www.grandunionjazz.co.uk
Grand Union Jazz Presents - Henry Lowther
Wednesday 25th June Doors 7pm -10.30pm
Tickets £15.00/£18.00
Book now for the ‘early birds - Sold Out’
General admission price £18.00
During the sixties Henry with the famous Cream bassist, Jack Bruce, and John Hiseman. Henry worked on the rock scene with Manfred Mann and John Mayall, and also with Keef Hartley, with whom he appeared at the famous and legendary Woodstock festival in 1969.
Over the last 50 years Henry’s work on the British jazz scene reads like a “Who’s Who”. He has played regularly with, amongst many others, Gordon Beck, Michael Garrick, Graham Collier, Mike Gibbs, Pete King, Loose Tubes, John Surman, John Taylor, Stan Tracey and Kenny Wheeler
Over the years Henry has toured widely with various artists and bands in Europe, Canada, India, Japan, Finland, the former Soviet Union, Bermuda, Kuwait and the USA. Tours in recent years have included those with the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, John Harle, Rolling Stones’s drummer Charlie Watts and His Tentet, the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, the New York Composers Orchestra, the Hamburg NDR band and Hermeto Pascoal. He is one of only two or three players in the world to have had the honour of playing lead trumpet with both Gil Evans and George Russell.
Henry’s musical breadth is confirmed by his frequent engagements as a classical player with major symphony orchestras and ensembles, including the London Brass Virtuosi, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, Germany’s Ensemble Moderne and the Matrix Ensemble. Until its demise Henry was for five years the solo flugelhorn player with the strings of the BBC Radio Orchestra, and as a session musician has recorded with Bing Crosby, George Harrison, Elton John, Henry Mancini, Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Sir Simon Rattle, Nelson Riddle and Talk Talk, amongst many others.
Henry worked regularly for nearly 45 years playing in many of Sir John Dankworth bands and projects and it was in 2009, whilst playing in duo format with the amazing percussionist and drummer Paul Clarvis in the Stables Theatre, Wavendon, that John played in public for the very last time “sitting in”.
In 1996, along with his great friend the great bass player Dave Green, Henry formed his own band Still Waters to enable him to pursue his increasing interest in composition. Although most of Henry’s compositional activity has been directed towards small band jazz as vehicles for improvisation, he has, in the last few years tried to devote more time to larger compositions commissioned by the BBC, the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, the London Brass Virtuosi (LBV) and Jemina Festival in Spain.
Currently Henry writes for and plays in the London Jazz Orchestra, gigs with Still Waters and Henry has played the solo role a number of times in performances of all of the Miles Davis and Gil Evans incomparable albums, Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain.
In 2011 Henry was awarded a Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Music and last year, 2017, he was nominated for a Parliamentary Jazz Award in the category Services to Jazz.
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Grand Union Jazz Presents - Jazz drummer extraordinaire DAVE BARRY
Wednesday 23rd July Food/ Doors 6pm for 8pm start
Early Bird tickets £15.00
General admission price £18.00
A 5 piece band with Dave Barry on drums Dave O'Higgins on tenor saxophone, Alex Hutton on piano, Mike Outram on guitar, and Dave Jones on bass.
Originally from Cardiff Dave studied classical percussion at the Royal Academy of Music and quickly became one of London’s highly sought after jazz drummers playing with top UK artists and groups.
He also played with many visiting US jazz stars such as Mose Allison, Mark Murphy, Kenny Burrell and Barney Kessel. He has also toured and worked with Scott Hamilton, Gary Bartz and Jiggs Wigham.
More recent UK jazz collaborations have included colleagues and friends Mike Westbrook, Tim Whitehead, Don Wellar, Art Themen, Dick Pearce and Alan Barnes.
He has always led his own groups and has recorded CD’s under his own name including ‘Precious Time’ with Don Wellar, Steve Waterman, John Donaldson and Arnie Somogyi, plus the CD ‘Four’ with Mornington Lockett, John Donaldson and Arnie Somogyi.
He also played with many visiting US jazz stars such as Mose Allison, Mark Murphy, Kenny Burrell and Barney Kessel. He has also toured and worked with Scott Hamilton, Gary Bartz and Jiggs Wigham.
More recent UK jazz collaborations have included colleagues and friends Mike Westbrook, Tim Whitehead, Don Wellar, Art Themen, Dick Pearce and Alan Barnes.
He has always led his own groups and has recorded CD’s under his own name including ‘Precious Time’ with Don Wellar, Steve Waterman, John Donaldson and Arnie Somogyi, plus the CD ‘Four’ with Mornington Lockett, John Donaldson and Arnie Somogyi.
Dave Barry 
Originally from Cardiff Dave studied classical percussion at the Royal Academy of Music and quickly became one of London’s highly sought after jazz drummers playing with top UK artists and groups.
He also played with many visiting US jazz stars such as Mose Allison, Mark Murphy, Kenny Burrell and Barney Kessel. He has also toured and worked with Scott Hamilton, Gary Bartz and Jiggs Wigham.
More recent UK jazz collaborations have included colleagues and friends Mike Westbrook, Tim Whitehead, Don Wellar, Art Themen, Dick Pearce and Alan Barnes.
He has always led his own groups and has recorded CD’s under his own name including ‘Precious Time’ with Don Wellar, Steve Waterman, John Donaldson and Arnie Somogyi, plus the CD ‘Four’ with Mornington Lockett, John Donaldson and Arnie Somogyi.
