chromatic harmonica players. A virtuoso on the instrument Adam’s playing is eloquent, subtle and constantly inventive (he is a fine pianist as well). Renowned as a leading exponent of South African township jazz, of which there will be a lot in this session, he has released two critically acclaimed albums on US Sunnyside Records, ‘Free at First’ (Winner SA Music Awards Best Jazz Album 2010) and ‘Mzansi’ (SAMA Best Jazz Album nominee 2012).
Across a rich career spanning over four decades, Adam includes performances with South African legend Dudu Pukwana, Martha Reeves and Vandellas, Jimmy Witherspoon, Incognito and Hugh Masakela. He has twice stood in for the incomparable Stevie Wonder, once live on TV with Sting and once with The Eurythmics at the Party in the Park.
Adam’s latest quartet features cutting edge members of the contemporary UK jazz scene, guitar virtuoso Ant Law (a ‘gamechanger’, Guardian), bassist Steve Watts and drummer Corrie Dick. Should be an amazing evening.
Tuesday 5th November
DAVID PRESTON – ‘Mµ Quartet’
featuring Ivo Neame, Jeremy Stacey & Tom Farmer
David Preston: Guitar
Ivo Neame: Piano
Jeremy Stacey: Drums
Tom Farmer: Bass
London based guitarist and composer, David Preston has been described by the Guardian as “Virtuosic” and Time Out as “A superb modern jazz guitarist”. He released his debut solo album ‘Purple / Black Volume 1’ on Whirlwind Recordings in 2023. It received Editors Choice and a 4 star review in May 2023 issue of Jazzwise Magazine. Volume 2 is scheduled for 2024. A finalist at the Montreux International Guitar competition, David has been active as a sideman for a variety of UK musicians such as Nathaniel Facey, Asaf Sirkis, Emma Rawicz, and the internationally celebrated piano and drum virtuoso Gary Husband. He has performed/toured/recorded with many US artists such as Grammy-Winning US jazz vocalists Melody Gardot, Curtis Stigers and Jesse Harris. His band for this session will feature multi-award winning pianist Ivo Neame; brilliant drummer Jeremy Stacey, who has worked with such stars as Robbie Williams, Will Young, Gary Barlow, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Beverley Knight and Sheryl Crow; and bass-player Tom Farmer, probably best known for his work with Empirical (see December).
Tuesday 3rd December
EMPIRICAL
Nathaniel Facey: Alto Sax
Tom Farmer: Bass
Shaney Forbes: Drums
Founded in 2007, Empirical is ‘still a reliable touchstone of contemporary British jazz at its most sophisticated’ (Jazzwise 2022). For the last 16 years, the band has featured the same line-up, though for this session they will be without their regular vibraphone player Lewis Wright. Collective study and exploration has remained the bedrock of Empirical’s creative process and has seen the band assimilate influences from right across the rich history of jazz. Oblique harmonies, translucent textures and jagged, quick shifting rhythms are the signposts of Empirical’s musical territory.
Alongside their ceaselessly fearless creative fervour, Empirical have succeeded in establishing an instantly recognisable group sound that is rife with raw energy and roiling emotion. “As anyone who has heard the band live will know, their approach is so fresh and their sound so appealing that there’s never a dull moment.” (The Observer)
Over the years the band have won multiple awards, including two Parliamentary Jazz Awards as Best Jazz Ensemble and MOBO and Urban Music Awards for Best Jazz Act.