There are regular, often weekly, musician-led weekly gigs all over London. They are cornerstones of our active scene. But Perth/ Western Australian saxophonist Brandon Allen, who hosts a regular late night session at Ronnie Scott’s has brought huge energy to the scene, gone further, better, bigger, and created a substantial festival in Highgate over the four days of August Bank Holiday Weekend.

In its  thid year (I think?) it has fifteen gigs, and the names are getting bigger. It is a tenor saxophone fest, with distinctive voices such as Bobby Wellins, Alex Garnett, Brandon Allen himself and Scott Hamilton. There are well-known singers like Ian Shaw and Tina May, and one lesser-known, about whom I’ve heard a distinct, steady, quiet buzz for a while – Abigail Boyd. The late night Caipirinha jams will be quite something…

---

Not yet a subscriber of our Wednesday Breakfast Headlines?
Join the mailing list for a weekly roundup of Jazz News.

---

 

There are individual day passes(£30) and festival passes (£80) can be purchased in advance. Advance concession tickets can only be purchased for the 5 main concerts. These are:

FULL PROGRAMME – All, and much more – venue addresses etc – to be found at  the FESTIVAL WEBSITE

Friday 23rd August

8pm till late Festival launch Gig with THE FILTHY SIX (Caipirinha) £10

Nick Etwell(trumpet), Brandon Allen(tenor sax), Nigel Price(guitar), Carl Hudson(keys), Dan Dury(elec. bass) and Simon Lea(drums).

Saturday 24th August

1pm Pete Oxley/Nicolas Meier – guitars   (The Old Crown) £10/£7

3.30pm Trio Manouche with guest Quentin Collins (The Old Crown) £10/£7

Simon Harris(guitar and vocals), Ducato Piotrowski(guitar), Nick Pini(bass) and Quentin Collins(trumpet)

6pm Ian Shaw (The Bull) £17.50/£12.50

Ian Shaw (vocals), Barry Green(piano) and Mick Hutton(bass)

8.30pm Luca Boscagin “Playground” (Caipirinha) £10/£7

Luca Boscagin(guitar), Tomasz Bura (keyboards), Rick James(electric bass) and Francesco Mendolia(drums).

11pm till late Jam session (Caipirinha) £5

Sunday August 25th

1pm The Alan Barnes Quartet plus Scott Hamilton (Lauderdale House) £17.50/£12.50

Alan Barnes(alto and baritone saxes), Scott Hamilton(tenor sax), Robin Aspland(piano), Simon Thorpe(bass) and Bobby Worth(drums).

3.30pm The Brandon Allen Quartet (The Old Crown) £10/£7

Brandon Allen(saxes), Ross Stanley(piano), Mick Hutton(bass) and Chris Higginbottom(drums).

6pm Abigail Boyd (The Bull) £10/£7

Abigail Boyd(vocals), Ross Stanley(Organ) and Matt Home(drums).

8pm Tina May and Nikki Iles (Lauderdale House) £17.50/£12.50

Tina May(vocals) and Nikki Iles(piano)

11pm till late Jam session (Caipirinha) £5

Monday August 26th

1pm Bobby Wellins and Kate Williams (Lauderdale House) £17.50/£12.50

Bobby Wellins(tenor saxophone) and Kate Williams(piano)

3.30pm Jim Hart’s Cloudmaker’s trio (The Old Crown) £10/£7

Jim Hart(vibes), Mick Coady(bass) and Dave Hamblett(drums).

6pm Jeremy Sassoon (The Old Crown) £10/£7

Jeremy Sassoon(piano and vocals), Elliott Henshaw(drums) and Richard Hammond(electric bass), and Sam Healey(saxophone).

8pm The Tough Tenors featuring Alex Garnett and Brandon Allen (Lauderdale House) £17.50/£12.50

Alex Garnett(tenor sax), Brandon Allen(tenor sax), Ross Stanley(Organ) and Enzo Zirilli(drums).

10.30pm till late Jam session (Caipirinha) £5