Dave O'Higgins
Dave O’Higgins now has 26 albums as leader to his credit. His sax sound is very personal and recognisable, with a clear sense of melodic development and adventure. A popular performer with the public, with an excellent sense of pacing and presentation, he has a wide palette from Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane and Joe Henderson through to Stanley Turrentine and Michael Brecker. He has relentlessly pursued artistic exploration and development with a deep respect for the tradition of the music. His latest project is Monkin’ Around, a co-operative with Greek drummer, Billy Pod & Aussie bassist, Luke Fowler, exploring the music of Thelonious Monk.
Dave has worked with some of the world’s finest musicians, including Joey Calderazzo, Joe Locke, Dave Kikowski, Eric Alexander, Grant Stewart, Max Ionata, Phil Dwyer, Adam Nussbaum, Joe Lovano, Phil Woods, Jimmy Smith, Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, Kurt Elling, Wayne Shorter, Eddie Gomez, Billy Childs, Abdullah Ibrahim, Chico Chagas and Stephane Grappelli. He also wrote and produced the last Matt Bianco album, “Gravity”. While his jazz career was in its early stages, Dave cut his teeth as a sideman with Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra.
Other regular bands over the years include:
Darius Brubeck Quartet
Brubecks Play Brubeck
Sean Fyfe Quartet
John Dankworth and Cleo Laine
Jim Mullen
Martin Taylor’s Spirit of Django
Jamie Cullum
Kyle Eastwood
BBC Big Band
Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra
“A stunning player in the neo-bop vein, with an apparently effortless flow of coherent ideas, beautiful time and a highly developed harmonic sense.” JAZZ GUIDE
Dave Jones
While Dave is the also organising force behind Grand Union Jazz his bass playing in recent years has included Hejira - a Tribute to Joni Mitchell, Ronnie Scott’s Soul and Jazz Orchestra, Pete Cater Big Band, Way Out West Jazz Collective, Stefanos Tsourelis Trio, Tom Seals, Brandon Allen Groove Band, Jeremy Sassoon and Julian Costello. He has played with some of the finest jazz musicians in the UK such as Pete Long, Jacqui Dankworth, Frank Griffith and John Etheridge and also with visiting American artists such as Howard Levy. He has played alongside drummers Steve Gadd, Steve Smith and Keith Carlock and he is active in jazz education teaching regularly at Richmond Jazz School, International Summer Schools and Kingston University.
Dave also leads a classic nonet line up featuring some of the UK’s finest jazz musicians including Henry Lowther, Mark Armstrong, Nick Mills, Tony Woods, Tom Ridout, Chris Biscoe, John Turville, Tristan Mailliot plus various special guests including Brigitte Beraha, Demi Garcia Sabat on percussion and Mike Outram on guitar.
Playing and exploring the Nonet arrangements of great American writers such as Bob Hammer, Marty Paich and Frank Griffith provided the inspiration for the band while the experience of playing with Pete Cater Big Band, Ronnie Scott’s Soul and Jazz Orchestra, BBC Big Band and in formative days ‘Eurojazz' the European Community Youth Jazz Orchestra provided a unique perspective on writing for this the classic Nonet line up.
Dave’s writing is sophisticated and nuanced. Just when you think you know where he’s going, there is a change of texture or tempo, you do find yourself in an unexpected place and …. it’s beautiful!! … “ London Jazz News’.
Alex Hutton
Alex is a very highly regarded and formidable jazz pianist who draws upon a wide range of influences. His leads his own creative projects and is also a highly in demand player for many groups playing alongside musicians such as Enrico Tomasso, Steve Waterman, Ben Clatworthy, Nic Meier World Group, Alec Garnett, Chris Biscoe, Brandon Allen and vocalist Lily Dior. He writes and composes for his ‘Composition Trio’ featuring Asaf Sirkis and Yuri Goloubev of which he says .. “ this new line-up enables me to compose and explore thru-composed material with delicacy but with the power and textures of a larger band. When bringing the new material to the band, very little was said about the music, after all I had this line up in mind whilst composing the pieces.”. Other groups include his ‘Latin Trio’ which has been the resident band in a prestigious Brazilian Club in Berekely Square Mayfair. Alex is also renowned for his virtuosic solo playing of which he says .. “I got into jazz through hearing the early virtuos Errol Garner and Art Tatum. Those styles are always with me. I don't know if its because i'm left handed that i've always been excited by the possibilities of using my piano hands more evenly. Improvisation in jazz piano has too often tended to focus the 'magic' in the right hand - while the left hand merely functions as a harmonic anchor. Why? Was it perhaps because the piano improvisation got too concerned with emulatiing the melodic lines those cool horn players were doing. We're better than that!”
Mike Outram
Mike Outram is one of the UK’s foremost guitarists who is sought after as an improviser and his ability to contribute his unique voice to any musical ensemble. He has toured internationally and appeared on over a hundred CD’s for various artists.
He has worked with international artists such as Tim Garland, Donny McCaslin, Till Brönner, Carleen Anderson, Theo Travis, Jeff Williams, Julian Siegel, Steven Wilson, Tony Remy, Herbie Mann, Tim Ries, Nikki Iles, Gerard Presencer, and Laura Rossi and he works regularly with many UK based ensembles including Martin Speake Group, Asaf Sirkis, Dave Higgins, Tim Whitehead, Tony Woods Project and Jacqui Dankworth.
He also teaches the guitar at The Royal Academy, Trinity Laban & The Guildhall, London; and leads an online community of over 700 guitarists who study jazz guitar & improvisation.
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