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Gig listing no 18: June 2025

 The weather is warming up here in the UK, so it's time to get out and enjoy some summer sounds. Here's a few ideas for where to go - see the list at the bottom of some of my favourite jazz clubs.


Tuesday 17 June: East Side Jazz Club, 2 Harvey Rd, London E11 3DB
The Pocket Ellington, a seven-piece celebration of the Ellington repertoire play this prestigious out-of-town jazz spot with Alan Barnes (reeds), Tony Kofi (tenor), Andy Davies (trumpet), David Lalljee (trombone), Dave Green (bass) and WinstonClifford (drums). As well as clever adaptations of Ellington classics by pianist / MD Alex Webb, the group also plays music from arranger/composers influenced by the Duke, including Mingus, Monk and Gil Evans. Click here for tickets & info

Wednesday 18 June: Pizza Express, Dean Street, Soho London W1
Coltrane and Hartman on Impulse! feat. Denys Baptiste and Marvin Muoneké. Revisiting the famous album when John Coltrane teamed up with vocalist Johnny Hartman to explore their favourite romantic standards, tenor sax boss Denys Baptiste is joined by the extraordinary vocalist Marvin Muoneké and a top-flight rhythm section of Gary Crosby (bass), Alex Webb (piano) and Alfonso Vitale (drums). For tickets & info: Click here for tickets & info

Friday 4 to Sunday 6 July 2025: Glynde Place, East Sussex
Love Supreme Jazz Festival is the largest green field music event of its kind and it's well worth a visit. Maxwell has already been announced as a headliner and he's being joined on the listings by Smokey Robinson, who is set to perform his first UK show in 15 years . Click here for tickets & info

Friday 11 to Sunday 13 July 2025, North Sea Jazz Festival
This year’s event will feature a star-studded line-up of international talent alongside the most celebrated up-and-coming artists spanning jazz, blues, soul, pop, and more. Amongst the 30+ artists announced today are a multitude of jazz heavyweights including 4x Brit Award-nominated Ezra Collective, vocal sensation Samara Joy, virtuoso guitarist Julian Lage, Armenian-born pianist-composer Tigran Hamasyan, Kurt Elling & Yellowjackets celebrating Weather Report, boundary-pushing Israeli trumpeter Avishai Cohen’s Quartet, multi-award-winning singer Jazzmeia Horn, Lionel Hampton Big Band featuring Jason Marsalis, Snarky Puppy alumni Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werth’s fusion outfit Ghost-Note, and a sparkling array of visionary US saxophonists including Kamasi Washington, Immanuel Wilkins, Branford Marsalis, and Lakecia Benjamin. This year’s programme is anchored by Jacob Collier, the festival’s 2025 Artist in Residence. Click here for tickets & info

Wednesday 23 July: Boisdale Canary Wharf, Cabot Square, Canary Wharf E14 4QT
The Pocket Ellington with special guest Marvin Muoneké. For the very first time, velvet-voiced Marvin joins this acclaimed ensemble to sing some of the swing classics penned by Duke Ellington, including Take The A Train, Sophisticated Lady, It Don’t Mean A Thins (If It Ain’t Got That Swing), Caravan and more, in sparkling new arrangements by pianist / MD Alex Webb. Click here for tickets & info

Wednesday 30 July: Boisdale Canary Wharf, Cabot Square, Canary Wharf E14 4QT
Riketté Genesis and Alex Webb present ‘Billie Holiday at Carnegie Hall’, an evocation of Lady Day’s historic 1956 appearance at the New York venue, with Mark Kavuma (trumpet), Josh Kemp (tenor), Neville Malcolm (bass) Alfonso Vitale (drums) and Webb (piano). Click here for tickets & info

Monday 25 August: Battersea Park, London SW11 4NJ
Battersea Park in Concert (headlining with Jools Holland) with the Marvin Muoneké Septet. Marvin brings a larger group to open this prestigious open-air jazz event at one of London’s great parks. Click here for tickets & info



Ongoing

* Jazz Cafe Posk in Hammersmith: a great, relaxed venue

* Check out one of my favourite venues - London's marvellous 606 Club

* Fairly new on the scene is Soul Mama in East London

* In Milton Keynes, there's also the Stables Theatre, which often features live music

* Different venues, plus lots of music on offer at Boisdale in Belgravia and Canary Wharf

* Lots to see and hear at Kings Place, right next to Kings Cross and St Pancras

* Don't forget Ronnie Scott's, which has a range of jazz to suit all tastes.

* Just a little further north in Soho is Pizza Express on Dean Street, which also has sister venues in Holborn and on the Kings Road.

* A blatant plug for the fabulous Club 85 in my home town of Hitchin. They've just launched a GoFundMe appeal to ensure that live music continues, so please take a look

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