What's On Jazz @ Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Autumn '19

EASTSIDE JAZZ CLUB

WHAT’S ON

WED 27 NOV

HAMID DRAKE Image credit Roberto Cifarelli

SEP T EMBER - NOVEMBER ’19 0121 331 5909 | BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS /RoyalBirmCons

@BirmConsJazz

Birmingham City University

A

big drum roll for our latest brochure for the Eastside Jazz Club! We have some major headlines for you that I’m sure all jazz fans will want to put straight into their schedules.

Ellington Orchestra gives a rare outing to the 1970 New Orleans Suite, while Jazz Orchestra sets the tone with Soft Lights, Hot Music. There are venerable jazz luminaries including Dick Oatts and Tim Berne, plus new collaborations for significant Birmingham-based musicians through the Paul Dunmall project with TDE Promotions.

Amidst all this creative jazz activity, we also take the unique step of hosting a play, so look out for The Connection by Jack Gelber, which blurs the boundaries between going to a gig and going to the theatre. Other unmissable highlights will be a visit from Angelica Sanchez, plus a special VoxBox evening from the Vocal and Operatic Department including jazz improvisations on themes by Schumann in liederkrAZZ. All this fronted up by Michael Janisch and Worlds Collide as our opening gig of our new year - we hope to see you there.

Jeremy Price Head of Jazz, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Michael Janisch Band

THU 26 SEP

MICHAEL JANISCH BAND: WORLDS COLLIDE ALBUM LAUNCH 7.45pm £15 (£12) Michael Janisch bass Nathaniel Facey alto saxophone George Crowley tenor saxophone Rick Simpson piano/keys Shane Forbes drums

Michael Janisch’s new solo album Worlds Collide is an electro-acoustic joyride of original material recorded at Abbey Road Studios, combining contemporary jazz alongside free improvisations and soaring melodies over multi-metered grooves paying homage to artists as diverse as Fela Kuti and the electronic music pioneer Aphex Twin.

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

The Connection

Paul Booth Quartet

WED 16 – WED 23 OCT

THU 24 OCT

THE CONNECTION

PAUL BOOTH QUARTET: ‘TRAVEL SKETCHES’

WED 16 OCT - 7.30pm THU 17 OCT - 7.30pm FRI 18 OCT - 2.30pm & 7.30pm SAT 19 OCT - 2.30pm & 7.30pm SUN 20 OCT - 2.30pm TUE 22 OCT - 7.30pm WED 23 OCT - 2.30pm & 7.30pm

6.30pm Support 7.45pm Main show £15 (£12) Paul Booth saxophone Dave Whitford bass Steve Hamilton piano Andrew Bain drums

£8 (£5.50) Written by Jack Gelber Directed by Kristine Landon Smith Composer/Musical Director John O’Gallagher In a smoky New York jazz club, musicians jam whilst they await their next fix.

Blurring the edges of reality and fiction, The Connection leads you inside the grungy underbelly of society, disintegrating the traditional relationship between audience and actor as the dark alleys of downtown 1950s New York are illuminated in Gelber’s iconic, historically important work.

Tonight will be a celebration of Paul Booth’s newest album release on Ubuntu Music and features his latest quartet incarnation. The compositions are inspired by places he has visited whilst on tour as a sideman with artists such as Steve Winwood. Although Booth is known as a saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist, for this project he wanted to go back to his origins as a tenor player for the entirety of the album. This is coupled with his desire to record in a live room situation with no overdubs and no chance of “fixes”. Expect to hear the entire album plus a few familiar standards from this exceptional talent.

In a collaboration between Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s jazz musicians and Theatre Company, witness a melange of text and jazz improvisations in this site-specific performance; an iconic work breaking both fourth wall and inhibitions.

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

FRI 25 OCT

WED 30 OCT

AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA

KAI CHAREUNSY PRESENTS

6.30pm Support 7.45pm Main show

6.30pm Set 1 7.30pm Set 2 – Chareunsey/Tromans/Bahmaie

£15 (£12)

£10 (£8)

A collaboration between the Jazz and Percussion Departments, this large ensemble will play a night of salsa music for dancing! Early booking is advised for this popular event.

