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March to June 2012
Damon Brown International Band "UGETSU" featurin Yutaka Shiina
Neon
A bit of a mouthful - an evening with Ian Shaw
Geoff Eales and Isorhythm
Sarah Gillespie band featuring Gilad Atzmon
Tournesol Trio
Gilad Atzmon's Orient House Ensemble with the Sigamos Quartet
Phronesis
Cecilia Stalin band with Tony Kofi
Whitehead / Gee Quartet
Aubin Vanns Trio
Kim Macari Sextet
Tom Thorp's Mercury Quartet
Damon Brown International Band "UGETSU" featuring Yutaka Shiina
(Friday 9 March)

Damon is a very active trumpeter based in Paris and linked through his European playing with an international rang e of Jazz stars including Steve Grossman with whom he runs a quintet. He's also a member of popular funk band Push. His award-winning band Killer Shrimp with Ed Jones has always gone down well at Wakefield and we can expect similar post bop melodious music tonight.

However the range of influences deriving from the foremost Japanese pianist, German bass player and three Brit.s will be various and interesting. Matt Skelton is drummer of choice for the John Wilson Orchestra (among others) - he therefore had a gig at last summer's Proms.

Damon Brown - trumpet
Yutaka Shiina - piano
Christian Brewer - alto / soprano sax
Martin Zenker - bass
Matt Skelton - drums

Latest CD: Sincerely Whatever (33 records)

Web: www.damonbrown.co.uk

Web: www.MySpace.com/damonbrownjazz

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Damon Brown
Damon Brown



Neon  
(Friday 16 March)
With Support from Michael De Souza Quartet

This chamber jazz quartet has been running for 10 years or so and has Jim and Stan as immutable members. With Kit Downes' freewheeling piano and Tim Giles' impressionistic drums the quartet has moved further into the realm of contemporary melodic jazz where the interaction of the members is as important as the soaring solos which are played. The lyrical sounds they produce yield one of those rare experiences in jazz; the truly moving moment when the beauty of the music overwhelms the means of its production. Very sophisticated playing in any genre aspires to this but rarely achieves it. Three of its members write for the band and so original "purpose-built " tunes are the mainstay of its presentation.

"An enjoyable, power-packed and inventive session by a band comprising some of the most individual talents on the British scene… It's top-drawer contemporary jazz" - YORKSHIRE POST

Stan Sulzman - tenor sax
Jim Hart - vibraphone
Kit Downes - piano
Tim Giles - drums

Latest CD: Catch Me (Edition Records)

Web: www.editionrecords.com/artists/neon-quartet


Michael De Souza Quartet
Michel De Souza - guitar
Ben Smith - alto sax
Tom Wheatley - bass
Harry Pope - drums


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Neon
Neon


A bit of a mouthful - an evening with Ian Shaw
Supported by the Ben Mallinder Band
(Friday 23 March)

Ian Shaw is one of the world's leading Jazz Singers and a National Treasure. You may not know that he started his career on the comedy circuit with the likes of Julian Clary and Jo Brand. Recently he has revived that area of his talent and done a tour with Rory Bremner and Hattie Hayridge known as "Rory Bremner and Friends" . It is a development of that material with extra songs, some from the solo album "Somewhere towards Love" ,that we will be treated to tonight.

Many of us who are used to his "asides" , often in the middle of a song, have wondered how the full on comedy persona would work, with little doubt that we'd be rolling in the aisles. So for Jazz singing of the best, piano playing to match and a built-in comedy show Wakefield Jazz is the place to be tonight.

"a high-class performance of timelessly high-class songs ... technically immaculate" - The Guardian

Ian Shaw - piano, vocals and innuendo

Latest CD: The Abbey Road Sessions (Splashpoint records)

Web: www.ianshaw.biz

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Ian Shaw
Ian Shaw
Geoff Eales and Isorhythm
(Friday 20 April)

If you wonder how jazz developed after Weather Report - this could be it.

This genre-busting band lifts Geoff past modern towards avant-garde . He has shaken off any mustiness left from his long years at the BBC, indulged his creative curiosity and is rocking again.

