Jazz musician and folk music's Chris Wilbraham with all the gigs happening in the Suffolk area
JAZZ with Chris Ingham: cjr.ingham@outlook.com/chrisingham.co.uk
Sunday, May 25
FIVE-WAY SPLIT (Yalm Food Court, Norwich, 7.30pm, £12, norwichjazzclub.co.uk) Cultured hard bop and post-bop from an all-star quintet featuring Quentin Collins (trumpet), Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor), Rob Barron (piano), Matyas Hofecker (bass) and Matt Home (drums).
Wednesday, May 28
ALAN BARNES/DAVID NEWTON (Stoke By Nayland Golf Club, 8pm, £20, fleecejazz.org.uk, 01787 211865) Masterful saxophone and piano instrumentalists Barnes and Newton who between them have won countless UK jazz awards and together have been performing their sparkling, empathetic duets for over 40 years. Expect wit and musical finesse aplenty.
Thursday, May 29
ROGER BEAUJOLAIS (Corn Hall, Diss, 7.30pm, £18, thecornhall.co.uk) Fabulous vibraphonist Beaujolais presents his entertaining show 100 Years Of Vibes with Chris Ingham (piano), Simon Thorpe (bass) and George Double (drums).
FOR THE DIARY
Sunday, June 8
HORN FACTORY (Venue 16, Ipswich, 2.30pm, £15/£7.50, ipswichjazzandblues.com) Suffolk’s premier jazz big band specialising in their own brand of fast-moving, hard-hitting, toe-tapping contemporary jazz with an eye for some of the lesser known modern jazz composers.
Wednesday, June 11
MARK CROOKS/CHRIS INGHAM (Orwell Hotel, Felixstowe, midday, £12, felixstowemusic.com, 01394 670633) Part of the Music In Felixstowe lunchtime concert series, clarinettist/saxophonist Crooks and pianist Ingham perform a selection of Richard Rodgers melodies.
BENOIT MARTINY BAND (Stoke By Nayland Golf Club, 8pm, £22, fleecejazz.org.uk, 01787 211865) An audacious blend of jazz, rock and psychedelia, drawing inspiration from the avant-garde spirits of Soft Machine, Frank Zappa's Big Band Projects of 1972, the Sun Ra Arkestra and Bitches Brew era Miles Davis. With Benoit Martiny (drums), Jasper van Damme (saxophones), Joao Driessen (saxophones), Frank Jonas (guitar) and Sandor Kem (bass).
Friday, June 13
CITIZEN’S ADVICE JAZZ FUNDRAISER (Guildhall, Bury, 7pm, £58, email: fundraising@swcab.org.uk) Reception drink, canapés and a two-course supper, with easy-listening jazz music from the Smooth Operators, aka Joanna Eden and the Chris Ingham Trio.
Tuesday, June 17
GUILO ROMANO TRIO (Maddermarket Theatre Bar, Norwich, 8.30pm, £18/£9 u25s, norwichjazzclub.co.uk) Up and coming jazz-groove trio delivering a fresh take on 80s & 90s fusion. With Giulio Romano (guitar/vocoder), Chris Jerome (keys/LH bass) and Daniele Antenucci (drums).
Friday, June 20
EMBRACEABLE ELLA (Hunter Club Arts Centre, Bury, 7.30pm, £20, headhunterslive.org, 07799 650009) Acclaimed chanteuse Joanna Eden salutes her vocal heroine Ella Fitzgerald. Swinging, scatting and visiting Ella’s legendary Great American Songbook albums, Joanna presents an enchanting evening full of music and anecdote, infused with the spirit of the First Lady of Song. With Chris Ingham (piano), Andres Lafone (bass) and Neil Bullock (drums).
Wednesday, June 25
JAZZ AT THE MOVIES (Southwold Festival. 7.30pm, £15, southwoldartsfestival.co.uk, 01502 722572) Jazz repertory group puts an irresistible spin on classic movie themes from the silver screen, with Joanna Eden (vocal), Chris Ingham (piano), Mark Crooks (reeds), Joe Pettitt (bass) and George Double (drums).
HORN FACTORY (Stoke By Nayland Golf Club, 8pm, £16.50, fleecejazz.org.uk, 01787 211865) See June 8.
FOLK with Chris Wilbraham: chris.wilbraham@tinyonline.co.uk
Some weeks ago I noticed friends Peter and Jane Reeves were playing at a new folk club at The Crown in Wormingford, just south of the River Stour near Bures. When I asked Jane how things went she told me of a beautiful country pub, well set out for a folk club: “We were made very welcome by an attentive and enthusiastic audience.”
I investigated and found the club was started by the new landlord Wayne Connor and his wife Anita, who have lived in Wormingford for ten years. Recently retired, they decided to take on the village pub in the hope of creating a focus for the community. Games nights have been organised and Tuesday night is Folk Club Night.
Wayne described how his passion for folk began when, as a teenager in 1977, he and friends from his Middlesbrough home took a trip to Whitby, unaware their visit coincided with Whitby Folk Week. Despite enjoying the music of local heroes Lindisfarne, they were unprepared for the wall of sound that greeted them as they wandered into a waterside pub, where a session was in full swing. They bought tickets to see Scottish band Silly Wizard that evening and Wayne was hooked. He described his dream as recreating his Whitby experience in The Crown.
While he is hopeful of hosting sessions full of folk musicians playing tunes together, he is open to full the spectrum of folk music.
The nights are purely acoustic and when invited artists perform, he said it’s like having them play in his living room to listening friends, and at the second folk night at The Crown, in which locals joined a round the room session, he said some of the songs might not have been pure folk, but when everyone joined in it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Community spirit at its best.
Wayne is impressed by the support his initiative has received. I am not surprised at the appreciation of his creation of a space where the music we love can be performed and listened to in an intimate environment, with opportunity to join in.
He hopes the club will be a space for artists to find their feet and learn their craft.
There is a small budget to meet visiting artist’s expenses, but currently no door charge for these events. Hopefully, audiences will grow and be sure to put money over the bar. I’m sure it’s been a long while since anyone made more than a living out of folk music and running a pub is a similar experience these days, but Wayne and Anita are involved with both for all the right reasons and it sounds like the support of the local and wider community, musical or otherwise, is generating a richness that doesn’t show up on a bank balance and is arguably more valuable. It definitely sounds worth a trip to be involved.
The next folk evening is an Open Floor event on Tuesday, May 27, included in next week’s gig listing:
Friday, May 23
Golden Hind, Cambridge, 8pm, Cambridge Folk Club, Boo Hewerdine, support from Luke James Williams. £15.
Monday, May 26
Colchester Arts Centre, 8pm, Joose Keskitalo, support from Suzy Cramer. £8.
Tuesday, May 27
The Apex, Bury St Edmunds, 7.30pm, Martha Wainwright. £37.
The Crown, Wormingford, 7.30pm, open floor event.
Wednesday, May 28
Banham Barrel, 8pm, Later with James Veira.
Thursday, May 29
Six Bells, Horringer, 7.30pm, Derek & Debs, The Larks, John O’Kane.
Friday, May 30
Southgate Community Centre, Bury St Edmunds, 7.30pm, Bury Folk Festival pre-festival gathering with The Doghouse Collective, Peter and Jane, plus special guests. Pay what you can.
Golden Hind, Cambridge, 8pm, Cambridge Folk Club: Bob Fox, support from Martin Baxter. £15.
