Hello everyone – here are the listings for the upcoming month, four great gigs! Please spread the word amongst your friends, and we’re always grateful for any shares or tags on our social media. Get your tickets in advance at the links below and we’ll see you soon.

Monday 4th – Sam Watts Trio

www.wegottickets.com/event/592062/

Sam Watts is a pianist and composer specialising in Brazilian music and Jazz. His last appearance at the Parakeet was with Brazilian trio Djangada in 2022 and he is a regular fixture on the London jazz scene. He has recorded and toured internationally as a pianist and his compositions have been broadcast on BBC radio 3 as part of the BBC proms. Tonight he will be joined by Conor Chaplin on bass and Will Cleasby on drums for a night of piano trio jazz, expect swinging renditions of great American songbook classics in the vein of Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal.

Monday 11th – Becca Wilkins’ Rêverie

www.wegottickets.com/event/592066/

Becca Wilkins – Voice
Olly Chalk – Piano
Sam Ingvorsen – Bass
Billy Pod – Drums

Becca Wilkins’ latest project rêverie, is a collection of French Chanson reimagined with her quartet of Olly Chalk, Sam Ingvorsen and Billy Pod.

Rêverie evokes an alternate reality of the chanson made popular by Jacques Brel, Yves Montand and Edith Piaf. Featuring classics such as ‘Sous le Ciel de Paris’ and ‘La Bohème’, Becca brings her Francophilia into sharp focus with this music. The collection exemplifies her skills as a song interpreter, band leader and improviser, with a set that is both brooding and mysterious; vulnerable and atmospheric.

This performance introduces audiences to chanson from across the decades, some well-known, some obscure, each piece remoulded to highlight Becca’s individual jazz styling in both arranging and improvising. Expect haunting ballads alongside runaway waltzes, intricate counterpoint and masterful interplay. An assured and powerfully communicative performer, Rêverie is Becca’s most stylised project to date, as she brings her ‘other worldliness’ (Jazzwise Magazine) to audiences across the UK.

Vocalist Becca Wilkins is a versatile musician with an assured sense of style and a poised approach to her music. Previous projects include piano-vocal duo wilkins/harris, ‘a real energy and joy in their performances and I believe that they will always captivate audiences’ (Tony Dudley-Evans; Cheltenham Jazz Festival, B:Music); Gestalt ‘intimate lyrics and vocal textures, effortlessly shifting from abrasive electronic soundscapes to gentle piano textures’ (Rohit Jepegnanam; Sofar Sounds); and rouquine ‘her…creative approach to arrangement & production combine powerfully to draw us into her rich and distinctive songwriting world. evocative and imaginative…’ (Oli Rockberger; Laura Mvula, Jordan Rakei, Becca Stevens). She is also a regular collaborator with other ensembles including London Vocal Project, the Olivia Murphy Jazz Orchestra and the Maria Grapsa Quintet.

Monday 18th – Stone-Lonergan/Simpson/Hayhurst/Glaser

www.wegottickets.com/event/592108/

Riley Stone-Lonergan – Tenor Saxophone
Rick Simpson – Piano
Oli Hayhurst – Bass
Will Glaser – Drums

Four improvisers dedicated to the whole history of Jazz come together to explore their original compositions and free playing. Dynamic, exciting group playing from an ensemble with many hours under their belt and intense chemistry.

Monday 25th – Five-Way Split

www.wegottickets.com/event/592114/

Quentin Collins – trumpet
Vasilis Xenopoulos – saxophone
Rob Barron – Piano
Matyas Hofecker – Bass
Matt Home – Drums

Five-Way Split is a new jointly-led band formed in 2020 featuring some of the finest contemporary bebop musicians in the UK. Five-Way Split is fronted by internationally renowned trumpet star Quentin Collins, Greek saxophone phenomenon Vasilis Xenopoulos and the golden touch of pianist Rob Barron. Added to this is virtuosic bassist Matyas Hofecker and rock-solid drummer Matt Home. The band’s vision is to carry on the lineage of groups like Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers as well mirroring the New York contemporary-bop scene. From this inspiration, the band presents a sound that respects the tradition of the hard-bop era whilst also bringing it up to date for today’s audience. With an extensive repertoire of carefully crafted and imaginative original compositions, along with hip, swinging material by greats like Jimmy Heath, Cedar Walton and Horace Silver, Five-Way Split delivers a night of the best swinging and soulful music in town.