Classical and Jazz - BRITISH JAZZ FESTIVAL at Ronnie Scott's - starts Sunday July 31st
Published: 28 July 2011
by SEBASTIAN TAYLOR
MORE than 100 musicians in more than 20 bands will be playing during the next fortnight in the third British Jazz Festival which gets under way at Ronnie Scott’s in Soho on Sunday.
There’s an eclectic mix of generations and jazz styles, big bands and small bands, singers and instrumentalists and some striking combinations in the nightly double-bills.
Kicking off the jazz-fest on Sunday is the club’s own jazz orchestra, showcasing the music of film score composer John Barry, best known for his James Bond soundtracks and such films as Out of Africa, Dances with Wolves and Midnight Cowboy.
On Monday, national treasure clarinettist Wally Fawkes and saxophonist Karen Sharp are leading Humphrey Lyttleton’s Original Band in a tribute to the much-loved broadcaster, comedy host and swing veteran who died in 2008. Wally Fawkes, a long-time Dartmouth Park resident, played in Humph’s first revivalist band in the late 1940s, staying with the band till 1956.
On Tuesday, a great double-bill has the Michael Garrick Big Band twinned with Hampstead guitarist John Etheridge and brilliant violinist Chris Garrick, son of Michael. On and off, pianist Mike Garrick’s has been playing at Ronnie Scott’s for more than 50 years, first holding a weekly residency at the club’s original address in Gerrard Street when it opened in 1959.
Next Thursday, peerless jazz singer Claire Martin is exploring the American Songbook with hugely gifted composer and pianists Sir Richard Rodney Bennett. Claire Martin was born to sing; indeed, she’d learned all of Judy Garland’s songs by the time she was 12.
Harpist singer-songwriter Lucinda Belle is appearing on Friday with her own orchestra, performing material from debut album.
Other notable double-bills include performances by the Big Chris Barber Band plus the Andy Davies Quintet (August 6); trumpeter Matthew Halsall and saxophonist Nat Birchall plus a new band led by multitalented vibes legend Orphy Robinson (August 8); and Tommy Smith’s Karma plus Scottish jazz outfit, Newt.
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