The best in Live Jazz at the Park Inn Hotel, Southend
Every Wednesday
8:30 – 10:30pm
Free Entry
Playing Modern, Be-Bop, Fusion & Avant Garde,
featuring Special Guests
The Venue
Find Jazz825 on the first floor bar at the Park Inn Palace Hotel, to the right as you step out of the lift. Grab a table or bar seating, with food and drink served all evening.
Getting There
Train
Southend Central (c2c Line) located in the middle of Southend High Street.
Southend Victoria (Greater Anglia Line) located at the opposite end of the High Street.
Bus
Southend Central Bus Depot is approx 4 minute walk
Parking
The Royals Shopping Centre Car Park is directly opposite the venue and is open 24hrs.
Alexander Street Car Park is close by, with a pedestrian pathway through to the high street.
Alternatively, street parking can be found locally.
Park Inn Hotel
Church Road, Southend-on-sea
SS1 2A
What's On
“Its easy keeping a jazz musicians together. You simply have too have a gimmick, and the gimmick I use is to pay them money!”
– Duke Ellington
18th June
Chenenko
with special guest Mick Foster
Tonight we celebrate the genius of John Surman, one of this countries finest exponents of the Baritone Saxophone. In particular his many recording during his partnership with the ECM record label.
Mick Foster – Baritone Sax
Dave Whiting – Guitar
Tony Gooderham – Piano
Dominic Howles – Bass
Trevor Taylor – Drums
25th June
CROSSWIND
Tonight we celebrate the most influential Jazz Guitar greats of all time, from Wes Montgomery to John Scofield, featuring Andy Watson. Andy has established a remarkable reputation as a session musician. His performing credits are legion and diverse as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to Barbara Thompsons Paraphernalia.
Andy Watson – Guitar
Zak Barrett – Saxophone
Sam Edwards – Piano
Terry Gregory – Bass
Simon Harwood – Drums
“Rock journalism is people who can’t write, interviewing people who can’t talk, in order to provide articles for people who can’t read”
― Frank Zappa
2nd July
PALLADIUM
A tribute to Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter’s career reached across more than half a century, largely inextricable from jazz’s complex evolution during that span. He emerged in the 1960s as a tenor saxophonist and in-house composer for pace-setting editions of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the Miles Davis Quintet, two of the most celebrated small groups in jazz history.
He then helped pioneer fusion, with Davis and as a leader of Weather Report, which amassed a legion of fans. He also forged a bond with popular music in marquee collaborations with the singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, the guitarist Carlos Santana and the band Steely Dan, whose 1977 song “Aja” reaches a dynamic climax with his hide-and-seek tenor solo.
He wrote his share of compositions that became jazz standards, like “Footprints,” a coolly ethereal waltz, and “Black Nile,” a driving anthem. Beyond his book of tunes, he was revered for developing and endlessly refining a modern harmonic language. His compositions, sleek and insinuating, can convey elegant ambiguities of mood. They adhere to an internal logic even when they break the rules.
Zak Barrett – Saxophone
Aled Thomas – Piano
Terry Gregory – Bass
Simon Harwood – Drums
9th July
ATLANTICUS
ATLANTICUS is a British-American musical partnership bringing together two powerfully distinct musical personalities, US saxophonist Peter Fraize and UK organist Terry Seabrook, delivering a dynamic new entry to the rich transatlantic heritage of jazz.
Drawing from the storied tradition of the great Hammond organ groups, with a post-modern sound echoing the ground-breaking organ quartet of Larry Young’s Unity album. Their music spans the stylistic spectrum from the hard bop blowout of their debut album’s title track ‘Blue Haven’, the modal explorations of ‘That’s What’, the odd-metered boogaloo of ‘Swank’, and the Afro-Cuban reimagining of the Bobby Timmons classic ‘Moanin’’.
