Hi all and welcome back for 2026!! We were so excited to return to our cosy home at The Bull and Gate that we’ve decided to come back a week early so we’ll be back every Monday from the 26th of January!
See below for the full details of our listings this month and the links for purchasing tickets. We can’t wait to see you 🙂
As usual, we’d like to extend a huge thank you for your continued support; we’d be nothing without our audiences, and the musicians really thrive when we manage to fill the room! So tell your friends and family, and share our posts far and wide to help us continue to bring our brand of high-level live creative music to our humble home above the Bull and Gate pub each and every Monday night.
P.S. WeGotTicket sales will show as “Sold Out” a couple of hours before doors open at 8pm but please still do come down as there will most likely be tickets available on the door.
26/01/2026 -Jens Meijer

https://wegottickets.com/event/688763
Lineup:
Jens Meijer – Drums
Barry Green – Piano
Conor Chaplin – Bass
Jens Meijer is a Dutch drummer and composer known for his dynamic approach to rhythm. His music blends jazz, rock, and pop elements, emphasizing collective improvisation and exploration. Meijer’s bands feature catchy melodies and expressive performances. His influences are diverse, ranging from music to literature and philosophy, reflecting his curiosity and openness to new ideas. On this night he will have to pleasure to create and explore with London’s local heroes Conor Chaplin on bass and Barry Green tickling the ivories.
02/02/2026 – Rebecka Edlund’s Virgin Forest

https://wegottickets.com/event/689086
Lineup: TBA
Swedish vocalist Rebecka Edlund weaves together the sonorities of contemporary jazz,
Scandinavian folk music and Nordic landscapes.
Edlund’s recent ventures include performing with Ruth Goller’s Skylla and recording an
album together with an octet of notable musicians including Norma Winstone, Jeff Ballard,
Iain Ballamy and Rob Luft. Rebecka is the curator of The Downstairs Living Room Series
at Vortex Jazz Club and her new project ’Virgin Forest’ features the extraordinary musical
minds of Laura Jurd and Elliot Galvin.
Tonight, the soon to be released Virgin Forest music will be reimagined and brought to life
in a trio setting.
09/02/26 – Niklas Lukassen

https://wegottickets.com/event/689088
Just ahead of the release of his highly anticipated debut release, Still Water, Niklas Lukassen brings his music (some from his album and some entirely new) to the Bull & Gate with a stimulating, especially for this night assembled line up.
Launching on Kurt Rosenwinkel’s Heartcore Records on Feb. 20, “Still Waters” is a radiant display of Niklas Lukassen’s combined talents as a bassist, composer and also vocalist (on Luna).
The album features Niklas’ internationally renowned quartet with saxophonist Ben van Gelder, pianist Kit Downes and drummer Francesco Ciniglio, fusing captivating individualists of the jazz scenes of Amsterdam, London, Paris and Berlin into one symbiotic musical organism.
With natural improvisational flow, this unit’s interplay runs like water through sonic river forks into unexpected directions. Unafraid of intentional, suspenseful collision, it produces pounding waves of raw energy. Enriched by artistic contributions from guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, saxophonist Wanja Slavin & trombonist Geoffroy De Masure, they musically explore the unimagined depths that underlie supposedly still waters.
Niklas Lukassen embodies an equally astonishing lyrical sensibility and a skilful command of the upright bass, bass guitar, and his unique bass cello. Having lived in New York for several years, he today resides between London and Berlin. Described as “a versatile bass virtuoso” by Jazzwise magazine, Niklas continues to establish himself as a significant presence within the young European jazz scene. Moreover, his sound and artistic vision radiate a striking band leader potential. Niklas ventured from an inconspicuous village somewhere in the South German Black Forest out into a life of creative opportunity through his personal musical journey. Aged 16, he moved to Berlin to cut his teeth in the capital’s music scene and attended the Jazz Institute. A formative part of his career lies in New York.
Mentored by Ron Carter, he received his Masters Degree from Manhattan School of Music on a full scholarship. Currently pursuing a doctoral degree and teaching at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he researches ways of broadening his scope of sounds on a range of string bass instruments.
Immersed in contrasting musical worlds, Niklas has accompanied performances with artists such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joe Lovano, Mike Stern, Jorge Rossy, Norma Winstone, Oz Noy, Jo Lawry, Will Vinson & The New York Voices. Among the records he played on is the Grammy Award Nominated album Some Days Are Better by the Kenny Wheeler Legacy Project. Niklas expands beyond his position as a bass player and composer through his singing voice. Notably, he sang in the German National Jazz Orchestra.
He is also the creative mind behind the group ECHO, which paints sonic landscapes in a poignant instrumentation. In this format, Niklas embraces his penchant for lyric and songwriting, while staying true to his nature as an improviser.
Furthermore, alongside pianist Gwilym Simcock and drummer James Maddren, he ventures on untrodden musical paths in his trio with himself on a unique and novel instrument: the bass cello. Niklas has toured extensively throughout Europe, the UK, North America, Asia and North Africa.
16/02/2026 – Matyas Gayer Trio

