Oct 7th - BEN CLATWORTHY & JOHN DONALDSON QUARTET
A great jazz quartet, currently touring the UK, led by legendary Ben Clatworthy, a brilliant post-Coltrane tenor saxophonist who mixes fiery energy, melody and dynamic control. Benn is a Londoner by birth, having settled in the U.S. and has made his mark playing on the USA’s West Coast. His playing has a distinctive, full and emotive tone and he is an accomplished improviser and emotion stirring balladeer whilst having echoes of the penetrative dynamism of John Coltrane. Complementing Ben is one of the UK’s finest piano players John Donaldson, with Simon Thorpe on bass and Matt Home on drums.
Nov 4th - THE MARK BASSEY QUARTET
The Mark Bassey Quartet features Colin Oxley on guitar, Dave Whitford on double bass and Matt Home on drums. The group play beautiful jazz classics from Cole Porter, Gershwin, Mingus & Jobim. Jazz trombonist Mark Bassey has been described as "a superb, witty player" (Dave Gelly). His playing can stretch from the "raucous" (John Fordham) to an "exquisite sound and perfect phrasing" (Brian Blain). Regarded as a highly versatile musician, Mark covers many styles from swing to bop as well as the more contemporary fields. Colin Oxley, Dave Whitford and Matt Home are all top players and wonderful soloists in their own right. Together they form a magnificent swinging rhythm section.
Dec 2nd - THE DANNY MOSS Jnr - DAVID CHAMBERLAIN QUARTET
A welcome return to the “in serious demand” & popular guitarist DAVE CHAMBERLAIN, who has played with John Dankworth, Buddy Greco, Mark Murphy, The BBC Concert Orchestra, The Halle Orchestra, Ken Peplowski, Warren Vache, Claire Martin, Clare Teal, The Ronnie Scotts All Stars, and The Pasadena Roof Orchestra. He co-leads the quartet with Bassist Danny Moss Jnr who’s big toned, swinging bass playing is highly regarded by his peers on the International Jazz Scene. An unashamed disciple of the great Ray Brown - time, tone, and variation of lines are the hallmarks of his playing. He has played at most of the major European Jazz Festivals inc Brecon, Edinburgh, Foehr, Munich, Hof, Zurich, Vienna etc, and has recorded many albums. Tonight he returns to Steyning and with critically acclaimed pianist LEON GREENING and drummer MATT HOME they play a wonderful programme - recently touring the UK, with a homage to the great bassists Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford, Charles Mingus and Sam Jones.