Jazz musician Chris Ingham and folk musician Chris Wilbraham cast their expert eyes over the local music scene
JAZZ with Chris Ingham: cjr.ingham@outlook.com/chrisingham.co.uk
Friday, September 13
FLANAGAN (Diss Corn Hall, 7.30pm, £18, thecornhall.co.uk, 01379 652241) Guitarist with Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra since 1988, tonight Mark Flanagan fronts his acclaimed blues/folk/roots trio Flanagan, spotlighting his own heartfelt original songs and featuring Adam Double (bass) and George Double (drums).
Tuesday, September 17
NIGEL PRICE ORGAN TRIO (Maddermarket, Norwich, 8.30pm, £18, norwichjazzclub.co.uk) Reliably exciting and inventive touring juggernaut purveying dynamic groove-based jazz with Nigel Price (guitar), Ross Stanley (organ) and Joel Barford (drums).
Friday, September 27
ART THEMEN (Hunter Club, Bury, 7.30pm, £18, headhunterslive.org, 07799 650009) Long-awaited return to Bury St Edmunds of the indestructible and legendary tenor saxophonist Art Themen with Chris Ingham (piano), Malcolm Creese (bass) and George Double (drums).
Saturday, September 28
JOANNA EDEN/CHRIS INGHAM (Bardwell Church, 7.30pm, £15, wegottickets.com/event/625996) A duo performance of A 1960s Songbook, in aid of Bardwell Church.
Tuesday, October 8
SIMON SPILLET BIG BAND (Maddermarket, Norwich, 8.30pm, £25, norwichjazzclub.co.uk) Acclaimed as the best British big band in years, tenorist and author Simon Spillett leads his salute to Tubby Hayes Dear Tubby H with an all-star ensemble featuring, among others, Mark Armstrong, Freddie Gavita (trumpets), Mark Nightingale, Ian Bateman (trombones), Pete Long, Alex Garnett (saxes), plus Rob Barron (piano), Alec Dankworth (bass) and Pete Cater (drums).
Sunday, October 13
ERROL LINTON (Venue 16, Ipswich, 2.30pm, £15, ipswichjazzandblues.com) Chicago-style blues from harmonica ace Linton and his band.
FOLK with Chris Wilbraham: chris.wilbraham@tinyonline.co.uk
A highlight of 2023 for The Larks was playing Deepdale Festival at Burnham Deepdale on the north Norfolk coast last September. In a few weeks, we are delighted to be playing there again on The Orchard Stage on September 27.
The acts that play there are a mix of East Anglian artists and people like Mercury Music Prize nominee Kathryn Williams. It is quite a thrill to see our name listed next to such talent as the event is promoted.
We discovered last year that attending as a performer or audience member is a fine experience, with each stage accommodating an audience similar to that of a folk club, generating a consistently intimate feeling to each set.
Ticket prices are low, at £90 for the whole weekend and between £30 to £45 for day tickets, £20 for Thursday evening. The campsite is sold out, so there will definitely be someone to play to when we turn up.
I asked Chris Haycock, the guy that booked us, how the festival came about.
“I had been running a very small event in the Broads for a few years and got offered the opportunity to come and manage Deepdale’s accommodation and run more regular and larger music events. We started with our Hygge Festival in the Spring of 2017, together with a series of individual concerts.
“My background in folk music is purely as a fan - I got into it in the 1980s through a friend and then through Cooking Vinyl, the fantastic independent label, artists such as The Oysterband, Jackie Leven, June Tabor, Dick Gaughan, The Levellers.
“My musical tastes range across many genres and I’ve been a drummer in a heavy alternative rock band in Cornwall and a pop/rock covers band in Norfolk.
“I’d wanted to put on music events for a while, and having discovered local artists such as Addison’s Uncle, Georgia Shackleton, Murphy’s Lore, and Jess Morgan, showcasing the best East Anglian musicians while also attracting some more nationally recognised acts became the idea.
“So many highlights over the past eight years; it’s easy to think of Kathryn Williams, Martin Carthy and Martin Simpson. Katherine Priddy just before she ‘made it’. Kitty Macfarlane’s set was a joy.
“This year, we’re really looking forward to hosting Skinny Lister, Track Dogs, The Henry Girls, Man The Lifeboats, Bonfire Radicals and Norwich’s Brown Horse as headliners, but also local artists The Shackleton Trio, Christina Alden & Alex Patterson, Lucy Grubb, Eliza Delf, Ebb Tide, and of course, The Larks.
“My biggest inspiration for it all was going to various folk festivals around the country and thinking ‘we could do this.’ Then seeing it happen and meeting and getting to know the people - audience and musicians, who have all been wonderful.”
Here are next week’s gigs:
Friday, September 13
John Peel Centre, Stowmarket, 7.30pm, Baka Beyond. £18.
Saturday, September 14
Canopy Theatre, Beccles, 7.30pm, We Mavericks. £12.
Sunday, September 15
John Peel Centre, Stowmarket, 5-8pm, Folk Session.
Saturday, September 21
Stowmarket, East Anglian Traditional Music Trust Music
Day, various venues from 10.30am til late evening.
Sunday, September 22
Locks Inn, Geldeston, 7.30pm, Tarren. £14.
