NB Gigs at the North Devon Jazz Club are almost always on Mondays, starting at 8.30 unless otherwise stated. They take place at the Beaver Inn in Appledore. Entrance is free but there's a collection (please don't be mean - it helps pay the band). For more information, see the dedicated NDJC page.
15 April Karen Sharp Quartet
Karen Sharp, several-times winner of the British Jazz Awards for best tenor saxophonist and a key member of the late Humphrey Lyttleton’s band, who plays baritone as well as tenor saxophones, will appear with the Craig Milverton Trio. A busy musician on the festival and club circuit, Karen plays saxophone in a way which harks back to the effortless, swinging styles of Zoot Sims or Al Cohn rather than the more impassioned approach of John Coltrane. Writing in The Observer the critic Dave Gelly described her sound as ‘warm and full, her improvised lines bold and clear and her compositions full of surprises’ while Downbeat Magazine commented that ‘Sharp loves melody, whether composed or improvised, as reflected in her relaxed and natural phrasing”. https://www.karensharp.co.uk/
29 April Lucy Moon sings Anita O’Day 13 May Art Themen Trio 20 May Sophie Smiles Band 10 June Dave Storey Trio 24 June Julian Costello Quartet 8 July B.D. Lenz Trio 9 September Liane Carroll. Return to The Beaver of wonderful multi-award-winning singer/pianist 16 September Nicolas Meir World Group 7 October Adam Glasser Quartet 14 October Tomorrow’s New Quartet 18 November Ben Crosland Trio 2 December Out Front (Nick Malcolm Quintet) 16 December QOW TRIO (Riley Stone-Lonergan – tenor sax, Eddie Myer – double bass, Spike Wells – drums)QOW TRIO is a cross-generational ensemble that takes its name from a composition written by the late saxophonist Dewey Redman.
The saxophone chair is occupied by QOW TRIO’S youngest member, Riley Stone-Lonergan An accomplished large ensemble player, he learned his trade as a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO). Bassist Eddie Myer is based in Brighton and is a musician, composer, bandleader, promoter, educator and journalist. He leads his own five piece group, The Eddie Myer 5tet, a band that also includes Stone-Lonergan. A professional bass player (both acoustic and electric) since 1996, Myer was worked regularly with the rock act Turin Brakes and with the Afro-Cuban ensemble Son Guarachando. Now based in Brighton, drummer Spike Wells is the veteran of the trio. He came to prominence on the London jazz scene in the 1960s and has worked with many of the greats of the music. Wells is probably best known for his associations with saxophonists Tubby Hayes and Bobby Wellins but he has also performed with saxophonists Ronnie Scott, Joe Harriott, Peter King, Don Weller, Dick Morrissey, Tony Coe, Alan Barnes and Simon Spillett, trumpeters Humphrey Lyttleton and Henry Lowther, pianists Mick Pyne, John Horler, Mark Edwards and Gwilym Simcock, bassists Ron Matthewson and Dave Green and many, many more. As well as working with some of the legends of British Jazz Wells’ association with Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club also led to him accompanying a range of international musicians, mainly from the USA. These included saxophonists Dexter Gordon, Teddy Edwards, Johnny Griffin, James Moody, Charles MacPherson, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Sonny Stitt, trumpeter Art Farmer, valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, pianist Cedar Walton and vocalist / pianist Blossom Dearie. Wells also enjoyed an association with the Norwegian musicians Arild Andersen (bass) and Jon Balke (keyboards).
In this piano-less format the three musicians tackle their chosen material in a highly adventurous manner, taking inspiration from the free jazz of the 1960s and 70s but still sounding remarkably contemporary. There’s a strong reliance on improvisation and spontaneous interaction, this is very much a trio of equals and with Myer acting as mediator the musical conversation between the trio’s youngest and oldest members is sometimes quite exceptional. “We see QOW TRIO as looking back to the heroes of the music, and looking forward to a future of endless, unlimited possibilities” explains Myer, summing up the trio’s approach.
Further details of the above to follow when available