https://wegottickets.com/event/688767
Line-up: MATYAS GAYER – piano
DAVE GREEN – bass
STEVE BROWN – drums
“London-based Hungarian jazz pianist, Matyas Gayer is one of the leaders of his generation. The award-winning young musician is successfully forging his own distinctive style and musical voice out of the greatness of the jazz piano tradition.
The two-time Montreux Jazz Piano Competition finalist is a regular performer on the London and European jazz scene. Matyas has collaborated with the greats of jazz including Eddie Henderson, Ralph Moore, Scott Hamilton, Rick Margitza, Don Menza, Jim Rotondi, Luis Bonilla, Jesse Davis and many more and appeared in the most illustrious jazz clubs around Europe.
Matyas teaming up with two legends of the British Jazz scene, bassist Dave Green and drummer Steve Brown resulted in a creative and sophisticated jazz piano trio.
Their latest release, “Westbourne Park” (Ubuntu Music) has received international success and featured amongst The Times’ Top 20 Jazz Albums of 2024.”
23/02/2026 – Alex Merritt Quartet

https://wegottickets.com/event/689211
Lineup: Alex Merritt- tenor saxophone
Elliot Galvin- keyboard/piano
Will Harris- acoustic bass
Jeremy Stacey- drums
‘This exciting new quartet by Bristol-based saxophonist and composer Alex Merritt brings together four distinctive improvisers, and voices on their respective instruments, to interpret original material of Alex’s that draws inspiration from both classical composers such as Maurice Ravel, Olivier Messiaen and Henri Dutilleux as well as a host of contemporary jazz influences such as Immanuel Wilkins, Billy Hart Quartet, Mark Turner and Joe Lovano.
The line-up features the talents of Elliot Galvin on piano (Shabaka Hutchings, Norma Winstone, Marius Neset), Will Harris on bass (The Jazz Defenders, Matt Anderson, Simon Gardner) and Jeremy Stacey on drums (King Crimson, Jason Rebello, Noel Gallagher.)
This quartet builds on the success of Alex’s former quartet release ‘Anatta’ (2016) a record that featured legendary American drummer Jeff Williams, received critical acclaim as a “promising debut, of striking quality” from the Guardian’s John Fordham and was praised as “one of the best UK jazz recordings I’ve heard this year” by Marlbank’s Stephen Graham on its release. Since this time Alex has also released two albums for the prestigious Barcelona-based label Fresh Sound New Talent; ‘Mind-Ear-Ladder’ in a co-led quintet with trumpeter Steve Fishwick (2022) and ‘Common Threads’ with the Fresh Sound Ensemble (2023). Alex is now relishing the opportunity to get back to the classic quartet format with this brilliant line-up and is excited to bring some new quartet material to The Bull & Gate as part of a larger nationwide tour ahead of a recording later in 2026.’




































