Recent cultural highlights
Andy Sheppard, Matyas Gayer Trio, Dave Green and all that jazz
The word ‘jazz’ can cover a multitude of musical forms and expressions. Some ‘jazz’ musicians don’t like the label. In this past month or so I have seen some esteemed musicians (including favourites of mine) and newer names in a mix of formats (from solo piano to big band orchestra) and in a variety of venues including a church.
Andy Sheppard Quartet at Ronnie Scott’s
(Andy Sheppard. Photo: PeterConwayPromo)
Ronnie Scott’s club in London’s Soho is one of the world’s most famous music venues. Founded in 1959 by saxophonists Ronnie Scott and Pete King, it has hosted many of the greats including Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Sonny Rollins, as well as Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison and Prince.
I first went there in 1986 (I was 20 at the time) to see the Charlie Watts Orchestra - a night I will never forget and one of my most treasured concert experiences. I have been there many times since and it has been a particular pleasure to have sometimes been accompanied by my (now adult) children.
I was back there again last Saturday to see saxophonist Andy Sheppard play a first house set with his new saxophone and guitar-led quartet featuring John Parricelli (guitar), Dudley Phillips (double bass) and Patryk Dobosz (drums). Billed as a “vehicle for Sheppard to reflect on past, present, and future compositional endeavours”, it was a thoroughly engaging set with Sheppard’s clarity of tone and expression consistent throughout. The set included Dancing Man & Woman (from the 2000 album of the same name), Rubbernecking Solid Jackson, Looking for Ornette (from 2015’s Surrounded by Sea), Renato Teixeira’s Romaria (from the 2018 self-titled album), and Trust Me, I’m a Doctor.
I’ve seen Sheppard perform over half a dozen times in the last decade or so and it was fascinating to see him and the band explore his material.
Matyas Gayer Trio at Pinner Parish Church
(L-R: Matyas Gayer, Dave Green and Steve Brown at Chichester Jazz Club, 8 November 2024. Photo: Ian Warren)
Prior to going to Ronnie’s I was at a glorious lunchtime set from the amazing Matyas Gayer Trio at Pinner Parish Church as part of the Music in Pinner series of classical and jazz concerts. The terrific young Hungarian pianist was joined by the legendary Dave Green (bass) and Steve Brown (drums). The set included tunes from their superb album Westbourne Park as well as some great new material.
The concert opened and closed with lovely jazz trio takes on the standards Yesterdays and That’s All, as does the album which was also represented by superb arrangements of On Green Dolphin St and Chopin’s Waltz in E minor. The influence and use of Hungarian classical and folk music was also explicit in gorgeous interpretations of Béla Bartók’s My Little Girl and Zoltán Kodály’s Evening Song. The set was completed by Thelonious Monk’s Work and a Dave Green arrangement of Dave Holland’s Jumpin’ In. I’m reliably informed that another album is in the making. I can’t wait.
I’m a huge admirer of Dave Green and have seen him perform in a number of ensembles including Pocket Ellington (you can read my review here) and a tribute concert to the BBC’s 1960s Jazz 625 programme - Green is now the only person still alive who appeared on the show (you can read my review here). Oh, and do you remember that first gig I went to at Ronnie Scott’s in 1986? Dave Green was one of the bassists.
Westbourne Park by Matyas Gayer Trio (2024) is released on Ubuntu Music
Matyas Gayer Trio play Upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s on Thursday 23 April 2026
Scott Hamilton Quartet with Nat Steele at Pizza Express, Soho
(L-R: John Pearce, Scott Hamilton, Nat Steele, Dave Green and Steve Brown at Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho, 7 January 2026. Photo: John Earls)
Another outfit that Dave Green is a regular member of is saxophonist Scott Hamilton’s quartet which also features Steve Brown on drums and John Pearce on piano. I’ve seen them quite a few times but last month was lucky enough to see them at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho with vibraphone player Nat Steele who literally added top Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) vibes to the proceedings which featured music from the Nat Steele and Scott Hamilton album Afternoon In Paris: The Music of John Lewis & The MJQ. It included a version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow that wrapped me up and sent me home. Bliss.
Alexander Hawkins and Vijay Iyer dazzle in Dalston
(L-R: Alexander Hawkins at the Vortex, 18 February 2026 and Vijay Iyer at Café OTO, 17 January 2026. Photos: John Earls)
I’ve frequently enjoyed the piano playing of Alexander Hawkins when he’s been a member of an ensemble so it was lovely to spend an evening seeing him perform two captivating largely improvised solo sets at the Vortex Jazz Club in Dalston, London, which included takes on John Coltrane’s Peace On Earth and Muhal Richard Abrams’ Peace On You. At various times I thought of Claude Debussy, a deranged Fats Waller and the phrase ‘gothic jazz’ jumped into my head. I also learned that Hawkins wants to come back as Curtis Mayfield’s strings arranger. Wonderful.
Dalston is also home to Café OTO where I saw Vijay Iyer also perform a terrific couple of largely improvised sets to start his two-day solo piano residency. Iyer has not played here before and he confessed that he wasn’t sure whether he was too mainstream for this venue with its reputation for the more experimental (although I did note some graffiti in the toilet which exclaimed “If it’s free jazz we all pay!”). He needn’t have worried. A rapt audience heard playing of sensitivity, virtuosity and expression including a closing take on Lennon and Ono’s Imagine. It was a privilege to be in the room.
Guildhall Jazz Orchestra at Milton Court Concert Hall
(Guildhall Jazz Orchestra at Milton Court Concert Hall, 13 February 2026. Photo: John Earls)
From the intimacy of solo piano to the vibrancy of big band jazz and a super concert by the Guildhall Jazz Orchestra at Milton Court Concert Hall. It was directed by Scott Stroman who is also Director of the London Jazz Orchestra (who I have reviewed here) and seems to have a very good connection with the students, as does the featured saxophonist Julien Siegel, whose compositions and arrangements made up the programme, including the excellent Tales from the Jacquard. It was a joy to spend the evening in the company of stars of the present and of the future - special mention to Sam Cox (trombone), Lucca Fairhurst (trumpet and flugel horn) and Ivy Pilley (tenor saxophone), disappointingly the only woman performing.
Stewart Lee on Derek Bailey
I listened to a terrific episode of Great Lives with comedian Stewart Lee on ‘free jazz’ guitarist Derek Bailey (first broadcast in September 2025). Lee is funny and insightful about the man, his music and his own comedy. He also challenges presenter Matthew Parris brilliantly towards the end.
Great Lives: Stewart Lee on Derek Bailey is available on BBC Sounds
And finally…
When I got up to leave Ronnie Scott’s on Saturday night I suddenly saw that I had been sitting directly in front of, but with my back to, this picture of Charlie Watts. If you know me you will know the significance. I was all the more touched as I had spent that afternoon watching his great friend Dave Green play bass.
(Photo of framed picture hanging in Ronnie Scott’s of Charlie Watts playing at the club on 5th April 2004. Original picture by David Sinclair)