Steve Tromans piano Aram Bahmaie bass Kai Chareunsy drums

MON 28 OCT

ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA: NEW ORLEANS SUITE

Senior jazz musician, drummer Kai Chareunsy curates two sets of music, aiming to facilitate creative improvisation whilst exploring the range of sounds and textures that can be achieved in a classic piano trio.

Tim Berne

6.30pm Set 1 7.30pm Set 2 £10 (£8) Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Ellington Orchestra is delighted to return after their summer break to play the famous New Orleans Suite, originally commissioned for the 1970 New Orleans Jazz Festival. This work has great significance for Ellingtonians, as lead alto star Johnny Hodges died shortly after the first recording session; the band having to record the second session without him.

This work also provides proof of the calibre of Ellington’s creative output in his later years, confounding critics who thought he had perhaps become formulaic since the collaborative years with Billy Strayhorn.

Scores and parts researched and edited from the original manuscript by Michele Corcella.

THU 31 OCT

TIM BERNE RESIDENCY 6.30pm Set 1 – Student groups 7.45pm Set 2 – Student groups 9pm Set 3 – Tim Berne and Liam Noble Duo £12 (£10) This concert is the culmination of a three-day residency with Tim Berne who will be working with student groups on a number of his compositions, the feature of the first part of the evening. Tim will then play in duo format with Liam Noble on piano; they may well be joined by other guests.

Tim Berne is one of New York’s most exciting players and composers; he writes amazing music and this will be a unique concert.

A collaboration with TDE Promotions.

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

TUE 5 NOV

JAZZ CANON: THE MUSIC OF THELONIOUS MONK 6.30pm Set 1 7.30pm Set 2 £10 (£8) Our by now famed Jazz Canon series opens with another representation of a truly great jazz master, this time Thelonious Monk. Students form repertoire bands under the guidance of tutors John O’Gallagher and Percy Pursglove to bring this incredible music into their creative orbit.

FRI 8 NOV

VOXBOX: liederkrAZZ 6.30pm Support

Jim Rattigan’s Pavillon

£10 (£8)

THU 7 NOV

Join us for the latest in our innovative VoxBox song series. LiederkrAZZ will bring Schumann’s masterful song cycle, his Liederkreis Op.39, into sparky dialogue with jazz responses.

JIM RATTIGAN’S PAVILLON 6.30pm Support 7.45pm Main show £12 (£10)

MON 11 NOV

Martin Speake, James Allsopp, Mick Foster saxophones Robbie Robson, Steve Fishwick, James Copus trumpets Kieron McCleod, Sarah Williams trombones Hans Koller piano Dave Whitford double bass Martin France drums

JAZZ ORCHESTRA: SOFT LIGHTS, HOT MUSIC

Jim Rattigan is one of the UK’s leading French horn players and widely recognised as a pioneer of the jazz French horn. Jim has formed this band to feature his own original compositions, which will be performed by leading figures of the contemporary British jazz scene.

A co-promotion with our partners Birmingham Jazz.

6.30pm Set 1 7.30pm Set 2 £10 (£8) Jazz Orchestra returns with the music of Mike Abene, Kenny Werner and Jim McNeely from the famed recording Soft Lights, Hot Music by the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra of 1988.

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

WED 13 NOV

TUE 19 NOV

LOUIS STRINGER PRESENTS

JAZZ CANON: THE MUSIC OF THELONIOUS MONK

6.30pm Set 1 7.30pm Set 2

6.30pm Set 1 – Jazz Combo One 7.30pm Set 2 – Jazz Combo Two

£10 (£8) Senior jazz musician, bassist Louis Stringer curates two sets of music.

£10 (£8) A second outing for the hugely influential music of Thelonious Monk, Let’s Cool One, two timers.

Angelica Sanchez

Dick Oatts

THU 14 NOV

DICK OATTS & MARK HODGSON 6.30pm Support 7.45pm Main show £15 (£12) Dick Oatts saxophone Ross Stanley piano Mark Hodgson bass Stephen Keogh drums We are greatly honoured to be able to bring saxophonist and composer Dick Oatts to Eastside Jazz Club thanks to our connection with one of the UK’s finest bass players, Mark Hodgson. Dick Oatts is one of the truly great improvising musicians of our time and has been a true inspiration to a whole new generation of jazz musicians.

