Line-up for the first gig at Fisherman’s Club Neal Richardson (promoter) , Nigel Thomas, Bobby Worth Art Themen, Andy Panayi, Roy Hilton Photo credit: Brian O’Connor/ Images of Jazz

The first Splash Point Jazz Club promotion in Eastbourne on Wednesday 28th September 2016 got off to a great start: it was packed out. This gig is scheduled to run on the last Wednesday of each month at the Fishermen’s Club, close to the seafront. After Seaford and Brighton Marina this is the third venue for Neal Richardson’s Splashpoint Jazz.(link below)

Andy Panayi. Photo credit: Brian O’Connor/ Images of Jazz

We hear from photographer Brian O’Connor that: “The set list was a mixture of the familiar and the more unusual, from Green Dolphin Street to Body and Soul, from the Latin feel of Charles Lloyd’s Forest Flower to the tricky timings of Mingus’s Dizzy Moods, there was plenty in the programme to satisfy most kinds of jazz fan. Nigel Thomas took some particularly pleasing solos, and was a solid presence throughout, and Roy Hilton and Bobby Worth proved yet again that they really are at the top of their game.

Bobby Worth. Photo credit: Brian O’Connor/ Images of Jazz

“Meanwhile the saxophone juggernaut of Themen and Panayi at the front just kept rolling. Both masters of inventiveness, Art Themen‘s soloing on ‘Prelude to a Kiss‘ was a definite highlight, and Andy Panayi‘s tenor solo Body and Soul was beautiful, as were his two excursions onto the flute – real crowd-pleasers. But it was when they were both playing tenor that some of the sparkiest fireworks happened, as with the closer Cheesecake.”

Some local sponsors are involved: Reid Briggs Insurance, Lawler Davis Financial Advisers and Jessica Hylands Confidence Coach, together with local volunteers.

LINK: Details of Splash Point Jazz Club promotions at its three venues