Geoff has been waiting 30 years to get this band together. He has challenged himself by teaming up with new musicians Carl Orr and Ben Waghorne, gutsy and imaginative players in their own right. He now has a hard-hitting outfit with bass and drums to match.

(Geoff Eales) "...is a thoroughly mature and versatile musician, and this vibrant album is a welcome addition to his impressive discography." - Chris Parker

Geoff Eales - piano & Fender Rhodes
Carl Orr - guitar
BenWaghorne -saxes & bass clarinet
Fred T Baker - electric bass
Mark Fletcher - drums

Latest CD: Shifting Sands (33JAZZ26)

Web: www.geoffeales.com

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Geoff Eales
Geoff Eales
Sarah Gillespie band featuring Gilad Atzmon  
(Friday 27 April)

Committed singer with a story to tell; words and music in harmony.

Described as delivering "...a melting-pot mix of urban-folk stamped with her trademark lyricism that knits everyday banter with raw poetry." Sarah's compositions demand to be supported by an accomplished musician to match the power of her words. This is exactly what Gilad provides.

We may be given a taste of "The War on Trevor", her new PRS-commissioned narrative piece of music, just-launched.

In a fifteen date tour this is your ONLY chance to experience this British-American artist in the North.

"Gillespie, who joins Bob Dylan's lyrical bite and languid delivery to the forthrightness of Joni Mitchell, with a little rap-like percussiveness thrown in, is an original." - John Fordham

Sarah Gillespie - guitar and voice
Gilad Atzmon - clarinet and accordion
Ben Bastin - electric bass
Eddie Hick - drums

Latest CD: In the Current Climate

Web: www.sarahgillespie.com

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Sarah Gillespie
Sarah Gillespie

Sarah Gillespie band
Sarah Gillespie band

Tournesol Trio
(Friday 4 May)

Totally lyrical modern playing from young chamber jazzers.

Will Butterworth, pianist from Dylan Howe's Stravinski project teams up with like-minded altoist Séb Pipe to give a performance with many classical overtones. This is not cross-over or fusion, just beautiful music.

The drum-free sound of this trio reveals and enhances the intimate interaction of the musicians as they weave a magical tapestry of impressions.

Séb Pipe - alto sax
Will Butterworth - piano
Marcus Penrose - bass

Latest CD: First CD "Tournesol" (Kelsey records - CMKD 1102)


Web: www.myspace.com/tournesoltrio

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Tournesol Trio
Tournesol Trio


Gilad Atzmon's Orient House Ensemble with the Sigamos Quartet
(Friday 11 May)

Parker with strings inspired this, now Robert Wyatt influences the material.

Whether honking for the Blockheads, soaring with this project, emoting in the Orient House or accompanying Sarah Gillespie, Gilad never gives less than his whole self when playing.
Commitment comes naturally to him in all aspects of his life.

As well as arranging some of his own pieces for strings Gilad now adds new work from a collaboration with Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine, Brian Eno, Bjork, David Gilmore) from "For the Ghosts Within"

"(Gilad) ...succeeds in conveying Bird's mercurial genius, as well as accurately re-presenting what counts as some of the most profoundly beautiful music ever made." - Phil Johnson

We are particularly grateful to a sponsor for underwriting this concert.

O H E
Gilad Atzmon - saxes and clarinet
Frank Harrison - piano
Yaron Stavi - bass
Eddie Hick - drums

Sigamos Quartet led by Lizzie Ball

Latest CD: The Tide has Changed

Web: www.gilad.co.uk



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Gilad Atzmon's OHE
Gilad Atzmon's Orient House Ensemble with the Sigamos Quartet

Phronesis - plus support from Jay Davis Trio
(Friday 18 May)

The most successful of the new wave of European bands.


Just selected for the International Jazz Festival Organization (IJFO) new talent support programme over the next three years.

This European tour promotes the fourth CD by this remarkably intuitive group and follows "Alive" voted album of the year 2010 in Jazzwise and MOJO magazines.

