Before we announce the amazing and musically diverse line-up we have in store for you this month, we’d like to extend a huge thank you to all who came out to support Jazz at the Parakeet this month.
Please keep on coming to our weekly Monday nights and we really appreciate any support you can give us by sharing social media posts, bringing friends and family to the gigs or just spreading the word about our line-up each month.
June looks like it will be an amazing month of live music!
We’re on Facebook and Instagram as @jazzattheparakeet; please share and tag us in all of your photos and videos! It also makes a really big difference to us when you prebook the tickets for the gig so we can get an idea of numbers on the night. P.S. WeGotTicket sales will show as “Sold Out” a few hours before kick-off but please still come down as there will most likely be more tickets available on the door!
Monday 3rd of June – Jamie O’Donnell
https://www.wegottickets.com/event/622865
Jamie O’Donnell – alto saxophone
Jon Gordon – alto saxophone
Sean Fyfe – piano
Joe Dessauer – drums
Matyas Hofecker – bass
A student of bebop legend Barry Harris, alto saxophonist Jamie O’Donnell has immersed himself in the music of Phil Woods, Jackie McLean, Bird, Charles McPherson, and Cannonball Adderley. As a composer, he had written countless tunes for his own bands, as well as commissions for student festivals. Over the decades Jamie has played with Bob Martin, Robert Anchipolovsky, Greg Abate, Mike Outram, Gareth Lockrane, Gwilym Simcock and many others
The band tonight will feature the legendary American alto saxophonist, Jon Gordon, along with talents of the Canadian pianist Sean Fyfe, bassist Matyas Hofecker and drummer Joe Dessauer. One of Phil Woods’ most famous proteges, Jon won the prestigious Thelonius Monk Competition in 1996 and he has played and recorded with Red Rodney, Phil Woods, Benny Carter, Roy Eldridge, Barney Kessel, Al Grey, Eddie Locke, Mike LeDonne, Mel Lewis, Doc Cheatham, Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, A truly contemporary and unique saxophonist, Jon has developed one of the most distinctive alto sounds in jazz, composing for and recording 15 albums as a band leader. He is also a writer, having written several books about the music and about his life.
Monday 10th of June – Matt Cook
https://www.wegottickets.com/event/622206
Matt Cook – Tenor Saxophone
Karim Saber – Guitar
Reuben Goldmark – Piano
John Jones – Bass
Kai MacRae – Drums
Matt Cook is a London based Tenor Saxophonist that has been described in JazzJournal Magazine as ‘Spectacular’ as well as likened to maestro saxophonists such as Wayne Shorter (London Jazz News 2020) and Mark Turner (Marlbank 2024).
Matt established his quintet whilst at The Royal Academy of Music in London combining some of the most creative young musicians on the London Jazz Scene. ‘I wanted to bring four very different musical voices together that could each bring their own style and flair to the music.’
Matt’s eclectic compositional influences range from modern jazz contemporaries such as Immanuel Wilkins and Ambrose Akinmusire, to older pioneers such as John Coltrane and Joe Henderson. He is not afraid to bypass genre, with flavours from 20th Century classical composers like Messiaen and Ravel and even nods to alternative rock bands such as Radiohead.
Matt strikes the balance between honouring the tradition in his compositions without being stifled by it. Repetition is a key part of his compositions, a technique he draws from spiritual jazz, creating meditative and transcendent moments.
Expect memorable melodies, expansive improvisations and deeply moving harmonic progressions.
Monday 17th of June – Germana Stella la Sorsa
https://www.wegottickets.com/event/622867
Germana Stella La Sorsa – Voice
Sam Leak – Hammond Organ
Tom Ollendorff, – Guitar
Jay Davis – Drums
Tara Minton (Special Guest) – Harp
Italian London-based singer Germana Stella La Sorsa migrated from Puglia, Italy in 2017 and quickly established herself on the London jazz scene. “Nudging boundaries as she goes” (The Slow Music Movement) and exploring “the crossroads of many musical components, including story, composition, genre and style as well as instrumentation and effect” (London Jazz News), La Sorsa released her debut album ‘Vapour’ in 2021 on 33 Jazz Records.
Following the success of her first record, the singer melds her disparate influences in her second studio album, ‘Primary Colours’. Praised as “a sure-fire statement of her confident stature in amongst London’s top jazz cats.” (Presto Music), La Sorsa’s new work continues to ride the contemporary/avant-garde jazz wave, further exploring the boundaries of improvisation and sound experimentation and drawing upon modern sounds and grooves, from drum’n’bass to Latin music.
Monday 24th of June – Honey Boulton
https://www.wegottickets.com/event/622976
Honey Boulton – guitar,
Joe Webb – piano
Will Sach – bass
Will Cleasby – drums
Coming up at the Parakeet jazz guitarist Honey Boulton will be presenting a fresh array of original compositions, ranging from swing to blues to bebop, calypso and beyond, there will be something to everyone’s taste. Joining Honey on the bandstand is pianist Joe Webb, Will Sach on Bass, and Will Cleasby on drums, all old friends met in his days of working behind the bar at Kansas Smittys.
An in demand guitarist on the London jazz scene, don’t miss this special opportunity to hear Honey play his own compositions, inspired by the jazz greats of times past and the events of and experiences of times present. The music demonstrates playfulness, emotion and virtuosity. Having just been in the studio finishing an upcoming album, ‘Honey Plays Boulton’ the quartet are working together to make some of the most swinging and feel good music possible with a tight knit unit and real musical chemistry. Expect tight arrangements with the spontaneity and freedom of 21st century jazz music.
Jazz in Kentish Town 