Hello everyone! We’ve got another really nice month of gigs coming up. Please continue to spread the word about our gig, whether via word of mouth or on social media (you can find us on Facebook and Instagram.) A quick look ahead to November – we are hosting two gigs as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival, with Tori Freestone on Monday the 13th and Joe Webb on Wednesday the 15th. Tickets for these are already available on the festival website (https://efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/) and we would recommend getting hold of tickets early as we expect these gigs to be busy!

Monday 2nd October – James Owston Trio

www.wegottickets.com/event/594484/

James Owston – Bass
Alex Merritt – Tenor Saxophone
Euan Palmer – Drums

This exciting new trio brings together the creative minds of James Owston (bass), Alex Merritt (tenor saxophone) and Euan Palmer (drums). After forming in late 2021 for a concert at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, the trio reformed in March 2023 for a performance at the Hexagon Theatre/MAC promoted by Fizzle. Sharing a strong musical connection, this trio sees James, Alex and Euan digging into a range of inspirations across a broad stylistic spectrum – bringing their unique approaches to the fore to create a very personal group dynamic, that is both highly energetic, interactive and engaging.

James Owston has fast become a well-known name on the UK jazz scene, notably through his work with Clark Tracey, Paul Dunmall, Neil Yates, Xhosa Cole, Alex Clarke, Martin Speake, Greg Abate and many more. This trio sees James take on the leadership role, allowing space for each musician’s stylistic input whilst also showcasing his own progressive and melodic approach to playing the bass. With firm roots in bebop and the jazz tradition, heavily influenced by Ray Brown, Charles Mingus, Scott La-Faro, Charlie Haden and other pioneering bassists, Owston also draws from his experience in modern and contemporary music in his approach to improvising and writing music. In 2018, James was a finalist in the BBC Young Jazz Musician Award and performed at the Queen Elizabeth hall with Gwilym Simcock and Asaf Sirkis.

Tenor saxophonist and composer Alex Merritt draws from a range of influences in his approach: being equally inspired by the jazz tradition, contemporary jazz and contemporary classical music (in particular, tenor saxophonists Joe Henderson, John Coltrane and Warne Marsh and composers Henri Dutilleux, Olivier Messiaen and Toru Takemitsu are favourites). Alex has recently released 2 albums with the prestigious Spanish label Fresh Sound New Talent, the most recent of which ‘Common Threads’, which Alex produced, featured Steve Fishwick, Tom Ollendorff, Alex Hitchcock and John Turville amongst other leading lights of the contemporary UK scene.

Euan Palmer’s playing is rooted in bebop, with key influences including Dan Weiss, Brian Blade and Bill Stewart as well as Ben Riley and Elvin Jones. Some recent musical highlights have included a UK tour with Greg Abate in 2022 and a recording with the Dave Ferris Septet in early 2023, featuring New York guitarist Peter Bernstein.

Monday 9th October – Kasper Rietkerk Sextet

www.wegottickets.com/event/594486/

Kasper Rietkerk – Alto Saxophone
Max McLeish – Trombone
Jonah Evans – Drums
Alex Lockheart – Guitar
Benji Bown – Piano
Toby Yapp – Bass

KRSIX is an instrumental sextet led by saxophonist Kasper Rietkerk. Their narrative music is most reminiscent of something between Brian Blade’s Fellowship of Acoustic and Radiohead. They did their first few shows in the spring of 2021 in London, where they are based. The music is rooted in jazz but you can hear influences from rock to folk and blues music. All the music is written and arranged by Kasper and the songs are mostly influenced by things that he observed and experienced after he moved to London.

Award-winning saxophonist Kasper Rietkerk worked with Eddie Chacon, John Caroll Kirby, Ben Nobuto, Jean Toussaint (among others) and he is part of the Emma Rawicz Jazz Orchestra. He did several tv and radio performances and took part in writing the music for VPRO’s television series ‘Naar Bed’. In 2023 Kasper and his band KRSIX played several gigs in the UK, where Kasper is based, and in the Netherlands, where he is originally from.
With his Dutch group Das Sound Kollektiv, Kasper released two albums and an EP of which they got most ‘successful’ with their ‘+1’ release. For this release he worked with many singers and rappers as Ntjam Rosie, Ruben Hein, Rico and Tennishu (Butcher Brown).

