Pianist Sam Leak writes about the Wednesday jam sessions at Oliver’s Music Bar, Nevada Street, Greenwich

Olivers Jazz Bar, an authentic old fashioned style Jazz club hidden away in a basement near Greenwich park, is one of Greenwich’s best kept secrets.

For years some of the best known UK and International Jazz Musicians have graced it’s stage, from Mark Turner and Will Vinson to Kit Downes and Jim Hart. The Wednesday Jazz Jam has long been a favourite haunt for London’s top Jazz musicians and students, particularly from the local Trinity College Of Music.

Recently the Jam has been taken over by the new promoting team of Saxophonist Tom Stone, Vibraphonist/Drummer Lewis Wright, Pianist Sam Leak, and Saxophonist Jon Shanoy who have recently unveiled an exciting new season featuring some of the top names in British Jazz including Anita Wardell, Steve Fishwick, James Maddren, Jim Hart and Gareth Lockrane.

The Jam is an open environment for Musicians to perform music with a wide variety of musicians, often including some of the best musicians in the UK. The promoters say: “The Jam has a welcoming and supportive vibe and is always an exciting night for musicians and members of the public alike.”

WEDNESDAYS IN FEBRUARY

01/02/2012 – Sam Leak/Gareth Lockrane/George Crowley/Calum Gourlay/Jim Hart
08/02/2012 – Lewis Wright/James Gardiner-Bateman/Will Rixon/Steve Pringle/Tim Thornton
15/02/2012 – Lewis Wright Quartet
22/02/2012 – Jon Shenoy/Sam Crowe/Spencer Brown/Corrie Dick
29/02/2012 – Jon Shenoy/Alam Nathoo/Pat Davey/Matt Ridley

WEDNESDAYS IN MARCH

07/03/2012 – Tom Stone Quartet
14/03/2012 – Lewis Wright/ Josh Arcoleo/Bass tbc/James Maddren
21/03/2012 – Sam Leak/Brandon Allen/Steve Fishwick/Sam Lasserson/Jim Hart
28/03/2012 – Jon Shenoy Quartet

WEDNESDAYS IN APRIL

04/04/2012 – Tom Stone/Billy Adamson/George Moore/Tom Farmer/Shane Forbes
11/04/2012 – Lewis Wright Quartet
18/04/2012 – Sam Leak/Mike Chillingworth/Alex Merritt/Sam Lasserson/James Maddren
25/04/2012 – Jon Shenoy Quartet

We reviewed an evening in 2009

Olivers Music Bar at Myspace