Jack Kenon – Trumpet
Peter Fraize – Saxophone
Terry Seabrook – Organ
Milo Fell – Drums
“Don't be a perfectionist... leave that to the classical musicians”
- Dave Brubeck
16th July
AMALGAM
with special guest Martin Hathaway
Amalgam are a modern jazz quintet based in Essex and London. Formed during the dark days of the Covid pandemic, they managed to play together virtually from their homes using music software similar to Zoom. It was over this time that they wrote much of the material for their first album, which they went on to record in the studio together in 2022. The band are presently writing new material for their next long player.
Tonight we welcome a very special guest Martin Hathaway. Martin has worked alongside many noted international and UK jazz musicians including; Wynton Marsalis, Randy Brecker, Billy Cobham, Dave Holland, Dave Liebman, Dame Cleo Laine, Alec and Jacqui Dankworth to name a few.
Martin Hathaway – Saxophone
Lawrence Harper – Trumpet
Dave Whiting – Guitar
Dave Lee – Piano
Jason Nicholls – Bass
Trevor Taylor – Drums
23rd July
Sammy MAYNE
A Perrier jazz award winner, SAM MAYNE studied at the Royal Academy of Music and played with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra for seven years. He was a member of both John Dankworth’s Big Band and the BBC Big Band for ten years, was in the Stan Tracey Octet for eight years, as well as Guy Barker’s Big Band, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra and the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, and has toured with Strictly Come Dancing. He has also played with Amy Winehouse, Robbie Williams & Tom Jones. He is widely considered as one of the finest saxophone players of his generation.
Sam Mayne – Sax
Nick Tomalin – Piano
Dominic Howles – Bass
Simon Harwood – Drums
“You know why I quit playing ballads? Cause I love playing ballads ”
- Miles Davis
30th July
MANDALA
A tribute to Roland Kirk
Mandala is a sanskrit word largely meaning ‘Circle’, and that’s really what this group is about, experimenting with different players. The current six piece group morphed from a smaller unit when a larger frontline was required ,and stayed together as it is now because the trumpet, Sax, trombone frontline offers many more possibilities for both past classic jazz as well as original material.
Tonight the group will be playing a tribute to Roland Kirk, a pioneering American jazz musician known for his remarkable versatility and innovative techniques. Blind from the age of two, he began his musical journey on the trumpet before transitioning to woodwinds, including the tenor saxophone, clarinet, and an array of other instruments.
Dave Jago – Trombone
Ted Porter – Trumpet
Tony Gooderham – Piano
Geoff Harris – Bass
Trevor Taylor – Drums
6th August
Kent Youth Jazz Orchestra
It is still going strong today with about 25 young players rehearsing fortnightly at Invicta Grammar School in Maidstone and continuing to run jazz workshops across the county. Current musical director Mike Austin is a former member who has returned to bring jazz to the next generation of young musicians. Tonight we are joined by a selection of their finest players.
Many members of KYJO have also played in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) and many have gone on to become professional musicians, play with the armed services or follow a career in music teaching. Many of them retain their links with KYJO, returning for guest performances and reunion concerts and parties – or as parents whose children are now members.
Mike Austin – Sax (with selected guests from KYJO)
Dan Banks – Piano
Terry Gregory – Bass
Simon Harwood – Drums
"There's a way of playing safe, there's a way of using tricks and there's the way I like to play which is dangerously where you're going to take a chance on making mistakes in order to create something you haven't created before"
- Dave Brubeck
13th August
Tribute to Stan Gertz
Few if any saxophonists have rivalled the intense purity of tone created by Stan Getz. Whether playing slow ballads or at speed, he combined the airy lightness of Lester Young with a feathery, burnished tone that was unsurpassably beautiful.
In the 1960s he launched the Bossa Nova craze, with discs featuring the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto. He became one of the most popular and biggest selling jazz artists of the period, and his groups included the pick of contemporary jazz players.