Early booking is recommended as this will be a popular beacon of light for the immediate jazz scene here in Birmingham.

THU 21 NOV

ANGELICA SANCHEZ WITH JOHN O’GALLAGHER AND MILES LEVIN 6.30pm Support 7.45pm Main show £15 (£12)

‘In her playing as well as her compositions Angelica Sanchez seeks out the lyrical heart within any avant-garde storm’ New York Times In a real coup for the Eastside Jazz Club, Angelica Sanchez will be visiting the Conservatoire as part of a trip to Birmingham during which she will be recording an album with Paul Dunmall. She will be playing at Eastside Jazz Club with saxophonist John O’Gallagher, an old friend from New York, and drummer Miles Levin.

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

MON 25 NOV

ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA: NEW ORLEANS SUITE 6.30pm Set 1 7.30pm Set 2 £10 (£8) A second rendition of the famous Ellington’s late work. See 28 Oct for further description.

WED 27 NOV

TOM POUNTNEY BARNES PRESENTS: PAUL DUNMALL QUINTET FEATURING HAMID DRAKE + STUDENT BRASS SECTION 6.30pm Support 7.30pm Main show £15 (£12) Senior student Tom Pountney teams up with renowned promoter and producer Tony Dudley Evans to put on this major headline for the West Midlands Jazz scene.

The Soultime Suite written by Paul Dunmall for his quintet featuring Percy Pursglove, Steve Tromans, Dave Kane and Hamid Drake was the highlight of the TDE Promotions 2018 season at Eastside Jazz Club. The quintet returns to perform an expanded version of the suite with a brass section drawn from the students on the jazz course conducted

by Ed Puddick. This is certain to be one of the absolute highlights of the autumn season.

A collaboration with TDE Promotions.

Paul Dunmall

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

THU 28 NOV

FRI 29 NOV

HAMMOND ORGAN CELEBRATION WITH ROSS STANLEY

AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA

6.30pm Support 7.45pm Main show

£15 (£12)

£10 (£8) The Jazz Department celebrates the significance of the Hammond Organ in jazz with special guest, Ross Stanley.

From Jimmy Smith and Brother Jack McDuff to Georgie Fame and Larry Young, this great musical output deserves a spotlight, and promises to be a new and exciting area for our jazz musicians. Ross Stanley plays as featured guest and directs various student groups.

EASTSIDE JAZZ CLUB MONDAYS BIG BAND NIGHTS

Keep your last Friday of the month free for what is proving to be one of the best nights out in Birmingham.

A collaboration between Jazz and Percussion Departments, this large ensemble will play a night of salsa music for dancing! Early booking is advised for this popular event.

THURSDAYS GUEST NIGHTS International jazz artists and bands drawn from the immediate jazz scene.

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Jazz Orchestra and Ellington Orchestra perform.

6pm Doors 6.30pm-7.15pm Set 1 - Repertoire selection 7.30pm-8.15pm Set 2 - Themed repertoire

6pm Doors 6.30pm-7.15pm Support Set 7.45pm-8.30pm Guest Artists Set 1 9pm-9.45pm Guest Artist Set 2

FRIDAYS FRIDAY NIGHT JAZZ

WEDNESDAYS EJC PRESENTS

From singer-songwriters to our Afro-Cuban Band and anything from folk-jazz, gypsy and swing.

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire guest artists or students present contemporary jazz projects.

6pm Doors 6.30pm-7.15pm Set 1 - Jazz Combo 1 7.30pm-8.15pm Set 2 - Jazz Combo 2

FOR UPDATES AND NEWS OF EASTSIDE JAZZ CLUB EXPERIENCES FOLLOW:

@BirmConsJazz

6.30pm Support 7.45pm Main show

@JazzTromboneUK

Please note: Listings correct at time of going to print.

6pm Doors 6.30pm-7.15pm Support Set 7.45pm-8.30pm Friday Night Session 1 9pm-9.45pm Friday Night Session 2

WANT MORE? For full information on our upcoming gigs, including biographies and backgrounds on our esteemed line-ups, visit bcu.ac.uk/concerts Royal Birmingham Conservatoire 200 Jennens Road B4 7XR