Welcome to the

IPSWICH JAZZ CLUB

No membership required. Come and join us at ...

The California Club, 195 Foxhall Road, Ipswich IP3 8LB

Performances 8.00 to 10.30pm : usually every third Sunday of the month

Advanced bookings - Dave : 01473 231 552

Click to view a map ... Click to download a map

Comfortable - friendly - air conditioned-fully carpeted well stocked bar
at very reasonable prices - tea and coffee

Programme for 2008

Sunday 13th January

Scott Hamilton Quartet ... £12.00

What more can be written in praise of the world’s best mainstream tenor saxophone
player who continues to tour the globe?

Scott Hamilton brings his regular English band with him to The Club. This includes the excellent John Pearce on keyboards, the double bass player Georgiou Allessandro and the erudite drummer Steve Brown to complete the quartet.

Sunday February 24th

Chris Garrick Quartet ... £11.00

A new star a new sound.

Chris is the leading exponent of his instrument in the UK. This young man has revitalised jazz violin playing so that it has been rejuvenated for the 21st century. At the Club the band features David Gordon on keyboards who is said to have the hand span of a bat, with the razor sharp drumming of Nic France and Alec Dankworth on bass.

Sunday March 16th

Karen Sharp Quintet ... £10.00

Undoubtedly Karen is the best tenor saxophone player to have been born in Ipswich. If that seems like faint praise let’s add straight away that she is already one of the best young jazz artists in the UK.

Karen Sharp leads on tenor saxophone supported by her husband John Day on double bass with Adrian Fry on trombone and the ever reliable and consistently excellent Richard Busiakiewcz on keyboards accompanied by John Perry on drums.

Sunday April 20th

Gilad Atzmon Quartet ... £11.00

First visit to the Club since September 2004. Gilad seems to constantly grow in stature and broaden his horizons as a jazz musician, composer and writer.

Gilad Atzman will be with his regular jazz band. This features him on all types of saxophones, clarinet and flute, with Frank Harrison on keyboards, Yaron Stavi bass
and Asaf Sirkis drums.

Sunday May 18th 2008

Paul Lamb and the Kingsnakes ... £12.00

Can it really be the Club’s eighth joint blues presentation with BBC Radio Suffolk?

It’s a big thank you to Stephen Foster for organising and presenting our annual
blues event and broadcasting the results on Radio Suffolk.

This year making his debut at the Club is Paul Lamb and his popular band. One of the best blues bands playing today. A lot of hard work over the years has produced a rare group who sound as good as any blues band.

Paul is recognised as one of the world’s best harmonica players with over 30 years
experience. He was influenced by that magical harmonica player Sonny Terry who
made his name with Brownie McGhee.

The band playing at the Club will be Paul Lamb (harmonica and vocals), Chad Strentz (rhythm guitar and vocals), Ryan Lamb (lead guitar), and Rod Demick (bass) and Sonny Below (drums).

The many awards won include BBC Awards Best Blues Band for five years and best
harmonica for six years and best blues album for four recordings
"... Simply better than the opposition - from whatever side
of the Atlantic it happens to come". Blueprint.

"Absolute dynamite" The Times.

Sunday June 15th 2008

John Etheridge Trio ... £12.00

It is a very welcome return for John Etheridge who last played for us at the Manor Ballroom in September 2003.

John Etheridge who has excelled in an eclectic career has managed to be a member of Soft Machine
whilst appearing as featured guitarist with Stephane Grappelli.

John still plays with The Soft Machine Legacy, Sweet Chorus a tribute to Stephane Grappelli,
The Zappaistas playing music of Frank Zappa, as wells as projects with
classical guitarist John Williams playing African music.

This time John will appear with his organ trio playing modern jazz. John is a guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator and has been a full time guitarist since the end of his student days at Essex University in 1970.

The band that will be featured at the Club is John Etheridge (guitar),
Pete Whittaker (Hammond Organ) Mark Fletcher (drums).

Marvellous jazz guitar in a classic organ trio setting.

Sunday July 6th 2008

Georgia Mancio Quintet ... £10.00

“One of those rare jazz singers who tells a story each time she
picks up a microphone” Derek Ansell

Georgia Mancio who is Anglo-Italian formed her band in 2005 having played with its members in different settings over the previous years. Her Italian grandparents who were a concert pianist and an opera singer inspired Georgia’s passion for music. Georgia chose to express her talents through jazz with the careful selection of songs, which suit her style.

Georgia has released her first CD “peaceful place” which proved to be an excellent debut album and this has been followed up with “Trapeze” which is being released in March 2008.
Both CDs feature well crafted jazz standards from the great American Songbook
and songs from Chile, Brazil, Italy and Cuba.

The band that will accompany her at the Club includes that excellent pianist John Pearce who played so well with Scott Hamilton at the Club in January 2008. Also on stage will be the doyen of British bass players Dave Green with Dave Ohm on drums and Gareth Lockrane on flutes.

Sophisticated singing in a Jazz Club setting.

Coming Up Next ...

August 2008

To be confirmed

Sunday September 21th

Esther Miller Quintet

Sunday October 19th

Simon Spillett Quartet

Richard Beckton.

This site last updated 25/02/08