The Phronesis sound incorporates tight rhythmic patterns and exploratory openness to create music that by turns drives with urban energy and resonates with sheer delightful abstraction.

Led by Dane Høiby, with Swede Eger and Brit Neame who, heard on alto sax with Gemini, plays his first instrument with totally fluent vibrancy.

Ivo Neame - piano
Jasper Høiby - bass
Anton Eger - drums

Latest CD: Walking Dark (EDN1031)

News article

Web: www.phronesismusic.com

Jay Davis Trio
Declan Forde - piano
Tom Wheatley - bass
Jay Davis - drums



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Phronesis
Phronesis

Cecilia Stalin band with Tony Kofi  
(Friday 25 May)

Swedish import sings the music of John Coltrane

Another first for Wakefield Jazz - Cecilia had an illustrious career in Stockholm before moving to London where she quickly made a name for herself too.

She is particularly notable for her own lyrics to, or arrangements of, Coltrane numbers - an ambitious project for a singer which was encouraged by Reggie Workman while she was working with him in New York. Her performance of Waltz for Koop with the nu-jazz duo Koop was included in the soundtrack for Woody Allen's film Match Point

Tony Kofi will spice up the mix and we introduce Peter Edwards musical director of Tomorrow's Warriors Jazz Orchestra and pianist for Abram Wilson.

Cecilia Stalin - voice
Esben Tjalve - piano
Tony Kofi - saxes
Ben Hazelton - bass
Rod Youngs - drums

Latest CD: Coltrane Away

Web: www.ceciliastalin.com

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Cecilia Stalin
Cecilia Stalin
Whitehead / Gee Quartet - supported by singer Lorraine Cowburn accompanied by guitarist Gary Boyle
(Friday 1 June)

Return of a highlight band from the Gemma Sykes tribute concert.

This gig is the climax of Wakefield Jazz's 25th year. To celebrate this, Jonathan Gee has been commissioned to write a piece (working title Wakefield Silver) to be premiered on this occasion. We are delighted he has agreed to do this and look forward immensely to hearing it.


This group of musicians came together for a short set in May 2011 when a charity concert placed them on the same bill. Their interaction was so electric that they had to be asked back for a full gig. Amazingly they agreed and were available tonight - a coup for Wakefield Jazz.

All are band-leaders in their own right. They can co-operate at the drop of a hat and their combined experience makes marvellous music inevitable.

Come and encourage them to recreate the magic once more for a full two hours.

Jonathan Gee - piano
Tim Whitehead - saxes
Arnie Somogyi - bass
Winston Clifford - drums

Latest CD: n/a

Web: http://www.timwhitehead.co.uk

Web: http://www.jonathangeetrio.co.uk

Web: http://www.arniesomogyi.com

Wakefield Jazz 25 Years

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Tim Whitehead
Tim Whitehead

Jonathan Gee
Jonathan Gee

Arnie Somogyi
Arnie Somogyi

Winston Clifford
Winston Clifford
Summer Festival of Green Shoots

Featuring the most promising of the new musicians with great bands from the nearby region.

Aubin Vanns Trio

(Friday 15 June)

Aubin Vanns - guitar
Martin Longhawn - piano
Steve Hanley - drums


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Kim Macari Sextet
(Friday 22 June)

Kim Macari - trumpet & flugel
Riley Stone-Lonergan - tenor
Ant Law - guitar
Declan Forde - piano
Tom Wheatley - bass
Steve Hanley - drums



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Tom Thorp's Mercury Quartet
(Friday 29 June)

Tom Thorpe - saxophones
Daniel Brew - guitar
Tim Langstone - bass
Jim Molyneux - drums

"Mercury build the excitement and the beauty of improvised music into more modern feels and musical languages without losing the sophistication of compositional techniques, resulting in a whirling sound that sits somewhere in the space between contemporary jazz and popular music, and reflects their love of ECM, Rock and Electronica." - Manchester Jazz Festival

Debut album "Impetus" released June

Web: http://www.mercuryquartetmanchester.co.uk

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Mercury




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Archive of past gigs 22 phronesis Geoff Eales Winston Clifford Cecilia Stalin