Zak Barrett – Saxophone
Lele Bicotta – Guitar
Tony Gooderham – Piano
Alex Keen – Bass
Trevor Taylor – Drums
20th August
Martin Speake - CHARUKESI
Citing Charlie Parker, Paul Motian, Lee Konitz, Keith Jarrett, Ornette Coleman and Rabih Abou Khalil amongst his major influences, Martin Speake has developed a personal musical voice that expresses a deep understanding of the history and language of Jazz and an individuality as an improviser that is intelligent, melodic, cool, complex, direct, beautiful and profound. A member of the saxophone quartet Itchy Fingers in the 80s, he has recorded 23 albums as leader including the internationally acclaimed ECM release Change Of Heart with Paul Motian, Bobo Stenson and Mick Hutton.
Recently showcased during London Jazz Festival at Cadogan Hall, Charukesi is a newly formed project – a pared-down version of Martin Speake’s previous 7-piece group ‘Fever Pitch’. Charukesi was formed to reflect Martin’s interest in rhythmic music from around the world including Arabic, Indian and Turkish influences.
Martin Speake – Saxophone
Alyson Crawley – Saxophone
Richard Fox – Tuba
Tom Hooper – Drums
"Never look at the trombones; it only encourages them"
- Richard Strauss
27th August
The sounds of ECM records
Tonight JAZZ825 presents something a bit different, the sounds , not of a particular musician but of the German record company ECM who produced world famous Jazz artists from Keith Jarrett to Gary Burton. The label was run by Manfred Eicher & established itself as one of the most creative record companies in the world.
Shanti Jayasinha – Trumpet
Don Pusey – Saxophone
Dan Banks – Piano
Alex Keen – Bass
Trevor Taylor – Drums
3rd September
Steve Waterman
Steve Waterman is a professor of Jazz Trumpet at Trinity College of Music in London and visiting Jazz Trumpet specialist at The Royal Northern College Of Music and The Welsh College Of Music And Drama. Steve runs his own Annual Contemporary Big Band Jazz Weekend with Alan Barnes, and also teaches on many summer jazz courses and has conducted numerous Trumpet master classes and workshops ranging in size from small groups to big bands throughout the UK and in Spain, Finland, Latvia, South Africa, and Cuba.
Steve is very committed to Jazz education. He has co-written with John ONeil a highly acclaimed Jazz Trumpet tutor book -THE JAZZ METHOD FOR TRUMPET published by Schott & Co. and is currently releasing the Steve Waterman E-Learning Jazz Education Series for Trumpet.
Steve Waterman – Trumpet
Nick Tomalin – Piano
Dominic Howles – Bass
Simon Harwood – Drums
"Brass bands are all very well, in their place; outdoors and several miles away"
- Sir Thomas Beecham
10th September
REWIRE
Rewire is a project formed last year to explore material using a Saxophone & Guitar front line. Expect an eclectic repertoire of music from Dave Brubeck to John Scofield.
Special guest tonight is Martin Hathaway who has played with many of Britain’s leading jazz musicians in smaller group contexts, including Kenny Wheeler, Stan Sulzmann, Mick Hutton, Liam Noble, Julian Siegel, Phil Robson, Martin Speake, Harry Beckett, Clark Tracey, Don Rendell, Nikki Iles, Stacey Kent, Jacqui and Alec Dankworth, Alan Barnes, Digby Fairweather and Jim Mullen, and has worked extensively as a session musician, recording music for radio, television and film. He has also performed and recorded with ‘Radiohead’, appearing on their best-selling CD ‘Kid A’.
Martin Hathaway – Saxophone
Dave Whiting – Guitar
Tony Gooderham – Piano
Dominic Howles – Bass
Trevor Taylor – Drums
17th September
SEVEN STEPS
Seven Steps play a fusion of jazz & funk featuring the music of jazz legends such as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea & Pat Metheny. Tonight we feature the irresistible pairing of Zak Barrett & Dan Parker.
Zak Barrett – Sax
Dan Parker – Guitar
Terry Gregory – Bass
Simon Harwood – Drums
“Jazz is the big brother of the blues. If a guy's playing blues like we play, he's in high school. When he starts playing jazz it's like going on to college, to a school of higher learning”
- B. B. King
24th September
TBC
13th August
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