Past Events

Ticket Link : https://www.wegottickets.com/event/589826

The Dean Stockdale Quartet brings together four of the UK’s finest musicians to showcase the music of the great Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson.

Showcasing new arrangements of Oscar’s compositions and music from famous albums such as “Night Train”, “We Get Requests” and “The Canadiana Suite”, this is a show that brings the infectious swing and virtuosity that symbolised Oscar’s groups such as those with Ray Brown, Joe Pass and Ed Thigpen, and this quartet reflects the influence Oscar continues to have on musicians and listeners worldwide with his musicality, elegance and unsurpassed pianism.

Dean Stockdale is a highly regarded jazz pianist, arranger and composer based in the North of England who is known for his sensitive, swinging style. He regularly appears around the UK with his trio and some of the best names in UK jazz. His biggest influences in jazz are the piano styles of Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Gene Harris, Mulgrew Miller and Erroll Garner.

Dean continues to be in demand as a performer with his trio and quartet, and as pianist for touring jazz artists, accompanist for vocalists and as a teacher and session pianist. 2021 saw the release of his second trio album entitled “Promise the Moon”, which was featured on BBC Radio 3, Jazz FM and BBC Introducing.

“Stockdale’s playing is consistently engaging and uniformly excellent” – Ian Mann

“These sessions rarely deliver anything less than excellence and today topped just about everything that had preceded it. I feel sad for those who weren’t there” – Lance Liddle, Bebop Spoken Here

Lineup:
Dean Stockdale – Piano, Tim Williams – Guitar, Gavin Barras – Double Bass, Gaz Hughes – Drums

Ticket Link:  https://www.wegottickets.com/event/585548

A brand new ensemble ‘Rhythm-a-ting’ exploring the compositions of Thelonious Monk with the Xhosa Cole fingerprint perfect for a live setting.

Winner of the 2018 BBC Young Jazz Musician of the year, Xhosa Cole is an embodiment of the success of numerous community arts programmes in Birmingham including the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra, Jazzlines Ensemble and Birmingham Music Service. Having grown up in Handsworth and first played the Tenor at Andy Hamilton’s Ladywood Community Music School, he’s now among a long legacy of Birmingham Saxophonists including Soweto Kinch and Shabaka Hutchings. Xhosa has performed twice at the BBC Proms, Composed music for the Flatpack Film Festival, recorded saxophone for Mahalia’s debut album ‘Love and Compromise’, completed a 22 date UK tour, and released his critically acclaimed debut album K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us alongside Soweto Kinch, Reuben James and Jay Phelps. Xhosa Also received the Parliamentary Jazz Award for ‘Best Newcomer’ and Jazz FM ‘Breakthrough act of the year’.

Xhosa has performed alongside artists including Monty Alexander and Courtney Pine and as a soloist for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales; at prestigious venues including Cadogan Hall and Ronnie Scotts. As a recording artist, Xhosa featured on Soweto Kinch’s latest album ‘Black Peril’ where he played alongside African-American Jazz titans: Drummer, Gregory Hutchinson and Pianist, ELEW (Eric Lewis). Cole has also started to breakthrough as an up-and-coming composer. Some of his recent commissions have been from the Ideas of Noise Festival, Ripieno Players, For-wards & Birmingham Town Hall Symphony Hall. Much of his writing is informed by his time engrossed in the Jazz cannon, however through composition he has explored a multitude of muses including Arithmetic and Geometric Maths, Biology, Classical Western Harmony and elements of traditional Yoruba Culture and Music.

Xhosa’s deep and authentic connection to the lineage of Jazz music has helped to establish him among the most exciting young talents in the country. At this stage in his career he is continually learning, developing and growing; in keeping with this great tradition. His exposure to players from a range of different traditions and outlooks, compounded by his strong connection to his inner-city community in Handsworth at the heart of Birmingham, has helped to develop a fiercely unique and independent voice.

Line Up: Xhosa Cole – Tenor Sax, Steve Saunders – Guitar, Josh Vadiveloo – Double Bass, Nathan England Jones – drums