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The Be-Bop Club The Bear, Hotwell Road, Bristol. BS8 4SF |
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What’s On Doors open 8.30pm for 9pm start. |
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Fri 8th March |
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Kevin Figes Quartet |
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£9.00 |
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Kevin Figes mainly plays alto sax but sometimes also includes flute and baritone sax in his armoury. A mainstay of the Bristol scene for many years now, Kevin is one of the city's most prolific composers and has arranged music for various sized ensembles as well as running his own label, Pig Records. He has a new quartet CD in the pipeline and will be performing some of the new material tonight, influenced by artists such as Soft Machine and David Binney. Joining Kevin are long-term associates Jim Blomfield - piano and Riaan Vosloo - double bass with special guest drummer Dave Smith. Dave is currently drummer for Robert Plant, and has also played for London's Loop Collective and the Cloudmakers with Jim Hart. |
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Fri 15th March |
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The York 4tet |
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£9.00 |
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The York 4tet is a modern jazz outfit combining the interactive and improvisational elements of a jazz combo with stylistic cues from rock and folk music. The band will present a mixture of original music composed by guitarist Robert York whilst also featuring compositions from other members of the band as well as selected works from the American songbook and more modern artists. Rob is a graduate of Leeds College Of Music who then went on to study for a masters in Germany, and has now been based in Berlin for several years. For this return visit to the UK he has assembled a great line-up including some of Bristol's most forward thinking players. Robert York - guitar, Nicholas Dover - tenor sax, Will Harris - double bass and Billy Weir - drums. |
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Fri 22nd March |
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No Gig At the Bear - Bristol Jazz Festival |
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Fri 5th April |
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Sound Of BlueNote |
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£9.00 |
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A welcome return visit to the club for this popular band, who do exactly what it says on the tin. Many of the tunes have been transcribed from famous Blue Note albums and are not to be found in the Real Books, so the group has really found it’s own voice and repertoire by digging deep in to the vaults. Fronted by the powerhouse trumpet of Andy Urquhart and fantastic Canadian tenor saxophonist Terry Quinney, with Phil Doyle - piano, Ben Taylor - bass & Andy Hague - drums. Constantly gigging across the south of the UK including regular appearances at Boisdale Canary Wharf in London, the band also perform as a sextet with special guests who have included Mark Nightingale, Alan Barnes, Dave O’Higgins, Gilad Atzmon & Jim Mullen. |
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Fri 12th April |
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Julien Alenda Quartet |
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£9.00 |
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French saxophonist Julien Alenda has had a real impact on Bristol’s jazz scene over the past few years, appearing in numerous bands and hosting the popular jam sessions at the Fringe bar. Now mainly playing tenor sax rather than alto, Julien is one of the most naturally gifted improvisers in the city with a phenomenal ear, and has no problem negotiating standards in those unusual vocal keys. The influx of new players to Bristol continues with pianist Tim Funnell playing at the club for the first time. Born in London, Tim has studied jazz both in the Netherlands and Paris, receiving tuition from top USA and European teachers. On bass is Aeddan Llywelyn, one of Cardiff’s busiest players, and another new face to the Be-Bop, Bristol based drummer James Vine, who plays with Waldo’s Gift and the Feelgood Experiment. |
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Fri 19th April |
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Damon Brown Quartet |
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£9.00 |
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Damon Brown is one of the UK’s top jazz trumpeters. He is possibly best known at home for his work with saxophonist Ed Jones and their band Killer Shrimp, which won the 2007 Best Live Group in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. However, Damon has also spent time living in Barcelona and Paris and recorded with many international jazz stars, most notably former Miles Davis saxophonist Steve Grossman with whom he recorded the CD This Time The Dream’s On Me [2008]. Damon has also worked a lot in Japan with pianist Yutaka Shiina [Roy Hargrove - Tokyo Sessions], and following on from this has for the past few years based himself in South Korea playing and recording with the country’s leading jazz musicians as well as many visiting USA players. He’s just back for a short UK tour so don’t miss. Supporting Damon we have the sensitive piano accompaniment of Andy Nowak, virtuosic bass from Ashley John Long and the grooving drumming of Andy Tween. |
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Fri 29th March |
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Tom Berge Quartet feat. Martin Genge |
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£9.00 |
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Tom Berge is a fine pianist, originally from Bath he studied at Leeds College of Music and has now settled in Cardiff where he is making a great contribution to the city’s jazz scene. On sax we have Martin Genge, a powerhouse player who can sound uncannily like Dexter Gordon when on tenor. Although Martin was one of Bristol’s most prominent saxophonists through the late 80s and 90s his jazz club appearances in Bristol are quite rare nowadays, so it’s great to have him back. One reason Martin has been coaxed out is the presence of his old friend Clive Morton on bass - Clive moved up to Gloucestershire quite a few years ago, but before that was an absolute mainstay of the Bristol jazz scene as well as having a national reputation through his work with players such as pianist David Newton. On drums we have award winning young drummer Billy Weir again, who is deservedly becoming a regular performer at the Be-Bop. |
