Jazz Preview: Young talents in the spotlight at Wakefield

Wakefield Jazz is hosting three summer shows which emphasise its commitment to the support of rising young musicians in the region.
By Reginald Brace
Published 24th Jun 2011, 11:26 BST

The series, which began last Friday with the Matt Roberts Quintet paying tribute to Miles Davis, continues tonight with an evening of music by the Ripon Grammar School Big Band. Trumpeter James Lancaster directs a group of youngsters with a deserved reputation for talent.

A praiseworthy venture ends next Friday, with a trio led by the Northern-based guitarist Nick Svarc, whose admiration for the work of Jon Scofield is self-evident. Bassist Gary Jackson and drummer Dave Walsh complete a line-up which will provide a spirited climax to Wakefield‘s summer season. Hebden Bridge Arts Festival presents the full-blooded sounds of Dennis Rollins and his Velocity Trio at the Trades Club tomorrow night. The always engaging trombonist has two equally outgoing colleagues in organist Ross Stanley and the young Portugese drummer Pedro Segundo.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Thursday night will see the Brazilian singer-songwriter Monica Vasconcelos casting her sinuous spell at the same venue with tracks from her latest album Vintage Brasil.

Dave Newton, one of the most gifted pianists in British jazz, will be accompanied by bassist Andrew Cleyndert and drummer Steve Brown at the National Centre for Early Music in York tomorrow evening. A French contemporary, Benjamin Moussay, visits Seven Arts in Leeds on Monday during his trio’s first UK tour.