Kasper is an alto saxophonist who started playing saxophone at a young age. A bit later, he first heard the sound of saxophonists like Cannonball Adderley, Kenny Garret and Paul Desmond and that made him eventually decide to study jazz saxophone. After his bachelor he moved to London and graduated from his masters at the Royal Academy of Music in 2023, where he got an award for his final exam performance.
Kasper is currently working on the release of his debut album, recorded with KRSIX in London. He released his home recorded and self produced EP ‘alt.esc’ in February 2022.
He is involved in other projects such as the Medan Trio, where he writes and performs improvised music accompanied by visual art. From 2019 till 2021, he played lead alto in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra from the Netherlands, which was led by Ruben Hein.

‘Great alto sound that carried strongly over the band’ Jason Yarde
‘Fantastic saxophonist’ Jean Toussaint
‘Played with great projection and fluency of ideas’ Michael Mondesir

Monday 16th October – Tomorrow’s New Quartet

www.wegottickets.com/event/594488/

Rod Oughton – Drums
Helena Kay – Tenor Saxophone
Sam Watts – Piano
Flo Moore – Bass

Tomorrow’s New Quartet is a London-based ensemble, playing the original compositions of drummer / composer Rod Oughton. The band is comprised of some of the UK’s fastest rising stars, and features Helena Kay on saxophone, Deschanel Gordon on piano and Flo Moore on bass. Their debut album ‘All Together, Now!’ was named Editor’s Choice by Jazzwise Magazine, and was frequently played on BBC Radio 3 and Jazz FM. Their 2022 release tour took them all over the UK and culminated in a sold-out show at Pizza Express Dean St. They are currently working towards their second album.

‘Very Fresh’ – Jumoké Fashola
**** ‘A quartet for today as well as tomorrow’- Jazzwise Magazine

Monday 23rd October – Landsberg/Sikivie/Bryson/Ellison

https://www.wegottickets.com/event/594490

Ofer Landsberg – Guitar
Paul Sikivie – Bass
Alex Bryson – Piano
Robbie Ellison – Drums

London drummer Robbie Ellison brings together a stellar international quartet for a special night at The Parakeet on Monday 23rd October – only to be missed by fools and ne’er-do-wells. Featuring the world class talents of Ofer Landsberg on guitar, Paul Sikivie on bass, and Alex Bryson on piano, the night will be sure to swing you into the rudest of health.
Ofer is a world-class guitarist currently based in Tel Aviv but has had extended periods of living and working in New York and London. He studied with Barry Harris and has played with the likes of Frank Hewitt, Grant Stewart, Jimmy Lovelace, Gil Coggins and Jimmy Wormworth as well as all the top players in London.

Paul Sikivie is one of the most in demand bassists and composers on the NYC jazz scene and has played in the bands of household names such as Wynton Marsalis, Cecile McLorin-Salvant, Johnny O’Neal, Grant Stewart, Pasquale Grasso, Aaron Diehl and many more.

A fluent and impressive pianist, Alex Bryson includes work with the likes of US stars Grant Stewart & Chris Cheek on an impressive CV. After attending college in London he moved to the US, ending up working at many prestigious venues in both NYC and Washington, and now is one of the UK’s most in-demand and swinging jazz pianists.

Robbie Ellison is a young jazz drummer and composer who has shared the bandstand with the likes of John Marshall, Mike LeDonne, Eric Alexander, Tom Kirkpatrick, Ivo Neame, Sara Dowling, and that dude from Gabriel. As an arranger and composer he has had work for symphony orchestra commissioned for the Battersea Jazz Festival, and his Septet, featuring his original compositions and arrangements, played to a sold out Parakeet earlier this year.

Monday 30th October – Barry Green Trio

https://www.wegottickets.com/event/594492

Barry Green – Piano
Conor Chaplin – Bass
Vinnie Sperrazza – Drums

Barry splits his time between London and Rotterdam. He has played and recorded with artists such as Drew Gress, Tom Rainey, Gerald Cleaver, Ben Street, Charles McPherson, Conrad Herwig, Bill McHenry, Rudy Royston, Dick Oatts, Ian Shaw, Claire Martin, Peter King, Bobby Wellins and Henry Lowther. He has played at clubs and festivals internationally for the last 25 years. He teaches at Guildhall and Groningen,NL.

Tonight features New York drummer Sperrazza who is very active on the NY scene playing with amongst many others Chris Speed, Ethan Iverson, Jakob Saks. His articles on the online magazine substack about drummers are a revelation!

Conor is the man.